93 Explorer front brake upgrade - to do or not to do

[aaron81006]

I have done a lot of research on upgrading the front brakes of my 93 Explorer with those from a 95 Ranger. I really like the idea of the dual calipers and larger rotors.

TedJ's write-up "1st Gen 4wd to 95-97 Ranger Brake Swap Info/Parts List" does a pretty thorough job. Thanks Ted.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325392

Anyway, my rotors and calipers are on their last leg and I need to do something soon. I'm wondering if there are any brake guys out there or anyone that has done this upgrade.

My question is: Is this upgrade worth the work and expense?

I'm willing and capable of this swap but I guess I know that just replacing the parts with vehicle appropriate stock parts would be the easiest way to go.

I do go to some pretty steep trails and pretty much always carry some pretty heavy gear with me.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading.

 

[malohnes]

Maybe, maybe not, but I found that doing the rear disk swap made huge difference in the overall braking ability of my truck. I recently was able to correct my spongy pedal problem, but despite that particular issue, a rear disk swap is avery good and very simple project. After that, I would upgrade your front brakes.

Personally, a D44 knuckle swap sounds better to me. That would not only help with braking, but also allow for a stronger front end as well.

 

[aaron81006]

Hey Mark, thanks for the input on the rear. I plan on doing that too but my fronts have become more urgent. I may hit you up when I do get to the rear end swap.

Aaron

 

[WormsExplorer]

Aaron I live just north of ya and going up to the mountains Sunday if you would like to come along. My Club and I are heading up to a trail Just past Divide. Send me a message if you are interested. Would LOVE to have other explorers in the club. My truck is a stock vehicle and the trail has a lot of by passes and a lot of play grounds. Let me know.

 

[malohnes]

No problem Aaron. Glad to help...

Another thing to keep in mind is that the swap is ONLY from 95-97 Rangers. That's a pretty limited pool of trucks to get parts from and the main reason why I skipped over it for my truck and got a rear disk set-up instead. Also, look at the aftermarket options for rotors and pads for that Ranger set-up is almost as bad as a 1st gen EX.

The inherent weaknesses of the D35 aren't addressed either, just the brakes. It is a meaningful and cool upgrade and if your set on it then do it, but, again, I think there are better cost effective ways of getting more performance than this upgrade.

 

[ghosttrain2]

I did this upgrade on my '94, and love it. After warping the original factory rotors, I tried the slotted/ frozen ones, and they warped as well. I did the upgrade 4 years ago, and have had no problems. I will also eventually get around to the rear disc conversion, but that is a ways off for me. I bought the knuckles through Car-Part.com, and got a rust free pair. My Ex needed ball joints at that time, so it ended up all good!.

 

[jd4242]

I dont think the rotors are any bigger..the only benefit is the dual caliper and easy of changing pads

 

[Rhett]

Maybe, maybe not, but I found that doing the rear disk swap made huge difference in the overall braking ability of my truck. I recently was able to correct my spongy pedal problem, but despite that particular issue, a rear disk swap is avery good and very simple project. After that, I would upgrade your front brakes.

Personally, a D44 knuckle swap sounds better to me. That would not only help with braking, but also allow for a stronger front end as well.

What vehicles came with a D44? Full-size bronc?

On the rear disc swap, I'm assuming 95-01 Explorer would have it?

 

[aaron81006]

Hey Worms. I would like to do a trail with you guys one day but tomorrow is not going to work forme. Thanks for the invite. PM me how I can follow you club so we can do a run in the future.

 

[aaron81006]

Hey Mark. I know what you are saying about availability. I have already been looking and haven't found a donor with the correct options.

Hi Ghost. Thanks for your info. I'm glad to hear from someone who has had positive results. We're you able to get a setup with ABS and is it working correctly with the stock MC?

 

[aaron81006]

Hey jd4242. From my research they a re thicker. I don't believe they are any larger in diameter.

 

[malohnes]

What vehicles came with a D44? Full-size bronc?

On the rear disc swap, I'm assuming 95-01 Explorer would have it?

Yes, any 1/2ton F150 or Bronco with TTB front end. Do a search and you'll find a good write up on the swap here. TRS has some good info on the swap as well. It's a good read and I think a great upgrade.

As I understand, in essence, our D35's are the same as a D44 on the inner shafts, but have weaker outer shafts. The ujoints are the same. The pumpkin housing and gears are different though. Others will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong...

You got it correctly on the rear end swap. I used SSBC rear disk swap due to not having a good junkyard to pull parts from. It was more expensive than I wanted but I do have all new parts.

 

[malohnes]

I did this upgrade on my '94, and love it. After warping the original factory rotors, I tried the slotted/ frozen ones, and they warped as well. I did the upgrade 4 years ago, and have had no problems. I will also eventually get around to the rear disc conversion, but that is a ways off for me. I bought the knuckles through Car-Part.com, and got a rust free pair. My Ex needed ball joints at that time, so it ended up all good!.

I would agree, the caliper design alone is worth the upgrade as I have had a warped rotor and frozen caliper once. I located the parts on the same site you did but decided it was more feasible to do the rear disk swap first. I'm happy I did. Glad the swap worked for you, that great to hear!

 

[jmdirk]

One of the easiest upgrades Especially for low speed braking that you would do on trail is a good set of quality pads. An EBC Yellowstuff is going to offer a good jump in performance vs. the 'Economy' or even OEM pads.

The other thing you could do is go to a larger booster which will increase your line pressure/clamping force. I swapped in a booster from a 1993 F-250 when I did my SAS. I wouldn't recommend changing your MC to a larger one though, you'll just reduce your clamping force

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424744

 

[WormsExplorer]

Hey Worms. I would like to do a trail with you guys one day but tomorrow is not going to work forme. Thanks for the invite. PM me how I can follow you club so we can do a run in the future.

This is the trail that we did Sunday 9/13. The Club you see on the bottom of the sign is my club I am a part of. Great Club. That is also my Ex in the pic.

 

[aaron81006]

Hi malohnes, I haven't seen any swap write-ups using F150 parts. Did you have a link? I'll look around on TRS and see what I find.

Thanks for the input.

Aaron

 

[aaron81006]

hey jmdirk, thanks for the info on the booster. I'll do some more research on that.

Aaron

 

[malohnes]

Hi malohnes, I haven't seen any swap write-ups using F150 parts. Did you have a link? I'll look around on TRS and see what I find.

Thanks for the input.

Aaron

Hey Aaron, IIRC, there is a sticky by Wood1 in the modified forum that has the info your looking for on the D44 knuckle swap. Sometimes if you don't use the correct wording with the search, you end up chasing your tail.