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90 Ranger V8 Explorer rear axle brakes


jonsranger

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So I've done a carbed 302 swap, and a 8.8 disc brake rear axle from a 01 explorer WITH the explorer master cylinder into my 1990 single cab, reg bed, 2wd Ranger that had a 2.9 and 5 speed in it originally. I don't have the stock computer from the ranger anymore. I'm ocd and crazy and am about to start cleaning up the wiring, removing unneeded wires and connectors. I've got an EVTM coming to help me with that.

How do I hook up the parking/emergency brake cables on the rear axle? I got the Dorman universal kit, but haven't had any luck getting it to work with the 3 cables, the drivers side axle cable comes up past the cable coming back from the pedal, and the pass side is pretty far away from the front cable.

Will the ABS work at all? Is there a separate module, or was it controlled in the computer?

If the ABS is able to work at all, will the explorer axle sensors work? Also there is a sensor on the master cylinder, do I need to do anything with that?

Thanks,
Jon
 


Uncle Gump

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I know @85_Ranger4x4 just went through the e brake thing on his truck...

He has detailed install of all of it... as with most things we do to these trucks... your results may vary. all the details are in his build thread.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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The debacle starts here:


More or less concludes on post #1435


Moral of the story for my std cab longbox is that the rear mount needs moved farther back. As you can tell earlier on in my adventure adsm got along fine using the stock mount on his supercab... I am not really familiar with his setup.
 

jonsranger

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Wow that is a crazy huge thread, I'll have to read it when I get home from work, the bit I've read so far looks really helpful though. Did you deal with the ABS any?
 

scotts90ranger

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He has an '85, no RABS...

I swapped in an explorer 8.8 a decade ago into my '90, went drum first and didn't hook up the parking brake, then decided to go disc brake so swapped the parts over. I took everything from the Explorer including the frame bracket and just mounted it somewhere that the cables could both get to. From there I made some key hole brackets to connect to the ends of the cable and put a piece of 1/4" allthread between the two brackets. I'm still using a Ranger master cylinder and the brakes work GREAT, I'm sure they could work better with the right parts but light years better than a locker and mad drum brakes, it's kinda annoying sliding sideways to a stop light randomly... I'll see if I can get a picture tomorrow of my cable setup, it was simple using some strap metal, a drill, an angle grinder with cutoff wheel and a vise to bend... could be done prettier but I was after function.

As for RABS, my light has been on for 10 years, haven't looked into it, probably something wrong in the valve, it's not a daily driver anymore and RABS never seemed to impress me...
 

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