Repositioning Caliper on a 8.8

[Roert42]

I agree with eric, if you put a winder axle in it you wouldn't have to worry about any clearance issues with the frame at all. A F-150 has a wider 8.8 then an Explorer or Ranger.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Drums might get you a little more clearance but I don't think it would be much. Enough that it did clear as you flexed the suspension in your shop it would probably still hit as things shift around on the street.

 

[Shran]

I think you could possibly turn the backing plate and caliper bracket and redrill the mounting holes on the axle housing. I don't think that rotating a bit would affect bleeding.

You could also dump the Explorer brakes completely and use a weld on aftermarket caliper bracket... Pretty common to do that on Ford 9" axles for disc brake conversions. I think we used GM calipers of some sort for that back in the day... Real easy.

 

[scotts90ranger]

It's been a while since I've been that deep into one, I'm with Shran, rotating it a few degrees and redrilling shouldn't hurt anything. I spun an axle tube but I think it was the other direction... and it wasn't on purpose...