Front brake upgrade

[jd4242]

Aviator has a quick ratio steering also and stiffer stock springs..fyi

 

[CDW6212R]

Aviator has a quick ratio steering also and stiffer stock springs..fyi

Good to know. How different is the 3rd gen rack versus the 2nd gen units? I could use two, both quicker, and one hopefully with more range of motion.

 

[jd4242]

Good to know. How different is the 3rd gen rack versus the 2nd gen units? I could use two, both quicker, and one hopefully with more range of motion.

I dont know the specifics but its definitely noticeable between the two..Aviators were only to get it,not explorers. .also the rear struts/springs are different from a explorer

going from my 1st gen into my aviator takes some getting use to..obviously much more than say a 2nd gen to aviator..if i steer like i do in my 1st gen id probably wreck the aviator. .also as pointed out it has aluminum arms over the cast so this may also make it easier to steer/turn

 

[CDW6212R]

I asked because I'm familiar with some quick ratio steering. My 95 Crown Vic has a 97 police steering box in it, which has a very quick ratio. I like it since I'm used to it, and it would be helpful for my mail truck if I could get it built that way. I'll see if I can find a rebuilder who works with 94 and up Mustangs. Usually all racks use parts that come in many other units.

 

[Floordford]

Ordered all the stuff to do the swap
$461 before shipping, tax and code discounts
$180 eBay spindles 98k 04 Aviator
$80 Centric calipers with brackets
$66 ACDelco outer tie rods
$37 Bendix brake pads
$98 Centric rotors

I got my other stuff from rockauto. After shopping around they really did have the best prices. I didnt go with lower end stuff because, well, you get what you pay for. Not much in the way of performance pads for a luxury SUV that only had a 3 year run. I would have liked to have gotten Hawk HPS pads. EBC pads were way up there, like $140-150 for a front set.

Either way im gaining an inch on the rotors and its all new stuff. My stock brakes have heat check fractures so even el cheapo Aviator stuff would be an upgrade.

It does stink that there isnt a 14" rotor out there for these Explorers. I remember upgrading my 2000 Mustang GT brakes to 13" Cobras and while 13" is bigish I would think they would go bigger being that the Explorers have 1000lbs over the Mustang PLUS the fact that they know people will tow with them.

 

[06bluez]

nice, I also ordered everything from Rockauto. parts should be here today, trying to find time to do the swap this weekend but the deal breaker may be scheduling an alignment right afterwards.

I think the reason for the small brakes is the base models still had 16" wheels. The aviators came with 17" as the smallest option i think.. The current generation explorers smallest wheel size is 18", so they are able to fit the 13.8" rotors...

my summer wheels are 20" but I also have a winter set of wheels and tires that are 17", so that's one reason this swap was so appealing to me, should work out great!

 

[Floordford]

Ive got the 18" 5 V Sport Trac wheels. Id love a set of Adrenalin wheels.

Did you get the aluminum lower control arm? I didnt. Not really worth it for my daily driver

 

[CDW6212R]

If you do work the brakes harder than most, like towing, look at the cryogenically treated rotors. They are available for most vehicles now, and they help in high heat usage. I have them on my 99 mail truck, and they look very good after much severe duty use.

My 12.75" rotors of my 98 Mercury survived my mail delivery for two years straight, though the pads did not. I ate the new set of Hawk pads that came with new SSBC calipers, in two months. They wore down that fast, and then one lining part fell off, killing the rotor surface.

I've used EBC for almost everything since Performance Friction lowered its quality in the late 90's. The prices for some are very high, you just have to shop and weight the choices.

I like my 16" snow tires/wheels, so I'll try to stay with 12.75" rotors, they fit easily any 16's. For a 17" wheel, 13.75" is the best rotor size, but of course OEM likes to make them right at the inch mark, thus a "14" rotor usually needs the 18" wheel etc.

 

[Floordford]

My last experience with Hawk HPS pads were on my Mustang. They drove soft and stock at low temp and turned into a sensitive track pad when I got them hot. Best of both worlds. Never ran any other Hawk pads. Who knows, maybe I need to think about HD types of pad and rotor for the back. The back brakes are like the trailers front tires in a way. I think Aviators are bigger out back too but it takes a bit more work if I remember right.

 

[CDW6212R]

That one set of Hawk pads were the only ones I've ever tried. They came with the new calipers, and they were the highest temperature range pad made, so I thought they would be okay. I've had good luck with all of the EBC pads, green most of the time, but I tried red and yellow once each. The pads I've been using up were selected by SSBC, they made the caliper to fit these pads. I wish they were larger, made for a 65-82 Corvette they should have been made for that specific pad, which was an average size. Instead they made them to use a 1995 Dodge Stealth pad, which is on the small size.

For brakes, bigger is usually better.

 

[Floordford]

I agree. It adds a little weight. Like 1lb a rotor but on the positive it adds more metal for better heat disipation surface and its harder to get to those higher temps in the first place. Also with the caliper further away from the center of rotor it provides more leverage which is less stress on parts and less clamping force needed to do the same task. Think how hard it is on your hand to push 100ft lbs with a 3/8" torque wrench verses a 1/2". Lot easier with the 1/2". More leverage = easier to move

 

[Floordford]

Heres something that shouldn't be overlooked, are the caliper bracket bolts the same size and length on the Aviator and Explorer? Otherwise thats one more thing that needs to be bought to do the swap.

 

[nopistn]

I got the drilled/slotted rotor and pad upgrade from summit and it's way better than stock. probably not as good as going bigger though.

 

[Christobal65]

Question because I don't see it being discussed here, but is there a difference in how the caliper bracket and calipers themselves mount to the Lincoln and the Ford knuckles?

 

[jd4242]

Question because I don't see it being discussed here, but is there a difference in how the caliper bracket and calipers themselves mount to the Lincoln and the Ford knuckles?

The whole knuckle and spindle is different

 

[Floordford]

Question because I don't see it being discussed here, but is there a difference in how the caliper bracket and calipers themselves mount to the Lincoln and the Ford knuckles?

The Explorer has its mounting bolt spacing further apart than the Aviator. The bolts are the same size. The calipers are different, the pistons on the Aviator are slightly larger. The banjo bolt is the same size and thread for both calipers.

 

[06bluez]

have been sidetracked with a house window/siding project that has used up all of my free time, but I hope to get the aviator brakes swapped on here soon. Good to know that the explorer caliper bolts can be used on the aviator's. also it looks like the explorer brake lines will match up perfectly with the hard line looping around the bleed screw on the aviator calipers too...

 

[Floordford]

have been sidetracked with a house window/siding project that has used up all of my free time, but I hope to get the aviator brakes swapped on here soon. Good to know that the explorer caliper bolts can be used on the aviator's. also it looks like the explorer brake lines will match up perfectly with the hard line looping around the bleed screw on the aviator calipers too...

They do.
Also remember to get a 32mm socket if you are 4wd. And outer ball joints. Those are different.

 

[06bluez]

nice, is your swap done FlooredFord? Im going to do a few pre-install things like paint the new calipers black, etc...

 

[Floordford]

nice, is your swap done FlooredFord? Im going to do a few pre-install things like paint the new calipers black, etc...

Its done and running smoothly. One issue I ran into that I hope you dont is that the remanded caliper for my passenger side had damaged seal rings for the copper gasket to seal against. As in, the brake line meeting up to the caliper is a box with a hole. Then the banjo bolt goes through that and makes the seal with 2 copper washers. There are 3 raised rings on the caliper that bite into the gasket. Mine were damaged and that caused a leak instantly. I know that was a little long winded but I wanted to explain it with little misunderstanding.