elrynon
Active Member
- Joined
- January 30, 2009
- Messages
- 50
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Winter Haven, Fl
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '00 Eddie Bauer 4.0 SOHC
First off I'd like to say hello. Obviously new to the forums this being my first post. 
I've got a 2000 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition. It has the 4.0 L 244 CID V6 SOHC engine.
I'm getting ready to replace the brakes/roters/suspension all the way around. My question is which parts to get? I've read so many pages on the internet that my head is spinning. :confused5: (WARNING: This is quite long as I have a lot of questions and many confusions. :biggrin
I plan on getting my parts from NAPA because amazingly that's the cheapest I can find in the area. (Yes, even cheaper than Autozone and Advance Auto Parts) I just don't know WHICH ones to get. So I guess I'll break it down one section at a time.
Brakes: I've narrowed it down to three. Metallic Tru-Stop, Metallic Safety Stop and Ceramic Safety Stop. Now my first instinct was to grab the cheapest ones and be done with it but I've heard people go back and forth about whether or not they tear up your rotor and how long they last. After reading around a bit I saw that the Metallic Safety stops are a little better but twice the price. Then after more reading I've heard that the Ceramic Safety stops are the best choice but the most expensive AND that you have to have a rotor made for ceramic brake pads. And that's where ANOTHER problem comes into play. I read on some pages that people said yes you do need ceramic specific rotors and then other people said they just threw the ceramic pads on their old rotors and haven't had any problems whatsoever. So I'm just trying to figure out what's the best choice? I don't need anything flashy or fancy. Just something to stop the vehicle when it needs to and something that's gonna last more then a year. Now I AM working with a limited budget here so please don't suggest the pads that are $100 a pop. lol If there's enough of you that have used the cheap ones and are COMPLETELY happy with them then I don't have a problem using them. So there's problem #1: Which brake pads do I choose?
*takes a breath*
Rotors: I had planned on just getting the cheapest ones. Like I said, I don't need anything that's high performance or racing or anything of the sort. I just need something to stop the vehicle. Now this COULD change if I have absolutely everyone saying to use the ceramic pads and that I also DO have to have a rotor made specifically for ceramics. Again, let me know what you all think.
And last but not least.
Suspension: Once again, three choices. (with a few twist of course.) The cheapest, NAPA Response. Middle price, Sensa-Trac. And ONLY $1 more lol, the Reflex. Once again, I've heard mixed feelings on all of them. So experience is the winner in this category. What you've used, haven't used. Also once again I'm not needing anything spectacular. But we WOULD like a fairly smooth ride. Not floating all over the place but at the same time not rattling our teeth loose. One other thing I saw people talking about is with it being an SUV they said to use one type(firmness i believe?) for the rear and another for the front.
So there you have it. Hopefully you made it all the way through. I do GREATLY appreciate any and all help you all can give with my situation.
Jared
I've got a 2000 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition. It has the 4.0 L 244 CID V6 SOHC engine.I'm getting ready to replace the brakes/roters/suspension all the way around. My question is which parts to get? I've read so many pages on the internet that my head is spinning. :confused5: (WARNING: This is quite long as I have a lot of questions and many confusions. :biggrin
I plan on getting my parts from NAPA because amazingly that's the cheapest I can find in the area. (Yes, even cheaper than Autozone and Advance Auto Parts) I just don't know WHICH ones to get. So I guess I'll break it down one section at a time.
Brakes: I've narrowed it down to three. Metallic Tru-Stop, Metallic Safety Stop and Ceramic Safety Stop. Now my first instinct was to grab the cheapest ones and be done with it but I've heard people go back and forth about whether or not they tear up your rotor and how long they last. After reading around a bit I saw that the Metallic Safety stops are a little better but twice the price. Then after more reading I've heard that the Ceramic Safety stops are the best choice but the most expensive AND that you have to have a rotor made for ceramic brake pads. And that's where ANOTHER problem comes into play. I read on some pages that people said yes you do need ceramic specific rotors and then other people said they just threw the ceramic pads on their old rotors and haven't had any problems whatsoever. So I'm just trying to figure out what's the best choice? I don't need anything flashy or fancy. Just something to stop the vehicle when it needs to and something that's gonna last more then a year. Now I AM working with a limited budget here so please don't suggest the pads that are $100 a pop. lol If there's enough of you that have used the cheap ones and are COMPLETELY happy with them then I don't have a problem using them. So there's problem #1: Which brake pads do I choose?
*takes a breath*
Rotors: I had planned on just getting the cheapest ones. Like I said, I don't need anything that's high performance or racing or anything of the sort. I just need something to stop the vehicle. Now this COULD change if I have absolutely everyone saying to use the ceramic pads and that I also DO have to have a rotor made specifically for ceramics. Again, let me know what you all think.
And last but not least.
Suspension: Once again, three choices. (with a few twist of course.) The cheapest, NAPA Response. Middle price, Sensa-Trac. And ONLY $1 more lol, the Reflex. Once again, I've heard mixed feelings on all of them. So experience is the winner in this category. What you've used, haven't used. Also once again I'm not needing anything spectacular. But we WOULD like a fairly smooth ride. Not floating all over the place but at the same time not rattling our teeth loose. One other thing I saw people talking about is with it being an SUV they said to use one type(firmness i believe?) for the rear and another for the front.
So there you have it. Hopefully you made it all the way through. I do GREATLY appreciate any and all help you all can give with my situation.
Jared
