9" build.

[toddz69]

BC Broncos sells a nice caliper kit for a 9" It uses new Cadilac cailpers and has a parking brake built into the caliper so you wont need the dumb drum setup. Call Chuck and he will help you out. Highly recommended and is what I put on my 72EB. On my 96 I have Turaus SHO calipers with built in park provision. No dumb drum brake. Cost more because custom hanger brackets mus be fabed.

Lesson. Drums get filled with small stones in the desert. This makes them wear and make noise and caused drag. Darn, these lesons are pricey. The Willwoods are for circle track guys

I suggest you might want to be leary of rock crawler suppliers. Any of the desert fab guys will give you much better advice. Learn like me - the expensive way.
PW

Having been a bit of a "brake nut" for the past 15-20 years, I've had experiences running both Lincoln Mark V, Cadillac Eldorado, and Explorer rear discs on my little EB. The Cadillacs (those used in the BCB kit) are the least desirable if you want a working parking brake that keeps on working without constant fiddling. There are some inherent problems with the design that keeps them from being optimum. The Lincolns are better but still not as good for parking brake use. The "dumb drums" as Paul refers to them, have worked well in my experience. I think one of the differences between Paul and I's experience is that the Explorer setup has a better dust shield to it than the Wilwood kit. The Wilwoods are more "open" and probably prone to getting small rocks in there. I do A LOT of desert travel and haven't had any rock problems in the drums.

The calipers Paul is using now and the ones Chris has on his Cobra are both models made for Ford by Varga. They are the ONLY hydro-mechanical calipers I'm aware of that have a good, long-term, functioning parking brake in them. They are also the only remaining hydro-mechanical rear discs used by any OEM. They have all switched to the disc/drum-in-the-hat design. The advantage to the Varga calipers is that you can do a full-floater and still have a good e-brake.

My wish is that someone would make a bracket kit for the Varga calipers for the standard big bearing and Torino housing ends that would use some vented rotors (address another short-coming of the Explorer setup). Check out vintagevenom.com for a nice setup for the early Mustangs but it's only for small bearing 9" rear ends - this is what I have in mind. Make it for either the 2 3/8" or 2.5" axle offsets and everyone's happy.

Todd Z.

[BajaBronco13]

Does anyone have experience with GMR's housings? Seems like a good price point for a budget 9:


Rear end Packages now on sale! STAGE TWO setups, include housing, hub kits, axles, filler, drain, studs, with snouts and fillers welded in. HD 3.5' housing with 35 spline setup starting at $2500!!!! NEW 3.0' 31 spline setups starting at $1500!!! These are FULL FLOATER race proven setups. The offer will only last for about a month so place your order now!!!! contact Jason @ the GMR. jason@thegmr.com 562-595-5410 _____________________ Online, TheGMRstore.com • -Heims, Rod Ends • -Uni-Balls • -Fabrication parts • -Full line of BMS and GMR products • -Abrasives Official GMR Tagged Products- • Custom 9” rear end setups • Rear link arm setups. • Front Bulkhead units • Long Travel Kits • Rear suspension hangers / Shackles Services • Complete Shock service • Full Luxury-Prerunner builds • Full RACE builds • Ford 9” rear end setups • Cages, Bumpers, and Long Travel Suspension Install • Full Shock Prep services for all vehicles. NEW 3” Housing Available! 15% off if you mention this add, please call us at the shop to order. 562-595-5410 Thanks, Jason




http://www.race-dezert.com/cgi-bin/trad ... d&id=10538

[Brett Frederickson]

This is who I have used for the last 3 rearends
the price is good http://www.9inchfloater.com/CompleteRrE ... _35_40.htm
the housings are strong and i went with the 35 spline and use there race caliper(no parking brake)

[magic carpet XLT]

in 90 and 91 ford used the E4OD and a BW1356 combo with the VSS located in the T-case. when my friend swapped a 14 bolt into his 91 i asked him what he did about the VSS and he mentioned that it had an electric speedo in the T-case. i've taken apart several 1356 cases, i know that in 89 they used a mechanical speedo provision on the output (which could easily be replaced with electric in the same case boss) and the later (92+?) models had no speedo provision on the case, as they moved the VSS to share the same tone ring as the ABS on the rear diff. the speedo gear is simply a plastic cuff that slides over the output shaft and turns a worm gear for the cable speedo, or i'm ASSuming a hall effect type sensor for the electric.

it might be as simple as finding a 91 t-case and running the VSS built in, no aftermarket parts and no fancy machining. all you would have to do is find the wires to splice the t-case VSS into your factory wiring harness.

i've never bothered to take apart a 91 to determine if it is electric speedo or mechanical, the gauge clusters look the same as my 89.

[philofab]

92-96 trucks use a different signal for the speedo than the 91 and earlier trucks. You would have to create a signal modifier to make it accurate but it can be done.

in 90 and 91 ford used the E4OD and a BW1356 combo with the VSS located in the T-case. when my friend swapped a 14 bolt into his 91 i asked him what he did about the VSS and he mentioned that it had an electric speedo in the T-case. i've taken apart several 1356 cases, i know that in 89 they used a mechanical speedo provision on the output (which could easily be replaced with electric in the same case boss) and the later (92+?) models had no speedo provision on the case, as they moved the VSS to share the same tone ring as the ABS on the rear diff. the speedo gear is simply a plastic cuff that slides over the output shaft and turns a worm gear for the cable speedo, or i'm ASSuming a hall effect type sensor for the electric.

it might be as simple as finding a 91 t-case and running the VSS built in, no aftermarket parts and no fancy machining. all you would have to do is find the wires to splice the t-case VSS into your factory wiring harness.

i've never bothered to take apart a 91 to determine if it is electric speedo or mechanical, the gauge clusters look the same as my 89.

[magic carpet XLT]

92-96 trucks use a different signal for the speedo than the 91 and earlier trucks. You would have to create a signal modifier to make it accurate but it can be done.

could you run a 91 computer as long as its still speed density?

[philofab]

92-96 trucks use a different signal for the speedo than the 91 and earlier trucks. You would have to create a signal modifier to make it accurate but it can be done.

could you run a 91 computer as long as its still speed density?

The computer/ECM gets the signal from the PSOM/guage cluster after it has been processed. AFAIK all the ecms use the same signal.

[PaulW]

Other ways to deal with modifying a VSS signal are out there. This means if you have a transfer that has an interal device then one of these below should be able to make it compatible with your ecu???
Example, the latest Wranglers use an internal VSS and one of these gadgets is required to get a correct signal so the auto tranny shifts correctly, make the speedo reads correctly, and avoid the CEL faults.
The way I believe they work is to modify the frequency without changing the tone ring.
Careful choice of the collection of parts for your build make more sense in my opinion. Meaning use stuff the ECU likes without all the hassle.

options (listed in order of cost):
1) Dakota Digital SGI-5
2) Jet Accu-speed
3) Superlift Truspeed

PW

[yikes]

I've been using the Truspeed for quite a few years. Easy hook-up and easy to use. It has two different settings, so if you're really dorky, you can run a different size tire for DD than off-road and just switch between. It's a fun function, because it impacts shift points based on what the computer thinks is happening. You can manipulate it it anyway you like with the infinitely adjustable pot.

[Becks_Bronco]

The calipers Paul is using now and the ones Chris has on his Cobra are both models made for Ford by Varga. They are the ONLY hydro-mechanical calipers I'm aware of that have a good, long-term, functioning parking brake in them. They are also the only remaining hydro-mechanical rear discs used by any OEM. They have all switched to the disc/drum-in-the-hat design. The advantage to the Varga calipers is that you can do a full-floater and still have a good e-brake.


Todd Z.

Not sure exactly what you mean by hydro-mechanical, but i know the new Chevy Cobalt SS uses a hydraulic brake system, with a screw type emergency/parking brake actuator.

Just a tid bit of info. Those calipers are FAR too small for a bronco.

[Silverslk]

At the yard this weekend I saw a Murcury Cougar XR7 (? Mercury version of Lincoln MKVIII) and it had rear calipers (like the cobra ones) without the little drums and had vented rotors.

[toddz69]

Not sure exactly what you mean by hydro-mechanical, but i know the new Chevy Cobalt SS uses a hydraulic brake system, with a screw type emergency/parking brake actuator.

Just a tid bit of info. Those calipers are FAR too small for a bronco.

Hydro-mechanical refers to a caliper whose piston(s) are both hydraulically actuated for normal stopping and mechanically actuated for a parking brake application. Sounds like the Chevy Cobalt uses something similar to the ones I was describing.

Todd Z.

[toddz69]

At the yard this weekend I saw a Murcury Cougar XR7 (? Mercury version of Lincoln MKVIII) and it had rear calipers (like the cobra ones) without the little drums and had vented rotors.

If it had vented rotors, it would have the Varga calipers I described above that Paul is using.

Todd Z.