Replace drum brakes with disc brakes

[TNRobin]

Greetings, I'm new to the forum, so this is my first post. Instead of making an introduction I decided that I'd rather just dive right in.

I don't currently own a Sport Trac, but I've found one that I really like, relatively low mileage and all of the options that I'd like, minus a sunroof, but I can live without that.

The only problem is that it's a 2002 and has drum rear brakes. They work fine, but I'll never forget how dramatic the braking difference was when I bought a Teraflex rear disc brake conversion kit for my 1994 Jeep Cherokee. So if I buy this 2002, and it looks like I'm going to, does anyone make a nice, neat rear disc brake conversion kit?

I know that I can buy the parts piece meal and put it all together, either from a scrap yard or a dealership (at outrageous prices I'm sure), but the Teraflex kit for the Jeep was an all in one kit that only took a couple of hours to swap over.

So if anyone could give me a good answer to that one I'd greatly appreciate it. I have found a few threads on here about putting disc brakes on the rear, but they all seem to revolve around finding the right parts and not a kit. Yeah, I'm lazy and willing to pay a bit more for a kit.

One other question on this conversion. Is it just the brakes and that area that I need to be concerned about, or is the master cylinder, brake proportioning valve and whatnot different as well?

 

[koda2000]

Most of the parts are a direct bolt-on replacement. I just bought an Explorer rear end for my 2001 and swapped the disc brakes over to my ST drum brake setup. The reason I didn't keep the disc brake setup is that I'd have to swap the parking brake cables, brake lines, master cylinder and perhaps the ABS pump. For my use the drums work fine. One part you have to make sure you swap are the bolts/nuts that hold the rear caliper brackets to the axle, as they're longer. Some here have reported they retained the disc/drum master cylinder, but disc brakes require more pressure to function properly, so I wouldn't skip this step.

Beware - If you get air in the ABS system during the swap, it's very hard to bleed it out. Ford has special equipment for this purpose.

 

[TNRobin]

That was quick. Thanks.

When I did the conversion to my 94 Jeep XJ I didn't have to do anything with the master cylinder, but I did have to modify the proportioning valve and disable the ABS, which to me was no big deal. It was the first vehicle that I ever had that had ABS, which always freaked me out when it took over during hard braking, but that may just have been the lack of refinement in a Jeep.

 

[koda2000]

That was quick. Thanks.

When I did the conversion to my 94 Jeep XJ I didn't have to do anything with the master cylinder, but I did have to modify the proportioning valve and disable the ABS, which to me was no big deal. It was the first vehicle that I ever had that had ABS, which always freaked me out when it took over during hard braking, but that may just have been the lack of refinement in a Jeep.

please note that I've edited my reply.

 

[koda2000]

I've worked on/built a number of 30's-60's street rods and have done drum to disc brake upgrades and conversions. I've always had to install the correct master cylinder and proportioning valve to get optimal performance.

 

[TNRobin]

please note that I've edited my reply.

Duly noted. Thanks again.

I did find a kit by Jegs, and while it includes the parking brake and brake lines, but nothing up front; master cylinder or proportioning valve.

Since this became a factory thing in 2003, I'm assuming that the ABS would stay intact, unlike a Jeep XJ conversion, correct?

 

[swshawaii]

No idea if this can be fitted to the 8.8 rear. Just a heads up because of the price. (M-2300 vs. M-2300-G2)

http://parts.autonationfordwhitebearlake.com/brake-kits/disc-brake-kit-9-axle/m-2300-g2/

http://www.mysporttrac.com/mysporttrac/projects/RearBrakeConversion/RearBrakeConversion.htm

 

[swshawaii]

Another FYI if you do the rear disc conversion. Almost pulled the trigger but I'm STILL undecided. LOL

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=398127

http://www.deerfieldprecision.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=89

 

[koda2000]

Duly noted. Thanks again.

I did find a kit by Jegs, and while it includes the parking brake and brake lines, but nothing up front; master cylinder or proportioning valve.

Since this became a factory thing in 2003, I'm assuming that the ABS would stay intact, unlike a Jeep XJ conversion, correct?

Yeah, it's very possible the ABS would not need to be changed.