1989 Ranger Drum Brakes to Disc

[quinoacowboy]

Does anybody know of any kits that I could buy to convert my rear drum brakes to disc brakes? How does the sort of conversion go? Do I need to buy one specifically for the ranger or would a "universal" kit work (with a matching hub)

 

[SenorNoob]

IDK anything about kits, but there is a method for using Mustang rear discs on the Ranger axle:

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-ranger-bronco-ii-rear-disc-brake-conversion/#gsc.tab=0

 

[MyOld88]

I’ve been looking at the same thing for my 88. There are several direct bolt on kits/upgrades available on line and they look like a fairly easy upgrade. I am going to call one of the ones offering these kits as I have read that you need to possibly replace your master cylinder/ proportioning valve as the ratio changes when going drum to disc. There have been a number of folks that have done junk yard repurposing of mustang and others but I personally like the bolt on kits and starting a new install to make sure it as good an install as possible and maybe have warranty benefits as well. I don’t want to make a mistake with brakes for sure. Thanks, Bob

 

[rubydist]

imho the Ford parts from the Mustang are better than any 3rd party kit that exists for these. You can always buy new calipers (which I did) to make sure that the parts function correctly.

The 94-04 Mustang rear brake parts work on the 28 spline axle trucks. The Ford Racing kit for the 9" axle also works on the 31 spline axle trucks and it uses the rear brake parts from the 05-09 Mustang.

 

[MyOld88]

Hey Rubydist,
I had the same thoughts as yourself so when I started researching this, I came to see that the manufacturers (SSBC-USA, Wilwood, PowerStop, and Brake Performance) of these are building high end products for race/track cars mostly. It appears like they just filled in a niche and provide everything needed to do bolt on swap rather than having to do any fabrication. It was different than my original thought when I really did some research. BTW-saw where you had a 89 Mark LSC-I had an 87 which I gave to my wife to drive when I got my 88 Ranger. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

 

[gaz]

@quinoacowboy
If I were to switch to rear disc on a 1st or 2nd gen RBV, I would use the entire 8.8"rear end from a 95+ Explorer with rear disc brakes; it comes with the 31 spline axles, all Ford components, about as simple as it gets.

 

[svtcards]

IDK anything about kits, but there is a method for using Mustang rear discs on the Ranger axle:

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-ranger-bronco-ii-rear-disc-brake-conversion/#gsc.tab=0

The

IDK anything about kits, but there is a method for using Mustang rear discs on the Ranger axle:

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-ranger-bronco-ii-rear-disc-brake-conversion/#gsc.tab=0

That right up never mentions anything about any proportioning valves. I'm assuming it's not needed?

 

[JoshT]

Hey Rubydist,
I had the same thoughts as yourself so when I started researching this, I came to see that the manufacturers (SSBC-USA, Wilwood, PowerStop, and Brake Performance) of these are building high end products for race/track cars mostly. It appears like they just filled in a niche and provide everything needed to do bolt on swap rather than having to do any fabrication. It was different than my original thought when I really did some research. BTW-saw where you had a 89 Mark LSC-I had an 87 which I gave to my wife to drive when I got my 88 Ranger. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Then by all means, show us the kits that these companies offer.

Yeah, only the SSBC right, and you got lucky there. Pulled that info out your backside. Neither Wilwood nor Powerstop offer rear disc brake conversion kits for the Ranger. They may offer some universal disc conversion kits that can be adapted to it, but they aren't a bolt on swap for the Ranger axle as stated. For that matter neither is the SSBC, since you have to drain the rear axle and pull the axle shafts according to the instructions.

Have I got some news for you. The SSBC kit is the same swap basic outlined in the tech library. SSCB uses the same calipers and rotors. They modified the Mustang axle brackets so they could be bolted to the outer face of the axle flange, but that requires pulling the axles to install them, where cutting as shown in tech article doesn't. Similar brackets are available from elsewhere that do the same thing (one mentioned in the article). Then they added some additional bits, pieces, and steps to the process along with a little paint to dress it up.

You could do the kit mentioned in the article for less than half of the SSBC kit. Price only goes up slightly if you use the other style brackets instead of cutting them.

"Brake Performance" damn sure doesn't make any kits, and I'd highly question the "building high end products" claim for them. Looks more like another reseller of cheap chinese products with their badging slapped on and extra money spent in the marketing department. The fact that you buried a link to them (or a google search for them) in there makes me question your motives and if your another spam bot account that is trying to hide. I don't like discouraging the new guy, but I like scammers and shills even less.

 

[MyOld88]

I didn’t pull anything out of my backside, Only off different websites and the Ranger station posts. I read some articles (one of them yours) discussing the subject and googling up drum to disc conversion. I can assure I’m not a bot. My point being there are different options out there. I’ve only just started looking at it, and that is what I found and saw by looking on the internet. I would certainly talk to providers of the products and do further research before I would spend my money. Interestingly enough, I enjoyed your post on 05/04/2024 discussing some of this. Have a good day sir.