00' Brakes

I am about to replace my stock brakes with powerstop brake rotors and pads because I do a lot of high weight towing. This will be the first time doing my rear brakes on my 4WD v6 Explorer and I'm just wondering if the disc set up is the same in the back as in the front. Also just outta curiousity I wonder if any of you know the real capabilities of a 4WD V6 SOHC Explorers traction abilities. I regularly pulled 7-9000 pound forklifts that are stuck in dirt holes out, I also tow boats as large and 26-27 feet off of the bumper hitch, and i pull them out of the water in a dirt ramp with no wheel slip. True though that the traveling power of the 6 is limitted, the overall hauling ability is truly amazing, I have yet to get this truck stuck towing and believe me i have been trying.

Set some money aside to install a proper hitch for your towing needs. The bumper hitch is just not safe for the types of loads you are talking about here. Why are you planning the brake upgrade? I assume it's ultimately to make it safer to tow. What good are aggressive brakes on your Explorer when the rear bumper falls off?

Okay, now stepping off my soap box, the rear brakes are not the same as the fronts. The rear brakes incorporate a parking brake which is actually a small drum brake system inside the rotor hat.

-Rod

First I would like to say that a ford explorer is built the same as a small truck, It makes a pretty suitable work truck i would say myself. In fact, having my bumper fall off would be by far one of the best possible situations involved in losing a trailer, which I'm sure you know all about. Not that it would matter really as long as your trailer emergency brake clip was well secured to the chasis. The bumper would just serve as drag to slow the trailer along with the trailer brakes locking up from the trailer E brake being pulled, chances are it wouldn't even hit the truck...imagine that. Also the explorers short wheel base in combination with the v6 means incredible power without jerking on the bumper which is what really rips it off, as long as you are gentle with it its not going to go anywhere, especially since you can tow a car off an explorer bumper, but i guess i haven't done that either. I should have videotaped when the F350 diesel was spinning all 4 wheels in 4WD low with a 29 foot baha cabin cruiser, and i had to rachet strap my chasis to the 350 to pull it out, I wonder how i did that. soapboxes are cool maybe you should stick to building them, but back to the main topic

Well being that my E brake doesn't even engage i guess it wouldn't really matter since most of the braking seems to stem from the disc i'm cutting into. I went into work early today and picked up my truck with a forklift, air rachetted those tires off too see what i was dealing with, looks about the same to me. Even if there is a drum, it doesn't work, so I will just replace the disc. but i didn't have time to fix them, i was too busy running a boat yard with over 200 boats, using only one forklift, and ironically it has no brakes!!!!!! Damn howd you pick up your car with it, let alone run a whole yard with it, must be magic. Or maybe just skill

...but i didn't have time to fix them, i was too busy running a boat yard with over 200 boats, using only one forklift,

Congratulations. I guess you weren't really looking for any answers. Maybe when you actually do get time to replace the rear rotors, you'll understand the drum parking brake setup.

-Rod