Tired of Buying the Same Part!!!

[Lefty]

I wasn't sure about the torsion bar suspension... I know it has a unique spindle.

But yeah Lefty... you're gonna have to swap your bearings and seals onto the new rotors.

So I need a puller and then a press?

 

[Uncle Gump]

No...

Pop the seal out... if you damage it... just buy a new one.

Once the sesl is out... inner bearing comes out and the outer bearing should already be out.

I wipe all the old grease off the bearings and look for wear... galling... heat spots. If they look questionable... replace them.

The new rotor should have new outer races already installed. You would repack the used bearings... install them... drive in the new inner seal... then install on the spindle.

There is a bunch of info here about tightening the bearings... do a search.

 

[Lefty]

So I need a puller and then a press?

I do have friends. They work at a machine shop. And I know for sure that they like beer.

 

[Lefty]

No...

Pop the seal out... if you damage it... just buy a new one.

Once the sesl is out... inner bearing comes out and the outer bearing should already be out.

I wipe all the old grease off the bearings and look for wear... galling... heat spots. If they look questionable... replace them.

The new rotor should have new outer races already installed. You would repack the used bearings... install them... drive in the new inner seal... then install on the spindle.

There is a bunch of info here about tightening the bearings... do a search.

Thanks again Gump. I'm sure we will have plenty of fun stumbling through the job!

 

[JoshT]

I wasn't sure about the torsion bar suspension... I know it has a unique spindle.

Unique knuckle. It's kind of like a combination between the 4wd and the 2wd coil spring knuckles. The spindle, portion where the bearings ride, is essentially the same on both 2wd versions. It's kind of like a 2wd coil knuckle with 4wd suspension attach points.

That's the way it came

I do have friends. They work at a machine shop. And I know for sure that they like beer.

Yep, you need to swap the bearings over like Gump explained. You can save the beer bribes for another day.

 

[Lefty]

Unique knuckle. It's kind of like a combination between the 4wd and the 2wd coil spring knuckles. The spindle, portion where the bearings ride, is essentially the same on both 2wd versions. It's kind of like a 2wd coil knuckle with 4wd suspension attach points.




Yep, you need to swap the bearings over like Gump explained. You can save the beer bribes for another day.

So maybe it's not as hard as I thought! Thanks once again, Josh, for sage advice.

 

[Lefty]

Thanks again Gump. I'm sure we will have plenty of fun stumbling through the job!

Thanks, Gump! You were exactly right! This job wasn't really as hard as I thought it would be. I just followed your instructions word-for-word.

BTW: I didn't really inspect the old bearings. I got 150,000 miles on them. I like new anyway. Call me crazy.

I had to try the new set out, of course. Seat-of-the-pants tells me that I get a much faster stop with less fade.. Some say pads may wear out faster. I really don't care. It's well worth it.

I spent $150 for the disks and pads and another $150.00 for bearings and grease.

Thanks to TRS for everything, My Ranger has come a very long way. It looks like new, but drives even better.

 

[sgtsandman]

Thanks, Gump! You were exactly right! This job wasn't really as hard as I thought it would be. I just followed your instructions word-for-word.

BTW: I didn't really inspect the old bearings. I got 150,000 miles on them. I like new anyway. Call me crazy.

I had to try the new set out, of course. Seat-of-the-pants tells me that I get a much faster stop with less fade.. Some say pads may wear out faster. I really don't care. It's well worth it.

I spent $150 for the disks and pads and another $150.00 for bearings and grease.

Thanks to TRS for everything, My Ranger has come a very long way. It looks like new, but drives even better.

View attachment 105628

The slots will accelerate pad wear some but not grossly so. You'll also get a little bit of brake growl in certain situations. Completely normal, nothing to worry about. I'm slowly going to be swapping over to cross drilled and slotted rotors through attrition on both trucks.

As a side note, the cross drill holes eventually fill with brake dust. I found bore brushes for cleaning firearms are quite useful in cleaning those out when the time comes. If I remember correctly, the holes on the back of the rotor line up with the holes in the front. So, you shouldn't need to remove them to clean out both sides.

 

[Lefty]

The slots will accelerate pad wear some but not grossly so. You'll also get a little bit of brake growl in certain situations. Completely normal, nothing to worry about. I'm slowly going to be swapping over to cross drilled and slotted rotors through attrition on both trucks.

As a side note, the cross drill holes eventually fill with brake dust. I found bore brushes for cleaning firearms are quite useful in cleaning those out when the time comes. If I remember correctly, the holes on the back of the rotor line up with the holes in the front. So, you shouldn't need to remove them to clean out both sides.

What a good idea!

And thanks for encouraging me to take on this project. Conventional brakes were just fine, really...all except for those occasional emergency stops when every foot matters. I'm sure these rotors will also help when hauling heavier loads.

Buying an old truck for dirt cheap has enabled me to spend extra money on upgrades and modifications. It's still a Ford Ranger, but now it's a very good Ford Ranger. It handles so much better with that Ford Explorer sway bar, after market shocks, bigger tires, slightly offset wheels, James Duff bars, and that Torsion limited slip.

Any more good ideas?

 

[sgtsandman]

What a good idea!

And thanks for encouraging me to take on this project. Conventional brakes were just fine, really...all except for those occasional emergency stops when every foot matters. I'm sure these rotors will also help when hauling heavier loads.

Buying an old truck for dirt cheap has enabled me to spend extra money on upgrades and modifications. It's still a Ford Ranger, but now it's a very good Ford Ranger. It handles so much better with that Ford Explorer sway bar, after market shocks, bigger tires, slightly offset wheels, James Duff bars, and that Torsion limited slip.

Any more good ideas?

Generally speaking, I don't think you will see much difference in braking performance. The original reason cross drilled and slotted rotors came about was to deal with the off gassing issue brake pads had. When they got hot enough, gasses would build up between the pads and the rotor and force them to start to float. Modern braking materials generally don't have that problem but I'm not going to say it doesn't happen anymore at all. If nothing else, the extra holes and slots will allow more air flow and keep things cooler.

For my purposes, I'm more interested in the slots for clearing dirt and mud while off road driving. If I could get a set of rotors with just the slots, I would be looking at those but they don't seem to exist anymore.

As far as upgrades, it seems you have most of them covered. Ball joints, tie rod ends, and u-joints with grease fittings would be a plus when they need replaced but they aren't really a performance upgrade.

If I remember correctly, you have the 4.0 SOHC. So not much in the way of upgrades there that doesn't cost a chunk of change. Changing the O2 sensors might help some with fuel economy and efficiency if you still have the original sensors. Cleaning the MAF sensor would help too if it hasn't been looked at in a while.

An electric fan might give you a little power but it can be a frustrating project to get running correctly.

A transmission cooler with a thermostatic control might be helpful, maybe. If you can monitor transmission temperatures and they seem to be high. Or you could go with a finned transmission oil pan if they are only a little high. The one on my 2019 dropped fluid temp about 10 degrees but it wasn't really dangerously high to begin with when towing in the first place. Plus, the OEM pan was plastic. So, heat transfer wasn't all that great to begin with. So, the change may have had more to do with the pan material than the fins on the bottom of the pan. The fact that the replacement pan has a drain plug was a huge plus for me and a big driver on why I got the pan. My 2011 is a manual, so I have no way of monitoring transmission temperatures. So I have no idea if you would have that ability on your 2003 or not.

 

[superj]

Slotted are not available anymore? Man, slotted is better than drilled and slotte but yes, they are more for looks now unless you autocross your truck, than they make a difference.


I ran slotted on my bmw in the rear because the stock solid rotors would crack from heat. The slotted ones never cracked.


Drilled will crack to if they get hot enough. Especially if they are not brand name rotors.

 

[Lefty]

Generally speaking, I don't think you will see much difference in braking performance. The original reason cross drilled and slotted rotors came about was to deal with the off gassing issue brake pads had. When they got hot enough, gasses would build up between the pads and the rotor and force them to start to float. Modern braking materials generally don't have that problem but I'm not going to say it doesn't happen anymore at all. If nothing else, the extra holes and slots will allow more air flow and keep things cooler.

For my purposes, I'm more interested in the slots for clearing dirt and mud while off road driving. If I could get a set of rotors with just the slots, I would be looking at those but they don't seem to exist anymore.

As far as upgrades, it seems you have most of them covered. Ball joints, tie rod ends, and u-joints with grease fittings would be a plus when they need replaced but they aren't really a performance upgrade.

If I remember correctly, you have the 4.0 SOHC. So not much in the way of upgrades there that doesn't cost a chunk of change. Changing the O2 sensors might help some with fuel economy and efficiency if you still have the original sensors. Cleaning the MAF sensor would help too if it hasn't been looked at in a while.

An electric fan might give you a little power but it can be a frustrating project to get running correctly.

A transmission cooler with a thermostatic control might be helpful, maybe. If you can monitor transmission temperatures and they seem to be high. Or you could go with a finned transmission oil pan if they are only a little high. The one on my 2019 dropped fluid temp about 10 degrees but it wasn't really dangerously high to begin with when towing in the first place. Plus, the OEM pan was plastic. So, heat transfer wasn't all that great to begin with. So, the change may have had more to do with the pan material than the fins on the bottom of the pan. The fact that the replacement pan has a drain plug was a huge plus for me and a big driver on why I got the pan. My 2011 is a manual, so I have no way of monitoring transmission temperatures. So I have no idea if you would have that ability on your 2003 or not.

Actually I have a 3.0 but I do have an E fan and dual exhausts. Performance and mileage are about as good as I can expect.

I had similar thoughts about a transmission cooler before. A very long time ago I installed a 2.8 Ford and a C4 trans in my MGB. I put in two fans on my radiator, one in front and one behind. Instead of 1 transmission cooler I had two. I'm not sure if there was any benefit.

I might install a new rear sway bar some day if I find a B2 bar, but rear spring clamps really helped to reduce rear end sway.

 

[Lefty]

And yes, I know I'm stopping faster. Maybe it's just because I did a brake job. Little things like fresh dry fluid all topped off can make a difference too.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

IMO, if you can skid your tires in a panic stop, then bigger rotors won't stop you any quicker. But if you use your brakes a lot, like in mountains or autocross, they could be handy.

 

[sgtsandman]

Slotted are not available anymore? Man, slotted is better than drilled and slotte but yes, they are more for looks now unless you autocross your truck, than they make a difference.


I ran slotted on my bmw in the rear because the stock solid rotors would crack from heat. The slotted ones never cracked.


Drilled will crack to if they get hot enough. Especially if they are not brand name rotors.

Not that I saw. Everywhere I checked only had cross drilled and slotted.

They chamfer the drill holes most of the time now. That is supposed to prevent crack issues. I've never had a problem but I'm normally getting my brakes super hot either. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing any cross drilled rotors that haven't had chamfered holes when looking at brake rotors for my vehicles.