Brake upgrade options?

[dubCanuck1]

Hi all,

Noticed the brakes on the 94 Explorer XLT are pretty much dead. I was wondering what would be an affordable upgrade to the existing brakes. Is there any benefit to going with stainless lines?

Let me know.

Thanks,

 

[Anime]

If you really want to drop some moderate cash on braking, you can upgrade to powerslot rotors and Hawk pads, or some other performance pads. I'd suggest checking out the rear drums and possibly going with new drums, shoes and spring hardware in the rear if you'll have all new stuff up front. If the powerslot rotors aren't doable, just getting good quality aftermarket stuff makes a big difference, too. Lifetime warranty brake pads from a quality parts store adds stopping power at a nice price.

The BIG brake upgrade for first gens is to swap the rear axle for one with disc brakes.

Stainless lines help pedal feel some, but can be hard to get and sometimes they leak if they aren't a quality brand.

 

[dubCanuck1]

Good to know. Any idea where I could get pricing on those brands of pad and rotors?

The idea would be to got with new drums and pads in the rear and the upgrade in the front. I didn't think of the spring hardware, but thanks for that.

 

[dubCanuck1]

Did a quick search. Looks like Mopac carries it in Canuck land.

 

[Spdrcer34]

Before I went with the 13" Cobra brakes that are on my Explorer now, I had Cross-Drilled and Slotted Rotors. If I were to do it again, I would just do Slotted stock rotors. The stock rotors aren't thick enough to allow keep the cross drilled part from cracking under the extreme temps.

I wouldn't worry too much about lifetime warranty vs. 1 yr. warranty pads. The warranty ONLY covers breakage of the pads or steel. It DOES NOT cover wear.

Buy Good Pads. Avoid 'riveted' pads whenever possible. The bonded pads are always better, giving Longer Pad life, and no rivets to break or score your rotors.

Ryan

 

[IZwack]

x2 on the Hawk pads (stated by Anime4x4) -- get the LTS series if there's one for the Explorer, its what I'm going to swap into the tow van in the summer. There's also a "Super Duty" series but I heard these are waaaaay aggressive and should only be used in a dedicated tow vehicle that does nothing but towing.

 

[dubCanuck1]

Yeah. I've heard the cross-drilled cracking story a few times, favouring the slotted rotors instead.

Muchly appreciated.

 

[Maniak]

Before I went with the 13" Cobra brakes that are on my Explorer now, I had Cross-Drilled and Slotted Rotors. If I were to do it again, I would just do Slotted stock rotors. The stock rotors aren't thick enough to allow keep the cross drilled part from cracking under the extreme temps.

I wouldn't worry too much about lifetime warranty vs. 1 yr. warranty pads. The warranty ONLY covers breakage of the pads or steel. It DOES NOT cover wear.

Buy Good Pads. Avoid 'riveted' pads whenever possible. The bonded pads are always better, giving Longer Pad life, and no rivets to break or score your rotors.

Ryan

It depends on where you get lifetime pads from. we got lifetime pads from autozone (performance friction) and have never had to buy pads again.. We have swapped them 8 times over the years.. Some places may not swap them though.. I also think performance friction has changed their waranty away from lifetime recently.

For rotors, we used ART rotors (crygenically treated and slotted rotors).. they have lasted many thousands of miles.. (150k or so)...

I agree.. stay away from rivoted pads.. (raybestos brute stop for example..).. I've had them come loose before...

~Mark

 

[little x]

Stickier tires will help your braking more then anything. Before I lifted, with regular street tires I had no problem locking up the wheels, so the brakes were providing more stopping power then the tires could keep up with.

 

[joecrna]

I currently use the Hawk Super Duty pads. Was warned several times they would be noisey and cause lots of dust. They have not been worse than stock Ford pads. A couple times after repeated slow speed breaking (looking at houses around the neighborhood) they did get loud but other than that they have been normal. 20k miles of experience so far.

 

[410Fortune]

slotted = good
drilled = not good

slotted sheds water and heat well enough, drilling just makes rotors weak

On my first gen TTB I have always had great luck with
keep the slide pins in good shape, they wear out
new calipers are like $12, so dont be afraid to get rid of one if th eboot is torn or it has a ton of miles
keep the knuckle and caliper CLEAN and the slide pins lubed
I run cheapo rotors with semi metallic pads
works great!
ceramic pads chewed up my rotors too much, although they stop amazing and dont fade as much as others
Semi metallic pads work fantastic IMO
I have rear discs also, same setup

thsi works well on my BII, if it was a 4 door explorer (1000# more) I would likely do the same but with heat treated and slotted rotors with ceramic pas
the heat rteated rotors can handle the ceramic

If thats not enough there are always big $$$ upgrades like the cobra brakes

 

[Four0Sport]

x2 on the ceramic pads 410..

when we started carrying FrictionMaster ceramic pads I bought a set for my 93 and although they made no noise, no dust, and stopped great they did warp my factory rotors.. so now im back to simple mid-grade semi metallics, and keeping everything in good working order. i have to say though.. Bendix makes one heck of a brake pad, im very dissappointed that we stopped carrying Bendix brakes at work. 3yrs on my 97 and still have over half the pad left!

do a thorough inspection of your brake system, replace anything that even remotely looks like it should be replaced, keep up on inspections after new parts, and you should be fine!

one more thing.. if you really want more responsive brakes, flush/bleed your brake fluid, all of it.

 

[410Fortune]

Bendix fleet grade = !!!!!!! awesome
I run Raebestos Carbon Metallics or semi metallics, depending on whats on the shelf
Both work great, no dust, no warping, lifetime warranty!

lifetime warranty = they hate me little did they know I plan to have this truck for 35 more years LOL

 

[Noved1987]

I swap calipers every break change. This might be to ofter but the one time i didn't I had one stick a little and went through a set of pads in 2 months. plus they are cheap. Also dont want to hit the petal and not stop. When you finally do stop its never good.

 

[Four0Sport]

im still running stock calipers.. i try to inspect my breaks every oil change, take everything off, clean, lube, replace if needed. regular preventative maintenance is the key.