Hello pals. I just got this great little truck, my first Ford Ranger (1998) and I've noticed the brakes aren't all that powerful. I don't know about you guys but when any vehicle has nice, powerful brakes it gives you a lot of confidence while cruising, offroading, and towing. I was looking around the forums online and it looks like the EBC rotors and pads would be a decent upgrade in stopping power even though the discs are the same diameter as stock. However, I can't find out why I've never seen an article discussing whether you can just swap out the stock 10-inch (or so) stock rotors of a '98 with the 11.8 inch rotors from a 2010/2011. Almost 2 inches of brake rotor diameter would make a huge difference. Has anyone tried that out there? 2010/2011 is still the same generation of Ford Ranger as mine is so maybe it's pretty easy?

 

Welcome to the forum

Never found my brakes to be lacking stopping power but also don't have 4 wheel ABS(4WABS), just RABS

I also have a 4x4 so slightly larger master and front discs

Anyway read here for brake upgrades: Ford Ranger Brake Upgrades

Maybe you have another issue if the brakes feel slow or soft

 

Yeah they're not soft or squishy which is a good thing, but when I really try an "emergency stop" to really test the brakes, they just don't provide as much overall stopping power as some other cars and trucks I've driven. For instance my 1997 Ford F-150 had really powerful brakes and I just loved that. On my Ranger there's a point when you're pressing on the brake pedal really hard, and can keep pressing harder and harder all you want but it doesn't make the truck stop any quicker. To me that sounds like the only way to fix that is to get bigger rotors or larger, more powerful calipers. Oh: another thing that makes my brakes not work quite well enough is the guy I bought it from put 31x10.50R15's on it, so the brake discs have less leverage already just from the larger wheel/tire diameter.

 

I also felt the brakes were marginal when I bought my 02 Ranger. I decided to try upgraded pad first before going to the expense of larger brakes. That worked well for me. I first used Raybestos Superstop pads. After the second set I found out they don't make them anymore. I then decided to try Akebono pads and they work just as well plus they last a little longer. I tow my race car all over the country without a problem once I switched to upgraded pads. I also run 33" tires off-road and the work very well.
I am pretty sure if you decide to try upgrading to larger discs and calipers, you will need to change more than that and it will probably be expensive unless you can find everything at a salvage yard.

 

One thing I've noticed is the alarming amount of people who complain about stopping power and completely disregard the rear brakes. Yes the rears do less braking but drum brakes require just as much if not more maintenance and adjustment to keep working properly. I can't tell you how many times I've done a brake job for someone only to find their rear brakes weren't even working because for some odd reason people just dont take care of drum brakes. Just food for thought.

 

They are not a direct swap because of the caliper mounting location. Larger rotors mean the caliper has to be mounted further from the hub. Also, depending on your wheels, you may not be able to fit them with a relocated caliper.

 

Ah ha so that's it. Thanks. Too bad that'd be a really decent brake upgrade if it was an easy disc swap. I'm just going to go with more aggressive pads like the previous guy suggested. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

That's a great point I never thought of that. I will look into how to inspect and adjust my rear drums.

 

Thanks great idea.

 

Im new to rangers and ford in general - I had a pucker moment on the interstate on my way home from work, car cut the guy off in front of me then traffic came to a fast halt. I stood on the brake pedal and felt like i hit a stop in the pedal and wasnt slowing any faster. I did faintly hear the tires just start to squall like abs was working but I have no idea if the ABS kicked in i was staring at the cars bumper in front of me but i felt like i had weak brakes.

Im used to GM where you KNOW when the abs kicked in for 1 the ABS light flashes, the pedal pulses, you can hear the abs pump surging and sounds like a box of rocks in a lawnmower. I heard nothing but slight tire squaling in the ranger with the pedal hard on the stop. Is this normal? Truck feels fine when normally driving. I was going to pull the drums (i hope) and inspect the rears for functionality but the parking brake works flawlessly and i start getting brake power with about 1/2" of pressing the brake pedal. It doesn't feel like the pedal has much travel - I'm used to GM where you get a good 6" of travel and when you blow a line it actually goes to the carpet.