What master cylinder and booster to use with upgrade

[JoshT]

85 Ranger 2wd 2.3L auto

When I lower the truck it's getting as brake upgrade. Either getting Sport Trac calipers, or SN95 Mustang calipers in the front, and Explorer discs in the rear. I know it's overkill for the 2.3, but I've got parts for those with the 95-97 spindles and DJM beams, I don't have stock brake parts for that front end. I had all of this figured out once upon a time, but it's all say on a shelf for years and can't remember the details.

Do I need to upgrade the master cylinder and brake booster to work with these brakes, and if so to what?

These were and will be used with a V8 swap, but will be using with the 2.3 for a little while. IIRC with I was going to go with later Ranger dual diaphragm brake booster and Explorer master cylinder. IIRC it was mostly using two donor years in my mind for ease, 1994 Ranger 4.0 because I was also going to use that radiator, and 1998 Explorer 5.0L because that was my drivetrain donor. I'm not 100% on that and don't know if the same parts/plans will work with the 2.3L. I actually had the parts for that build, but they've been out in the weather too long. The booster might be ok, but I wouldn't trust the master cylinder.

 

[sgtsandman]

The engine shouldn’t make a difference. There is a proportioning difference between a drum master cylinder and a disc one. A master cylinder from an Explorer or Sport Trac will work but make sure the rest of the system is the same as yours. Sometimes there is a separate proportioning block.

 

[Ranger850]

I recently read on here about a Dodge MC upgrade. Pretty much a bolt on.

99 Dodge 2500 Brake Master Cylinder Swap

I can't take credit for this, I originally saw it on Bill4's build thread, and the original article about it can be found here. There's a bit of info on this site about the F350 master swap, however there's some misinformation in the articles I've found regarding brake line fitting sizes/threads...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[JoshT]

Yep, I know proportioning will be different. I was going with the Explorer master because it is set-up properly for the discs.

I do need to see if the Ranger has an inline proportioning valve and remove it. If necessary I can add a universal valve in line, that's what I did for the front disc swap in my F-100.

The work required for that Dodge MC is about the same as a later Ford MC, so I'll probably just stick with the Ford ones. Explorer, Sport Trac, and Mustang all have the same bore diameter master cylinder (1.062"), so I would think that the Explorer master should work well with either brake combination. The article did remind me about difference in port sizes, but I think they were going to need to be reworked anyway. Port side wrong maybe?

 

[sgtsandman]

The Dodge one is on the wrong side. I’ve only worked on an Explorer Sport, other than Rangers, but the ports were on the same side for both. I suspect the full size Explorer and Sport Trac would be the same.

 

[JoshT]

Yeah looking at Rockauto, that doesn't appear to be an issue. I had crazy plans to swap in the explorer ABS back when I was going to do this before, so all of the lines were getting replaced anyway. This time I'm just doing the brake swap. changing master cylinder and booster, new hoses, and adapting lines as necessary.

Depending on what I do with a proportioning valve, passenger side ports may be handy in which case I'll probably use one from a '90s F-150. Way I did it on the F-100 is a bracket that mounts the valve horizontal under the master cylinder. Passenger side off the master to the prop valve and driver side out of the prop valve to the brake lines. Hopefully I've got a few weeks/months before I need to figure out how I want to do all of that.