87,which brake pads?

[RustedRanger]

I have an 87 4x4 and I don't know the build date. The sticker on the door has a bubble in it and it appears to say 00 86. Can I tell the build date from the VIN? Is there any way I can tell which pads I need without taking off the calipers or the wheels? Should I also get a caliper pin kit? I was under it changing the gas tank and fuel filter and saw a couple of the pins were backing out so I tapped them back in so I would guess they are bad.

 

[Mark_88]

There was a VIN lookup tool on this site or a link to it...tells you the specs on the make...check the front page of the Ranger Station...I know I used it about five years ago to check out the manufacture date on my Ranger and where it was assembled (Kentucky)...

Edit: OK...it was still there under the Tech Library...the link below will get you there but you can also go through the link for the Tech Library...I almost forgot how many resources there were on this site...another reason it's worth $10 a year to me...

VIN information

 

[DCain]

When I went to buy brake pads for my 87 Bronco II the guy at the parts store told me that he had a listing for two different sizes. One size was for trucks manufactured before October of 86 and the other were for trucks manufactured after October of 86. Mine was manufactured in October but I'm not sure which ones I ended up getting.

 

[AllanD]

turn your steering wheel all the way to one side or the other

Look in at your caliper from the front at which ever wheel is turned out.

Look at your caliper.

If the line is attached to the "back" of the caliper lie to him and tell him
you have an '85 (or earlier) or an '88 (or later) and avoid the issue.

If your line attaches to the top you have a post October 1985 "1986" and all Rangers and bronco2's through the end of february of 1987 used those oddball calipers.

EVERYTHING is more expensive for those oddballs.

Rebuilt calipers are four times as expensive
Brake lines merely twice as expensive.
Pads about 50% more expensive.

when I discovered that happy fact about my Ranger
I swapped out the calipers, lines and pads to make my
truck take the "common" parts


AD

 

[RustedRanger]

Thanks AD. Does "back" mean the side facing the center of the truck and "top" the side facing out towards the wheel?

 

[AllanD]

That's right.

Last I checked the "common" caliper was $32 at NAPA "loaded"
meaing WITH the pads and caliper pins and the line another $20-ish.

The lines ALONE for the "oddball" setup were $60-ish

The common caliper AND LINE (you gotta replace the flex line)
together with the pads swap right on.

AD

 

[AllanD]

BTW, I no longer use "split pin" calipers at all.

back about a year and a half ago I swapped on '95-97 front
beams to use the bolt-on two-piston calipers.

Mainly because these calipers are the current production calipers
and there is a better selection of performance pads available.

AD

 

[TwoWhels]

I have the early calipers on my Ranger ....
6 trips to 2 different auto parts stores and I still don't have them (rebuilt calipers)

If this 2nd place cant get the right ones I'll be going to the junk yord and getting the pair there.

I'll have to take them apart and clean them up and put them back together without using new parts

 

[Mark_88]

BTW, I no longer use "split pin" calipers at all.

back about a year and a half ago I swapped on '95-97 front
beams to use the bolt-on two-piston calipers.

Mainly because these calipers are the current production calipers
and there is a better selection of performance pads available.

AD

Hmmmmmmm....now does this work with 2 wd too???? If so...I'm thinking this might be a good mod for the near future...my calipers are fairly new and so are the flex lines...but if it means changing out things to get parts easier I'm all for it...

 

[AllanD]

The MAIn reason to swap to the two piston brakes is for consistant behavior.

One issue I always had with the earlier setup was that the pedal
height was never consistant.

It's really hard feel confident about brakes that don't present the
same way every time.

But the two piston brakes on a TTB/TIB truck are themselves
kind of an "oddball setup" being made only 1995, '96 & '97

But the calipers and pads are interchangable with the explorers
from '95-01.

I believe that ford went to larger diameter pistons for the IRS explorers.

I have a pair of '02-up calipers but I haven't had a chance to pull a dust
boot off to check the piston diameter yet.
they DO fit the same bracket and use the same pads
so bigger pistons would require a bit less pedal effort.

AD