Slick 60's

i read somewhere that a 97-01 explorer rear end with disc brakes would fit under my truck if i remounted the shock mounts? anybody done this?

Don't know for sure about the width of 8.8 on the explorer. I thick it narrower than a 9 ''. But , the disc brake set are suppose to be a bolt up deal on a9''.

I have looked at a few Exploders in parking lots , eyeing this up as a possibility. I would think that you'd have to move the spring mount locations too, but it could be a good option. 8.8's can be built to be quite strong too, lotsa mustang guys using them. The parking brake hookup is gonna require some head scratching, I would think.

The 95 explorer axle I swapped into my old ranger had an offset dif, so I dont think it will work in our trucks, but somewhere on here its been said that the brakes out will bolt up to our axles.

An explorer rear axle has the car lug pattern, 4.5" x 5 lug. I doubt if you can redrill it to the larger 5.5 pattern. The Explorer disc brakes work on LATE 9 inch rears, not the "slick" rears. The housing end is different and again you would run into the wheel pattern issue.

I THINK IWOULD GO FOR AN AFTER MARKET DISC KIT CONVERSION BEFORE I WOULD SWAP REAR ENDS AND GIVE UP THE 9".

so what rear disc options are there for the slick 9 inch? and while I;m asking. what's the difference in all the 9 inch rear bearings? what makes one different from another?

I was considering swapping the exploder brakes onto my 9" but was told that they WILL NOT work with the 5x5.5 axles. They could be re-drilled, but the axle head would be a big issue. Even if the head was not an issue, the drilled rotors would be a problem- what if you have to replace them and cant find somebody to drill em?!?!

Might look into this. I'm sure there are other kits out there as well.
http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll ... 95~~~~~~~F

jecsd1 wrote:so what rear disc options are there for the slick 9 inch? and while I;m asking. what's the difference in all the 9 inch rear bearings? what makes one different from another?

There are two bearing sizes and three flanges. Look here http://www.ssbrakes.com/pdf/axle_flanges.pdf

Small bearings usually came on 8" and 9" axles on small/midsize cars

Early big bearings usually came on pickups and big cars.

The late big bearing, also known as the "Torino" flange, came about around 1972 I think. This is the one the Explorer brakes are supposed to work with.

great link! I always was better with pictures Thanks