Definitely a good idea to get a manual if you have never done it before, but changing disk brakes is a snap, especially on the 2nd gen Explorer
1. Pull the tire off
2. There are two bolts on the back side of the brake caliper, on most vehicles you have to take them both out, but on the 2nd gen explorer you can just take the top one out and rotate the caliper off the rotor on the second bolt (does that make sense)
3. Slide the brake pads out, take careful notice of which brake pad goes one which side
4. Take a large C-clamp and squeeze the caliper (on the Explorer it has two parts) until both are in far enough to go over the new brake pads
5. Put the new pads on the way the old ones were
6. Put the caliper back over the brake pads and put the bolt back in it
7. Put the tire back on
8. After both sides are done, get in the car and press and release the brake pedal until it gets fairly hard
9. Start the car and press and release the pedal again until it feels firmer
10. Before you drive the car out on to the road, test the brakes to make sure they are going to stop you
