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Axle Offset for Rear Disc Questions

fordguy

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Saw this in another thread: "The other kit that I really like is the wild horses kit that uses Explorer rear calipers and pads. It does require specific axles and rotors but Wild Horses sell them as part of the kit. And it's an upgraded better than stock axle so you're killing two birds with one stone but it still cost a little bit of coin. "
So my question is this, do the axles create the offset for the different housings? I have an explorer disc brake set up but not sure i have the right housing (I have three, all different). This is where i get confused, the offset, on rear disc. Can someone enlighten me how the offset works.
 

Apogee

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Axle offset is the distance between the outboard face of the housing end and the outboard face of the axle shaft (the rotor mounting surface). Axle offsets vary by housing end, application, etc...it's a Ford thing. That said, if you want to run the Explorer rear brakes, then you'll want to run the big-bearing Torino (new-style) housing ends with 2.50" offset. These ends have the 2.00x3.56 rectangular flange pattern and 2.50" offset, the same as the 8.8" Ford ends on the Explorer housing, making the swap about as simple as it can get.
 
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fordguy

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so 2.50 inch offset is from the wheel mounting surface to the flange end of the housing where the gasket sits for the retainer? is this axle the explorer brakes work with https://tinyurl.com/y57r7mr2
 
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toddz69

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Here's a thread where someone modified the backing plates and retainers slightly to fit on a standard big bearing rearend:

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/9-inch-rear-disc-brake-installation.569272/

I thought the WH kit used to accommodate this too but apparently not. *EDIT* - I just looked in a 2016 WH catalog and at that time they offered it for both the standard big bearing rear end and the Torino rear end.

I also thought Dutchman Motorsports used to sell the modified Explorer kit for standard big bearing rear ends but I don't see anything resembling it on their website now.

Todd Z.
 
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fordguy

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Todd, there was another link inside that link, that had good info. Somebody posted a diagram of the three rear ends bolt patterns, size and offset, but i cant find it. I get "wrapped around the axle" everytime i try to figure this out. lol.
 

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fordguy

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So I think this is the Torino style flange.I will mock my explorer brakes up on it and let everybody know how it comes out. I can the spacers from one of the axle vendors if needed.
 

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Apogee

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So I think this is the Torino style flange.I will mock my explorer brakes up on it and let everybody know how it comes out. I can the spacers from one of the axle vendors if needed.

You can't really go by the outer profile shape of the flange, you need to measure the 4-hole flange pattern and hole size to determine the application. That looks like the old-style Ford big-bearing housing end to me...2.375" x 3.500" rectangular pattern with .500" holes.
 
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fordguy

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you are right it is the big bearing, not the one i need.
 
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onpier55

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I saved a while back when I was researching my 9”.
 

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fordguy

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broncochevy

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So the Torino ends are a big bearing with 3/8 bolts, seems like that would’ve saved a lot of confusion and all the other searches that I’ve been looking on about this issue. Seems like everyone has a chart with all the housing ends. The one from post #6 is good too, but it has us fooled because it has the shape illusion incorrect for the old ford big bearing, which in my case looks like the one you (for guy) showed in post #7. I have the big ends, the ones with half inch bolts, I think I saw something about somebody using explorer brakes on one of those axles (big bolts with big bearings).
 
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