Uh oh, I didn't know Ford still had different mounting holes like older Fords. I didn't think of that, I got these ten years ago when I was doing the custom fronts. I figured they'd be a cheap upgrade for my mail truck, just not as good as aftermarket 8.8 kits which are not cheap($700+).
Are the caliper pistons of the 3rd gen rears the same size by chance as other calipers? I'd bet there are so many caliper pistons made that there is a matching steel version.
Phenolic caliper pistons will work fine for almost anything, just not severe duty like constant braking of a mail vehicle, or police who might "cook" their brakes occasionally. Towing down hills would make some serious heat too, which may apply to a lot of Explorers. Big tires but in normal driving they may be okay, you'd just have to be diligent at inspecting the pistons often early on.
My Crown Vic did fine I thought for a couple of years before I noticed the cracking. I saw cracks down inside the pistons, though they didn't leak. I had to buy rebuilt calipers then to fix it, and gladly those were only $20 maybe with taxes, in 1993. I just watched them and replaced, anytime they were looking brittle or more discolored. Back then Super Stop pads were the best, I'd get 20,000 miles from them. But they changed the pad material in the late 90's, and it showed fast, at nine months one fell apart. That's when I went back to hunting another choice, and EBC was kind of new to the US market etc.
