96 Ranger 3.0L Coated Front Disk Recommendation

[98v70dad]

Please recommend a decent quality coated front disk that I can get that doesn't cost a fortune. I looked on Rock Auto and don't see any coated disks for my truck.

 

[98v70dad]

Wow. Seriously, nobody out of 245 people who have read my post has an opinion? Why would I ask you might wonder. I'll tell you. I usually do my own brake jobs. My dad was sick from a stroke last time I needed brake work and I was helping take care of him. I needed a brake job and I didn't have time to do it so i paid someone. The disks the guy put on are complete crap. After only a few years they are heavily pitted. Big and deep corrosion pits. I live in the deep south. Nothing corrodes heavily here. So, I learned from the experience that real crap is available. Total garbage is available. An endorsement from someone is helpful since at least I'll know I'm not buying crap. I put power stop disks and pads on my GMC Sierra recently and have been very happy with them. not available for my ranger on rockauto. I no longer trust the auto parts stores. NAPA used to sell quality parts and they seem to have sold out to lower qualtity on some things. Advance seems to sell a lot of junk. I've never bought anything in there that lasted. Autozone seems to be a mixed bag. No idea about O'Reilly's since they are relatively new in my area and I haven't bought much there. RockAuto always has good stuff to chose from but I found nothing coated there. I like coated because they look better and don't cost much more. Can anyone give me some useful input? No input at all isn't helpful.

 

[Curious Hound]

I've never used coated brakes. I think tje last frw times I've bought brake parts, I used Powerstop parts. No issues so far.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I like Bendix from Rockauto

Keep in mind parts stores sell several different grades of rotors too.

 

[gw33gp]

Why not just buy some of the higher quality Raybestos rotors or other brand of your choice and coat them with a high temperature paint yourself? I have used two sets of Raybestos rotors on my current Ranger with over 300K miles on it. They were not coated and have held up well. If you apply good quality paint and prep the rotors well, the paint should be durable.

I have coated drum brakes before with high temperature paint and they are still in good condition.

 

[98v70dad]

Why not just buy some of the higher quality Raybestos rotors or other brand of your choice and coat them with a high temperature paint yourself? I have used two sets of Raybestos rotors on my current Ranger with over 300K miles on it. They were not coated and have held up well. If you apply good quality paint and prep the rotors well, the paint should be durable.

I have coated drum brakes before with high temperature paint and they are still in good condition.

I considered coating them myself. I'm building a cabin and it sucks up all of my time. The truck needs brakes but I don't have an extra day to paint the rotors.

I like Bendix from Rockauto

Keep in mind parts stores sell several different grades of rotors too.

I'm an engineer who spent years approving aftermarket airplane parts for use in the US. So, yes, I'm aware that there are various quality auto parts. On a brake rotor its tough to tell quality by looking at it. You can look the specs and compare the tolerances. Super tight tolerances are not necessarily needed though. Corrosion is directly related to carbon content and alloying elements in the metal - that info isn't easily found. Price isn't always a good indicator either. The best bet is asking other people what they bought and had good service from.

 

[98v70dad]

So I've found the time to do the front brake job on my Ranger and could use a little help. I've done plenty of brake jobs but never have done one on a truck with old school spindles and wheel bearings. I'm wonder what I need to buy so I have everything I need. I think that the last guy i paid to do my front brakes re-used the seals because grease oozed out for 6 months after.

I will probably replace the wheel bearings. I'm guessing that the races come installed in the new disks. I obviously need the disks and pads. The grease caps look fine so I'll re-use those. I'm confident the spindle washer and nut will be reusable. The truck is 30 years old so I'll need new cotter pins. I've never seen them in the store and have no idea where I can find the right size. I also don't know what is the right size? Rock auto doesn't sell them unless they are included with a kit of parts I don't need. As I said I'll replace the seal. I generally don't replace the pins in the frame I just clean and grease them. I'm in the South and stuff doesn't corrode much here.

I have a big tube of brake grease and many bottles of brake cleaner. I plan to buy a fresh tub of wheel bearing grease.

So, am I missing anything? Tips?

 

[sgtsandman]

Unless the rotors come with a set of bearings, I wouldn't use the races that are pressed in, if there are any pressed in. The race and bearing cone are a matched set. Mixing and matching cones and races can lead to premature wear and failure.

 

[Shran]

^ what he said. And Timken or nothing when it comes to bearings.

I didn't chime in because I feel that coated rotors/drums/etc are a waste of money for those of us in the rust belt. I've painted them before but I guarantee that they are all just rust coated now. I have also had situations where someone insisted on fancy slotted, drilled and coated rotors, 'cuz "better" but they come back in a year wondering why their pads are totally gone - well it's because those fancy slots and holes filled up full of mud and salt and made the pads wear 1000 times faster than they should. No point in starting an argument, just stating the facts from my experience.

I also don't generally recommend specific aftermarket parts because they are never the same. Duralast from AutoZone might be made by Centric one year and Raybestos the next, and Centric might actually be made by someone else. You never really know - parts and part manufacturers change ALL the time. It's subjective anyway - you might have a really good part that's made in China but someone treated it like crap and then "China" takes the blame.

 

[SenorNoob]

Yes, get the full set Timkens. I just changed a cheap set set and I think it may have taken my spindle with it. All quiet for a couple hundred miles. Now roaring again. Might be the other side. IDK. I should check that.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, what they said... I put drilled/slotted rotors on my Explorer but just because it was the same price, I think they were even coated, they haven't rusted yet... they were just Amazon specials... or was that rear? For my '97 Ranger I picked something middle of the road price wise and I think that's the rotor that's now warped... again.

For cotter pins, ask any auto parts stores, they'll likely have a little cotter pin assortment for like $8, Harbor Freight has one, they'll work fine, not super critical, it's just to keep the castle nut honest...

 

[superj]

i normally get the rotor and drums from oriellys or whatever local store is near me and they last. i am way down south too but i am on the gulf of mexico so we have that kind of corrosive environment to deal with, salt air.

i have never bought coated brake stuff either so i cannot comment on them. i have used slotted on the rears of one car that kept cracking stock rear rotors but otherwise, i have never tried drilled because i never had a need for the effects of drilling/slotting.

i generally just paint drums and rotors for looks with regular ol black paint.

 

[98v70dad]

well, even though I got lots of advise nobody has answered my question from yesterday. what parts do i need to buy? I don't want to get up to my elbows in grease and work and find out that I need a part. its up to me if i want to match the wheel bearings with the races. I didn't ask that question either. I asked if new front rotors normally come with races already installed. so please help me out and give me a list of what I need to buy and have on hand to do the job without having to go to an auto parts store to buy overpriced junk just to complete the job.

 

[scotts90ranger]

To just change the rotors you'll want new pads, inner seal, new bearings (every rotor I've bought of this style has had outer races installed), grease, cotter pins and probably some brake fluid for bleeding some after you mess with pushing the pistons in the calipers back in.

 

[98v70dad]

To just change the rotors you'll want new pads, inner seal, new bearings (every rotor I've bought of this style has had outer races installed), grease, cotter pins and probably some brake fluid for bleeding some after you mess with pushing the pistons in the calipers back in.

Thanks that is exactly what i needed to know. Do you know what size cotter pin is needed? That list matches what I planned to buy. Do new rotors come with both inner and outer races with the outer installed and the inner loose in the box? I'm a little conflicted on matching races and bearings. I guess that matching them is a good thing to do. BUT quality aftermarket auto parts are made to OEM specs and tolerances. Races and bearings from different manufacturers should be theoretically interchangeable. Buying Timken races and bearings (for example) doesn't necessarily mean they came from the same factory or even that Timken made the parts. For a while the bearings for my V70 Volvo labeled as FAG were made by Timken or vice versa (don't remember). You really never know what you're buying these days.