Jump to content

Explorer rear end with disks


Newbee

Recommended Posts

Can anyone tell me if a 2000 Ford Explorer  rear end will let me use the stock 50 steel wheels? I want to upgrade but want the small caps that is why I'd prefer to use the stock rims. Thanks for your feedback. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both have the same 5 by 4.5 inch bolt pattern,but IF the Explorer rear is wider or narrower,the backspacing on the rim may be off and you may have to have a shop change it for you.

There are also plenty of Ford steel factory wheels from later Mopars,AMC's,and Fords that will take the "poverty hubcaps" if you need wider wheels or something with more or less backspacing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Newbee said:

Ok so wise me up. I'm guessing your meaning a machine shop but how would they adjust the backspace? 

By grinding away the welds or the rivet heads holding the center to the rim,and then moving the center piece further out towards the outer rim or further towards the rear of the rim,and then rewelding it in place.

Doesn't have to be a machine shop. Could be a tire shop or just a welding shop. It's not real complicated.

Edited by knuckleharley
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Newbee said:

So I guess you are saying that the 15 in wheel will clear the calibers? Thats my real concern. 

Maybe,and maybe not. Most original steel wheels from the 50's  won't work with disc brakes. If they will bolt on,they rub against the caliphers.

The good news for you is car crushers all over the country have hundreds of 5 lug steel wheels with 4.5 inch bolt patterns made for new cars from the 70's to today that can be bought for less than 20 bucks each. I've bought brand new 15 inch radial tires out of crusher cars that were in the trunk as spares already mounted on wheels for 10 bucks each. Don't even  have to balance them. Just bolt them on and go riding.

You probably won't be able to get away with that because most of the modern 15 inch radial tires will probably be too wide to fit in your fenderwells.. You will want to focus on wheels that have 75 or 78 series tires on them. SOME 70 series might fit too,but not the wider ones.

Do some careful measuring as to how wide your rims are,how much clearance you have with them mounted on your car with tires on them,and then take your tape measure to a junk yard or a crusher yard,and buy wheels and tires that fit. Pretty much every Ford or AMC car wheel from 1950 to today will bot on your hubs,and so will every mopar wheel from the early 30's. IIRC,my 31 Plymouth coupe wire wheels have the 5 x 4.5 inch bolt pattern.

Edited by knuckleharley
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, knuckleharley said:

Maybe,and maybe not. Most original steel wheels from the 50's  won't work with disc brakes. If they will bolt on,they rub against the caliphers.

The good news for you is car crushers all over the country have hundreds of 5 lug steel wheels with 4.5 inch bolt patterns made for new cars from the 70's to today that can be bought for less than 20 bucks each. I've bought brand new 15 inch radial tires out of crusher cars that were in the trunk as spares already mounted on wheels for 10 bucks each. Don't even  have to balance them. Just bolt them on and go riding.

You probably won't be able to get away with that because most of the modern 15 inch radial tires will probably be too wide to fit in your fenderwells.

Do some careful measuring as to how wide your rims are,how much clearance you have with them mounted on your car with tires on them,and then take your tape measure to a junk yard or a crusher yard,and buy wheels and tires that fit. Pretty much every Ford or AMC car wheel from 1950 to today will bot on your hubs,and so will every mopar wheel from the early 30's. IIRC,my 31 Plymouth coupe wire wheels have the 5 x 4.5 inch bolt pattern.

But does that rule out my stock hubcap? I want to drop the car a couple of inches and the front spindles from Farman require me to use disks. That is why I was looking at the rearend as well. I may need to rethink how I get the result I want, dropped and small hubcap. I also would like to get away from bolts to hold the rims. I should a little scarred here but I was trying to give you a little overview of my end direction. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Newbee said:

But does that rule out my stock hubcap? I want to drop the car a couple of inches and the front spindles from Farman require me to use disks. That is why I was looking at the rearend as well. I may need to rethink how I get the result I want, dropped and small hubcap. I also would like to get away from bolts to hold the rims. I should a little scarred here but I was trying to give you a little overview of my end direction. 

No. There are plenty of steel wheels the original hubcaps will slap right onto. Just look at where they mount on your wheels,and look for modern wheels that look like them. Pretty much all the half-ton non-GM steel wheels will work for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

No. There are plenty of steel wheels the original hubcaps will slap right onto. Just look at where they mount on your wheels,and look for modern wheels that look like them. Pretty much all the half-ton non-GM steel wheels will work for you.

Thank you I have a lot to consider. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a '52 Dodge with a '98 Explorer rear end. I am running original wheels with no problems. I have 215R75 15 tires. I am also running fatman front spindle/disc and air bags and have no clearance issues with tires hitting anything. 

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I installed an  Explorer rear end with discs in my '41 Plymouth. There was interference with the stock wheels and I had to remove some material from the  calipers to make it work. Because I didn't like having to do that, I ended up converting the rear end to drum brakes.

Jim Yergin

Edited by Jim Yergin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, 58prostreet said:

I have a '52 Dodge with a '98 Explorer rear end. I am running original wheels with no problems. I have 215R75 15 tires. I am also running fatman front spindle/disc and air bags and have no clearance issues with tires hitting anything. 

Bob

What disks and calibers does the Fatman kit call for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dont know about Fatman but Scarebird front disc kits will clear the original rims on a 48 plymouth.  Just installed them a couple months ago.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Can any of you tell me what master cyl you used with disc brake rear ? ECI tells me there under floor kit will not work. They [ECI} say power booster required to get enough line pressure. Can you help ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, scruff said:

Can any of you tell me what master cyl you used with disc brake rear ? ECI tells me there under floor kit will not work. They [ECI} say power booster required to get enough line pressure. Can you help ?

I used a master cylinder from an SVO Turbo Mustang; mid 80's. They had a manual disc/disc system with no booster because of the turbo. Another one is an early 70's Vette' disc/disc master. Also 4 wheel manual disc because the cam was too radical to make any low rpm vacuum.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can any of you tell me what master cyl you used with disc brake rear ? ECI tells me there under floor kit will not work. They [ECI} say power booster required to get enough line pressure. Can you help ?  Thanks guys big help

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can tell you what I did. Running a 2001 Explorer rear with disc brakes. Scarebird brackets up front. The stock wheels will fit the front but not the back. Won't clear the rear Ford calipers. I am using wheels from Jeep's crappy little mid size pickup. I did have to take a small chunk out of the stock Ford calipers plus a 1/4" thick spacer. seems to work fine. As for the master, I was using a Ford truck master with wilwood residual valves. worked fine until I started trying to route the dual exhaust from my 318/904 conversion. Pretty tight. So I scrapped that and put in an aftermarket firewall mounted power set up with a Corvette style master. Should have done that from the start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use