99 ranger, looking to upgrade front brakes

[pjtoledo]

fyi on the Crown Vic rotors, for the 12.44" on a 98 anyway....
on the rotor there is a step at the edge of the wheel mounting surface.
that step lines up with the center of the outer ridge on the mounting surface of a 16" factory wheel.
that means there is very little wheel surface area mating against the rotor. the rotor should be machined to eliminate the step for full wheel to rotor contact.

I am using a genuine Ford rotor purchased about 12 years ago for this data. maybe the newer ones eliminated that step, I don't know.

 

[don4331]

pjtoledo:

You are saying that there is a 3rd bracket out there in '04+ 4x4 with the 305mm rotors? 'course as luck would have it, there is nothing that new at the local wreckers; will need to drop by the local autoparts store with my caliper...

I'm up there with you - carbs, points & condenser, manual steering and drums on all 4 corners (the '68 Mercury F-100 4x4 which I learned to drive on). But we're talking rear drums here, not fronts..

And I will cut you a little slack on the wet performance. But if you are fading finned Aerostar rear drums, you were probably pushing things. And I'm not sure the solid Explorer rear rotor wouldn't be fading just as much in same circumstance - with less than 1/2" of metal, there isn't that much thermal capacity there either.

Are you running Crown Vic rotors on one of your Rangers?

 

[55trucker]

I did some more digging on the spindle selection issue...I came across this spindle on ebay, this is for the 2wd torsion bar front suspension (Ranger Edge), I take it that the 11 1/4" rotor calipers/brackets brakes were used with this spindle & this item is not *quite* usable with the coil spring simple hoop shaped upper control arm?

 

[don4331]

55trucker:

The 11 1/4" rotor calipers/brackets brakes that were used with that spindle interchange exactly with the 11 1/4" rotor calipers/brackets coil spring brakes but that is no help for you with your 10 1/4" rotor calipers/brackets brakes.

pjtoledo:

I misread your post - you replaced the '00 knuckles with '04 ones to get 12" rotors.

Ya, the caliper/brake bracket is same from '98-'12. I haven't won yet...

That's a lot of machining on the Crown Vic rotor to make the mounting surface flat...

 

[gw33gp]

You can get a very good improvement in brake performance by going to a better friction compound. My Ranger was not giving me the braking performance I needed for towing when I bought it new. I switched to Raybestos Super Stop front pads and it helped a lot.
The problem was they were doing so much more of the stopping that they dusted very bad. I then switched the rear shoes to Super Stop also. The braking balance came back and the dusting became minimal. The stopping power also improved even more. I am very happy with this upgrade.
Raybestos eventually stopped making the Super Stop compound and I searched for a replacement. I ended up selecting Akebono brake pads. I don't remember the exact version I use but they are as good and the Super Stop pads and seem to be a little more durable.

 

[pjtoledo]

I did some more digging on the spindle selection issue...I came across this spindle on ebay, this is for the 2wd torsion bar front suspension (Ranger Edge), I take it that the 11 1/4" rotor calipers/brackets brakes were used with this spindle & this item is not *quite* usable with the coil spring simple hoop shaped upper control arm?

its the pinch hole at the top that is the bug-a-boo

torsion bar knuckles have a larger hole than the coil spring knuckles.
if you use the torsion bar style upper control arms (to get the larger ball joint that matches the hole) that pushes the top way out beyond the camber adjustment range.

there are 2 versions of that knuckle...

2001 Sport trac that has 12" rotors

Ranger & Explorers that have 11.25" rotors

the holes are the difference, they are moved out 3/8"

 

[pjtoledo]

by the way, compared to a 4x4 knuckle, that one pictured has about a 1/2" drop. the stub is higher in the knuckle.

 

[pjtoledo]

pjtoledo:

You are saying that there is a 3rd bracket out there in '04+ 4x4 with the 305mm rotors? 'course as luck would have it, there is nothing that new at the local wreckers; will need to drop by the local autoparts store with my caliper...

I'm up there with you - carbs, points & condenser, manual steering and drums on all 4 corners (the '68 Mercury F-100 4x4 which I learned to drive on). But we're talking rear drums here, not fronts..

And I will cut you a little slack on the wet performance. But if you are fading finned Aerostar rear drums, you were probably pushing things. And I'm not sure the solid Explorer rear rotor wouldn't be fading just as much in same circumstance - with less than 1/2" of metal, there isn't that much thermal capacity there either.

Are you running Crown Vic rotors on one of your Rangers?

no, I bought that new one years ago in hope of finding a way to use it.

 

[mooty]

So if I'm following this thread correctly, there are 11.25" rotors available for similarly yeared 2wd/coil spring models?

I'm thinking I've got 10.25" rotors, is it possible to upgrade?

Sent from my SCH-I545PP using Tapatalk

 

[55trucker]

its the pinch hole at the top that is the bug-a-boo

torsion bar knuckles have a larger hole than the coil spring knuckles.
if you use the torsion bar style upper control arms (to get the larger ball joint that matches the hole) that pushes the top way out beyond the camber adjustment range.

Hmmmmmmmm.......so if one were to machine up a sleeve to press down into the top of the knuckle so that the smaller dia ball joint is tight when the pinch bolt is applied the geometry for the front wheel will be right on?

 

[pjtoledo]

Hmmmmmmmm.......so if one were to machine up a sleeve to press down into the top of the knuckle so that the smaller dia ball joint is tight when the pinch bolt is applied the geometry for the front wheel will be right on?

I would like to say yes, but attempting it would give a better answer.
by the way, the top pinch bolt is on opposite sides on the coil vs torsion knuckles. that may complicate the swap by moving the hole a bit.

the proposed reducing sleeve would need to be off-set to keep the pinch bolt in contact with the groove in the ball stud.

 

[pjtoledo]

I did some more digging on the spindle selection issue...I came across this spindle on ebay, this is for the 2wd torsion bar front suspension (Ranger Edge), I take it that the 11 1/4" rotor calipers/brackets brakes were used with this spindle & this item is not *quite* usable with the coil spring simple hoop shaped upper control arm?

what year are those knuckles?

 

[55trucker]

It was a single knuckle, new old stock, advertised for the 98 thru '01 Explorer.
(somewhat high priced, but a good visual reference)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KNUCKLE-Ste...ash=item3603b12156:g:BQ0AAOxykmZTLd3U&vxp=mtr

 

[pjtoledo]

that knuckle would be for a 11.25" rotor. only the Sport-Trac had 12" for those years.

 

[BUGNUT]

So if I'm following this thread correctly, there are 11.25" rotors available for similarly yeared 2wd/coil spring models?

I'm thinking I've got 10.25" rotors, is it possible to upgrade?

Sent from my SCH-I545PP using Tapatalk

I've also been following his thread. I posted the exact question and received a reply that the 11.25 rotors are the largest rotors to fit and I was at the end of the upgrade. I have 10.25 rotors and want to upgrade to the 11.25 rotors. Still waiting for an answer. Anyone?