Hey all,

Looking into getting my first ranger. I know that disc brakes on all four wheels were standard in 2010-2011, but before then had drums in the rear.
Does anybody know how feasible it would be to convert a pre-2010 to disc brakes? I know there are conversion kits out there, and they don't seem all that expensive, but how easy would it be to pull the parts from a 2010-2011 truck in a junkyard and swap them into mine? Would it require any extra fabrication? Is it literally as simple as pulling the parts off the old one and slapping them on mine?

Thank you!

 

It's a waste of time and money. Been there, done that, spent hundreds.

 

Can you elaborate? What did you do that didn’t work so well? What do you wish you had done instead?

 

If I was to do this swap, I'd buy a complete rear end with the brakes on it already. After that it's a simple parts swap. The disc brake rear I believe has 4 wheel ABS, though I could be wrong on that. If it does, it would require considerable work adding lines and sourcing the appropriate ABS module, proportioning valve, etc.

IMO, the drum brake system on the ranger is more than adequate. What I would do, first, is replace the pads with a better pad that has better bite. And I would also completely flush the brake system. This is an often overlooked step in brake systems. Brake fluid, just like oil and coolant, breaks down over time with heat and changes in the weather. It's recommended to flush your entire system once every 2-3 years, moving all the "nasty" fluid out from each corner of the vehicle. It will help brake feel more than you'd think. Having properly adjusted rear brakes also helps, more often than not the rear drum adjuster nut rusts and seizes, which causes poor shoe contact with the drum over time.

 

Welcome to the forum

If you were able to find a 2010-2012 Ranger rear axle then just buy the whole axle and swap it in, unless you have a 4x4 the ratio won't matter that much, if its even different
No, these disc brake parts do not work on 2009 and earlier Ranger axles

Article here on doing Mustang disc brakes on a Ranger: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ke-conversion/

You can also swap in an Explorer rear axle, but welding is required, 1995 and up Explorers have rear disc brakes


Disc brake on the rear of a pickup truck are a good upgrade as disc brakes don't tend to lock up like drum brakes do
The way drum brakes work is by leverage and the shoes can/should shift a bit which will cause lockup
Most people have experienced backing up with Parking brake on(shoe brakes) and not noticing Parking brake was even on, lol, then when you try to go forward you can't and THEN notice parking brake is on, this is the shoes shifting a bit, and the long shoe/short shoe differences
Its very hard to lockup rear shoe brakes driving backwards, but easy to do when driving forwards

When driving at speed on dry hard surfaces there will not be much difference between drum and disc for most people
Slippery conditions, disc brakes are way better

 

willing to share some info? I’m trying to do it