Front brake dust sheilds

[Maiawolf]

I have been looking for replacement dust shields for my 96 xlt 4wd truck and what I have found is no one carries them anymore. Is this a worry or just forget it and move on without the shields?

 

[holyford86]

Move on without them, I'm not sure that Ford even makes them any more

 

[ElectraRider]

Might allow more air to flow in and around the disk keeping it cooler.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

They are more for rocks go to your local bone yard/s you should be able to find good used ones?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

They are more for rocks go to your local bone yard/s you should be able to find good used ones?

Only 95-97 trucks and are specific to 2wd or 4wd.

Sucky part is it is a PITA to pull them to see if they are any better than what you have.

I don't think anyone reproduces them, I had to strip 3 trucks to find a good set and being such a narrow year range they are kind of scarce to even find to see if they are worth anything.

 

[Ewgoetz]

I found one similar and modified it.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nNszLWGeDBJD8ALM6

 

[Dirtman]

I say just forget them. Most rangers (and other vehicles for that matter) never even had them. They are more of an annoyance than anything. They just get bent or get crap stuck in them and provide no real benefit.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I say just forget them. Most rangers (and other vehicles for that matter) never even had them. They are more of an annoyance than anything. They just get bent or get crap stuck in them and provide no real benefit.

Every vehicle I have owned has had them.

In addition to keeping stuff out of your brakes they have a scoop to catch air to cool them.

 

[muddypunk]

I took them off my wheeler when I replaced a couple broken shafts (it's a Jeep thing) and keep meaning to put them back on as I have packed the rotors full of mud and rock several times. Haven't noticed my brakes getting hot though that's a plus I guess.

I say just forget them. Most rangers (and other vehicles for that matter) never even had them. They are more of an annoyance than anything. They just get bent or get crap stuck in them and provide no real benefit.

Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk

 

[Bgunner]

While I can not speak for the availability of them I can say they do serve a vital function which is keeping water and debris from getting on the rotor and pads causing loss of braking power and premature brake ware/failure.

Should they be replaced? Yes they should be replaced when they are no longer usable.

Can you go without them? Yes you can but driving through a puddle can cause your brakes to fade a bit when pressed due to the surface being wet. Also Like any hot metal when cold water gets on it it will warp the rotors giving a pulsation in the peddle. If you go off road, or even travel on dirt roads, mud, dirt and pebbles and get lodged in your brake pads causing poor breaking and gouging of the rotors and pads.

 

[cstarbard]

FWIW, with some ingenuity and some thin sheet steel from Lowe's I bet you could make up a set cheaply, easily, and with basic tools.

I have a set right now to replace the missing ones on my crusty 96 2.3 4x4. They are about as good as I can find for original in MA but need a little help. I have thought about making new ones using these as templates, guess I have extra reason to try now

Basically if you bought steel sheet metal of the right thickness at Lowe's (they do carry it), I don't see any reason why you can't trace them out, leaving excess around perimeter to form the bent edge found on OEM ones, use sheet metal snips or cut off wheels to cut them out, bend the edges with pliers, drill holes for mounting, and you're done. With some finesse they probably wouldn't even look bad. Sheet steel is very forgiving. The dust shields on the explorer axle we put in my brother's Ranger were clean but crunched up badly from dummies at the wrecking yard, I was able to smooth those back out to the point where you'd almost never know.

I'll get around to trying this to make some this winter and make a thread