Front disk conversion project.

[Frank Elder]

That was mee. 2000 Mitsu Galant rotor fit the wheel bolt pattern is the same. Thats as far as I got because my son and daughter-in-law are still driving it. They won't let me take the brakes off of it. Yet.

Thank you Niel:)

[falconvan]

Did you get the disk or drum type. I had my pick of drum type. I went to that yard specifically for the disk rear because my other yards want $300 to $400 and this Upull yard said $150 so I went there the next day. Needless to say there were a lot of rears missing from the Explorer section since I live in 4X4 country. Mudding and Sand dunes here to enjoy so people blow those things out more often.

Did you get the sway bar with it? I think that it would adapt easy enough but I was going to measure when I got the rear home.

I got the disc one out of a 2000 Explorer and did get the sway bar. Mine was $180 complete and they pulled it and loaded it for me. That was at Speedway Auto Salvage right across from Gateway International Raceway in eastern Illinois. I'm not sure if I'm going to use the sway bar or not; i'll need to do a trial fit first.

[Andydodge]

Please READ...........one thing you guys installing disc brakes onto the original mopar hub may not realise.........YOU MUST CHANGE THE HUB GREASE........wheel bearing hubs with drum brakes use a LOWER boiling/melting point grease than disc brakes..........if you install disc brakes onto the original hub then you MUST clean out the original grease and use a HTB or HIGH TEMPERATURE BEARING GREASE.........ask me how I know there is a difference!!!!!!....I'll tell you.....lol

35 Yrs ago I installed vented discs onto my 1940 Dodge, I used 41-56 Plymouth stub axles, for some stupid reason I didn't think there was a difference between normal bearing grease and HTB grease..........after a quick 600kms trip from Sydney to Melboune, just as I got to the outskirts of Melbourne sitting on 70mph I noticed the drivers side front hub grease cap go sailing into the bush beside the highway in a circular fashion, trailing smoke.........lol.......after applying the brakes and finding them not quite right I eventually was able to stop and get out to see the steaming hub complete with collapsed wheel bearing & wheel sitting at an odd angle.

Fixing a "welded on" bearing by the side of the road is not one of lifes pleasures, however.......the moral to the story is.......

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN GREASES..........DISC BRAKES WANT HTB GREASE.........Andyd

[builtfercomfort]

I am adapting Jaguar XJ spindles and control arms to the stock crossmember. You get a balljoint front end, rear steer arms of the proper length for CTO racks (you retain original turning radius) and can dial in whatever drop you want to run. There is a static drop of around 2.75" between the Jag spindle and stock spindle at the same lower control arm height. Sorry for the hijack, I can start a new thread if there is any interest.

Yes, this sounds quite interesting, please show us this - also info about the rack. I've got stock steering in my 39 Chrysler and between the size of the box and the muscle needed for parking I'm thinking of going power rack. And a balljoint front end may help the ride some too.

Coincidentally, I recently started mocking up '02-'05 Explorer Sport Trac components (12" rotors vs the 11.25" or so rotors from the '95-'01 Explorer) in my search for BIG brakes at low bucks. I am somewhat of a brake freak and generally have adapted Wilwood stuff in previous projects. The ST rotors have 2.83" hub registers and a total height of 2.61". This offset works well with my '41 hubs, assuming the caliper bracket is designed to fit between the steering arms and spindle ala the Scarebird brackets. The two lower bolt holes on the spindle would need to be tapped. There is .590" of thickness there, so 9/16" bolts should work OK. The reason for tapping those holes is because there is not enough bolt head to rotor face clearance on the outboard side of the spindle casting. Using rotors with less "offset" will gain you clearance, but reduces caliper to wheel clearance. Stock 16x4" wheels will fit this "big" brake setup, but requires an approx. .625"-.750 wheel spacer to run between the wheel and rotor. Not really ideal. Wheel Vintiques 16x6" smoothie wheels (with .5" of positive offset, same as the stock wheels) fit the big rotors without any clearance problem.

This is good info too. There is definitely something to be said for being able to drive the old Mopar to the Ford dealer and getting a complete brake job for an Explorer. With a 8.8 rear end, plus this front setup, you could do just that. (That somewhat foolish idea would work better if you didn't have to modify the inside lip of the rotors of course, but it's fun to contemplate.)

[Rusty O'Toole]

Please READ...........one thing you guys installing disc brakes onto the original mopar hub may not realise.........YOU MUST CHANGE THE HUB GREASE........wheel bearing hubs with drum brakes use a LOWER boiling/melting point grease than disc brakes..........if you install disc brakes onto the original hub then you MUST clean out the original grease and use a HTB or HIGH TEMPERATURE BEARING GREASE.........ask me how I know there is a difference!!!!!!....I'll tell you.....lol

35 Yrs ago I installed vented discs onto my 1940 Dodge, I used 41-56 Plymouth stub axles, for some stupid reason I didn't think there was a difference between normal bearing grease and HTB grease..........after a quick 600kms trip from Sydney to Melboune, just as I got to the outskirts of Melbourne sitting on 70mph I noticed the drivers side front hub grease cap go sailing into the bush beside the highway in a circular fashion, trailing smoke.........lol.......after applying the brakes and finding them not quite right I eventually was able to stop and get out to see the steaming hub complete with collapsed wheel bearing & wheel sitting at an odd angle.

Fixing a "welded on" bearing by the side of the road is not one of lifes pleasures, however.......the moral to the story is.......

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN GREASES..........DISC BRAKES WANT HTB GREASE.........Andyd

Andy what was the temperature that day? Unless you rode the brake pedal all the way from Sydney I would expect that to be the reason for overheating.

Point well taken though. Road speeds and brake temps are higher these days than when our cars were built. I expect anyone doing a complete brake job will grease the bearings, and any wheel bearing grease you get these days will be compatible with disc brakes.

[Andydodge]

Rusty, point taken re the amblient temperature, however there was/is a difference between bearing grease and High Temperature Bearing grease, certainly when this happened there was and I would suggest that unless the "normal" wheel bearing grease has been superseded by the HTB grease,(which would make sense as drum brakes are non existent in modern cars) then HTB grease is all that should be used in disc brake applications................oh..........and I wasn't riding the brake..............lol.........I left Sydney at 5.30 am, coffee at Goulburn at 7.30am, booked for speeding at Tarcutta at 10.00 am and cooked bearing at Seymour, 30kms outside of Melbourne at about 3.00pm........riding the accelerator, but not brake.........lol.............andyd

[yourpc48]

OK so, Just to show Im paying attention I did change the grease in the hubs when I rebuilt them but Im glad you mentioned it. THank you for the reminder.

Now on to todays update. I made up a bracket for the passenger side today. The holes for the caliper are just a hair off so I will be adjusting that tomorrow (as usual I have to make at least 3 to get 2). So I started with the old backing plate and some cardboard. I also found some longer flex lines from the parts store today. I originally thought it would be easy to just get a longer Explorer line as if I had put a lift kit in an Explorer. HECK NO! $180 for the lift kit version of the lines. I talked to one of my long time parts guys and he went in the back room and matched up my line to another that would swap out with mine with only a little effort on my part. $20 each. So he saved me about $140. It was a good day. My goal is to have the brakes back up and going tomorrow.

[yourpc48]

When I chose the 95-2001 series Explorer front brakes I didnt know how close the fit would really be. After making the bracket and getting everything tightened up, there is only about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch of rotation before the caliper hits the spindle at the top or the arm at the bottom. As a matter of fact... if I want to pull the tie rod off I might have to pull the caliper to take off the nut for the tie rod.

This is the gap I will need to fill after I get the holes on the caliper to line up.

Its just a little over 3/8 inch so I will make a 3/8 spacer for each side and then shim it as needed.

[falconvan]

Big thumbs up: this looks like a great budget disc brake option.

[yourpc48]

Big thumbs up: this looks like a great budget disc brake option.

Thats kind of what Im shooting for. Plus the parts are all "off the shelf and in stock" except for the brackets. I think everything will clear with bolts from the hardware store as long as you can find 9/16 bolts at your local hardware store. Mine has a huge selection of nuts and bolts and I had to look in the specialty bins for mine. I am leaving the holes the factory size if I can.

[fstfish66]

super nice brake mod,,

[yourpc48]

Got all the holes to line up on my latest aluminum template.

I got some bolts at the hardware store to put in the caliper and cut the heads off. I put them into the drill and ground a point to the bolts. I put the bolts in the caliper and mounted the caliper and rotor combo back up on the car. Got it about where I wanted it and gave the aluminum plate a little love tap as to dimple the spots where I should drill out the holes in the bracket for the caliper. I also found I dont have to worry much about the space between the caliper bracket and the caliper mount. In an earlier post I mentioned that it was a little wider than the 3/8 plate I was going to fill the gap with and was going to shim it. I was talking with my father inlaw and we figured out that it was a full floating caliper so it would forgive that 1/16 of an inch without too much trouble so all I really need to do is make that 3/8 spacer and give it a couple of tack welds onto the bracket to keep it in place when I remove or install the clipers.Im still thinking about the bolts. They are fine behind the rotor with about 3/16 inch air gap. No rubbing going to happen there without a serious hub problem. I do know that I will be adjusting my tie rods in 3/8 of an inch each side before I drive it very far or I will eat a set of front tires right away. Here are some new pics and yes my template is green on one side because its made from a recycled road sign....

[Frank Elder]

Only your template is going to be aluminum right...? I really like your progress.

[yourpc48]

Only your template is going to be aluminum right...? I really like your progress.

Yes. Only the template. Its much thinner and easier to work with than the steel. I am using 3/8 plate steel for the brackets as that is what I read most forum members have used when making their own caliper brackets. Its also about the thickness of the casting in the Explorer spindles that the calipers came off of.

[yourpc48]

Working on the rest of assembly! WooHoo! Update later tonight. I think I have everything I need for my basics.

[yourpc48]

This evenings done list:

• I got the original brakes off the drivers side
  
• Brackets bolted on both sides (bolt length adjustments to be made later)
  
• The drivers hub seperated from the original drum
  
• Cleaned the spindles, and painted them
  
• Cleaned up the bearings, and repacked them
  
• Repacked the hubs with new grease (I had disk grease in them already but cleaned them out anyway)
  
• Seperated the hot glued caliper from the rotor
  
• Cleaned up the rotors
  
• Mounted the passenger side caliper
  
• Drilled out the flex line brackets for the frame to 3/4 inch for the new flex hose.
  

[yourpc48]

More pics.

The bolt in the first picture is the one that is left after removing the other 2 cam bolts that work the brake cylinders and hold the backing plate on. This was the hardest bolt to get out on both sides of the car. It took some PB blaster and a big wrench to loosen them up and get them out. They are not threaded into the spindle they were just kinda stuck there and spinning them a bit with the wrench helped get the penetrating oil into the hole so I could get the bolt out.

Note in the last pic how nice the original hub fits inside the new rotor.

Edited May 6, 2012 by yourpc48

[yourpc48]

I painted the brackets red to show up better in the photos. Thats how much I like my fellow forum members. Normally these would be BLACK! but I wanted to make sure that people could see them and what they looked like. Black can come later.

[yourpc48]

Here is a pic of the final bracket bolted to the spindle and the caliper bolted to the bracket as it should be. I worked on it till about 10 Oclock. I was getting tired so I gave up on getting the flex line figured out. I started on it but I think I will be relocating the flex line bracket to behind the shock. Oh and F1 shock mounts will be my next project. I have had the mounts since December.

[Robert Horne]

Excellent write up on your brake project.

I want to do a similar project on my 38, when I ever get the 5 speed installed.

I have a couple Ranger calipers, and brackets. I used my wife's Explorer

rotor for a few minutes for a test fit.

[yourpc48]

The flex line I tried didnt work out for me. I swapped for another this afternoon at the parts store but I didnt have time to get them installed completely. I put one on a caliper but didnt get a chance to move the bracket back behind the shock. I am also taking into account the fact that I am going to put the F1 shock mounts on the frame so I know I need to have the flex line mount far enough back to get the shock mounts bolted on. I had drilled out the original flex line brackets for the S10 lines so I will need to use the Explorer brackets that I got with the calipers from the wrecking yard. If I had not drilled them out the originals might have worked with the flex lines I purchased today.

[fstfish66]

your conversion is looking great,,looks as good or better then the master power brake kit on my 40

[yourpc48]

Havent been able to work on the P15 till tonight. I was busy working on peoples computers and the time I would normally work on my car this week I was working on a friends 89 Ford Ranger PU. We started to pull the engine apart on this free PU to replace a head gasket and found way too much water in the engine for my taste. We got another engine and spent all my free time swapping it out. I got it all the way back together today except a vacuum line that I cant seem to find a home for. Too many lines between the 2 engines to remember them all over a weeks time. I thought the manual would show a schematic but no such luck. I will have to look at my father inlaws Ranger to see where that one goes.

So when I got home this evening I drilled the holes in the frame to relocate the flex line mounts and installed them, then installed the lines. I put an extension on the passenger side to get the rigid line to the new location. I bent the rigid line on the drivers side back on itself and got it into the flex line. The original mounts could probably have been used with the flex lines I chose but I had purchased some S10 lines first and they had a 3/4 inch fine thread head on one end to go in the bracket so I drilled the brackets out to 3/4in. Fortunately I had a set of brackets from the 96 Explorer that I took the calipers and rotors from.

So I bled the lines and got a good solid pedal. I have not installed a proportioning valve yet and I think I will have to tweak some little things like hose angles and twists etc. I will mount the wheels and take it for a little test drive tomorrow afternoon. Woo Hoo....

[yourpc48]

WOo HOo!!! I drove the car today!. I got a little ahead of myself. I forgot to adjust the toe-in on it. I have about a 3/4 inch toe-in right now.

I also found another thing I will have to adjust that I didnt think would need to be reworked. The inner part of the tire rubs the front of the lower control arm for some reason now. The stops for the steering may be off now that I have cleaned the gunk off the back of the spindles where they touch the stop.

I will jack the car up and take the wheels back off and clean up the threads on the clamps and the tie rods so I can adjust everything. The bolts on the bottom of the spindle are a little short to reach the nylon part of the locking nuts so I will be drilling the bolts and nuts to put in a pin. Gotta keep them nuts on the steering arms!

I suppose other than minor tweeking I am done with the conversion. I need to adjust the rear brakes. I tightened them up a little too much when I was trying to make my brakes work before the conversion. Then I can really put everything to the test. I would rather have a failure while Im testing than run into someone because of a problem with the conversion. The stock master seems to be working so far. I will report back when I have driven it a little bit.

OH and the flex line part number is Dorman H38748 fits a mazda 323 and mercury capri.

[falconvan]

Great job! You just saved several guys a bunch of money by posting your progress. Thanks for sharing your idea.