46HudsonPU
Member
- Joined
- August 10, 2012
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 7
- Location
- MD
- City, State
- Severn, MD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- XLT
My 1993 Ford Explorer had a bad rear end / differential (cracked/broken - beyond repair). Nothing locally available, however I was able to easily find a replacement from a salvage yard, going through online searches.
Made the mistake of tossing the broken rear end, in preparation of the new/replacement.
Got it in, and it sat for almost six months, waiting for me to have enough time. Cracked it open - the interior of the drum brakes had been completely stripped of EVERYTHING - the only thing left was the brake cylinder, and that did not have the 'wheel cylinder' pins.
Then, I ran into issues - EVERYTHING is not included with the brake rebuild kits, wheel cylinder kits, etc.. There are some parts that ARE NOT readily available, even from FORD! ('vehicle is too old, we don't have those parts').
Some of the 'hard to find' rear drum brake parts -
- Wheel cylinder pins;
- Emergency/Parking Brake Lever (caution: right/left are 'mirror' images of each other);
- Drum Brake Shoe 'Spreader Bar', also known as 'Parking Brake Strut' (Many online parts stores sell this - but they sell the WRONG PART - It is actually Bendix Part #3211461);
It was a long, miserable online search - I was finally able to 'borrow' examples of what I was looking-for, from another Explorer, so I had examples to work from & with. From that, I did further extensive searching & eventually found what I needed - However, the parts ARE NOT listed as 'Explorer' brake parts, and in one case, are not even listed as 'Ford' parts (?)..
The 'Wheel Cylinder Pins' (that go on each side of each wheel cylinder, to actuate the shoes' contact with the drum), and the 'Spreader Bar' which holds the shoes in place, just below the wheel cylinder). Both of these were available, through/via a 'Bronco/Truck' parts website (Bronco Graveyard) - which did not list these as 'Explorer' parts. An online look at the parts, comparing them to the examples that I had on the table in front of me - confirmed when the parts came in.
The other was a complete surprise. The 'Emergency/Parking Brake Lever', which manually sets the emergency/parking brake, via the parking/emergency brake cable connection. This was NOWHERE to be found, at least as a 'Ford' product. I even managed to get the Bendix part numbers (3204550-R & 3204550-L), however that didn't help either. An online search, comparing photos of the part(s) I had & the online photos - I found the EXACT PARTS, that were actually listed for a completely different manufacturer & vehicle!
The parts below are actually listed for a late 80's Jeep Wrangler (and other Jeeps), are readily available, and are IDENTICAL to those parts for the Ford Explorer.
OMIX 16751.13 Emergency Brake 10" Left Side Lever
OMIX 16751.12 Emergency Brake 10" Right Side Lever
Maybe this will save someone some trouble, help them to find these parts a bit easier..
Made the mistake of tossing the broken rear end, in preparation of the new/replacement.
Got it in, and it sat for almost six months, waiting for me to have enough time. Cracked it open - the interior of the drum brakes had been completely stripped of EVERYTHING - the only thing left was the brake cylinder, and that did not have the 'wheel cylinder' pins.
Then, I ran into issues - EVERYTHING is not included with the brake rebuild kits, wheel cylinder kits, etc.. There are some parts that ARE NOT readily available, even from FORD! ('vehicle is too old, we don't have those parts').
Some of the 'hard to find' rear drum brake parts -
- Wheel cylinder pins;
- Emergency/Parking Brake Lever (caution: right/left are 'mirror' images of each other);
- Drum Brake Shoe 'Spreader Bar', also known as 'Parking Brake Strut' (Many online parts stores sell this - but they sell the WRONG PART - It is actually Bendix Part #3211461);
It was a long, miserable online search - I was finally able to 'borrow' examples of what I was looking-for, from another Explorer, so I had examples to work from & with. From that, I did further extensive searching & eventually found what I needed - However, the parts ARE NOT listed as 'Explorer' brake parts, and in one case, are not even listed as 'Ford' parts (?)..
The 'Wheel Cylinder Pins' (that go on each side of each wheel cylinder, to actuate the shoes' contact with the drum), and the 'Spreader Bar' which holds the shoes in place, just below the wheel cylinder). Both of these were available, through/via a 'Bronco/Truck' parts website (Bronco Graveyard) - which did not list these as 'Explorer' parts. An online look at the parts, comparing them to the examples that I had on the table in front of me - confirmed when the parts came in.
The other was a complete surprise. The 'Emergency/Parking Brake Lever', which manually sets the emergency/parking brake, via the parking/emergency brake cable connection. This was NOWHERE to be found, at least as a 'Ford' product. I even managed to get the Bendix part numbers (3204550-R & 3204550-L), however that didn't help either. An online search, comparing photos of the part(s) I had & the online photos - I found the EXACT PARTS, that were actually listed for a completely different manufacturer & vehicle!
The parts below are actually listed for a late 80's Jeep Wrangler (and other Jeeps), are readily available, and are IDENTICAL to those parts for the Ford Explorer.
OMIX 16751.13 Emergency Brake 10" Left Side Lever
OMIX 16751.12 Emergency Brake 10" Right Side Lever
Maybe this will save someone some trouble, help them to find these parts a bit easier..
