Brake Upgrade discussion

[Viva]

That's what I thought - good to have confirmation. Still, I wasn't sure if Ford might have had ALCOA make some "tweaks" on their OEM rims if the stock ones wouldn't fit? So I was still wondering if the stock ALCOA ones (i.e. not Ford OEM ones) would fit on the new (2014 in my case) front end in 16" size. This was the first I had heard they might not (didn't even think of it!).

[BrianW]

Does Alcoa make the newer "mag" style alloy wheels too? That's what I have from a 2012 van. I always associated Alcoa with the deep dish with holes in it style.

[derJack]

Originally Posted by BrianW

Does Alcoa make the newer "mag" style alloy wheels too? That's what I have from a 2012 van. I always associated Alcoa with the deep dish with holes in it style.

Google helps took me 3 minutes
http://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/nor...itment_PDF.pdf

[JWA]

Hey Viva----glad to hear you too have joined the "bigger is better club"---at least in the front brakes thing. If the complete front end swap would have been possible I'd have done that instead of piece-by-piece but sadly it just didn't happen.

Have to give a tip of the hat to BrianW----he worked with me getting this into motion---great help at the time!

Several times recently I've had to stand on the brakes and its a great feeling knowing there's quite a bit more stopping power under my foot now.

FWIW my '00 E250 has rear drum brakes whereas my '03 does have discs---not sure what model year that change came into being. Given disc brakes relative ease of maintenance and replacement I love 'em.

I was kinda under the impression the E450 frames and rear axles were different enough things like sway bars wouldn't fit? If one from the E450 chassis fits my E250 I'll have one of those pretty quick. I'm currently running a Hellwig rear bar but would love something even bigger---ride comfort isn't an issue or concern.

Wheel-wise I'm okay with the stock steelies----love the dog dish covers too for some reason.

[BrianW]

^^ I got my rear swaybar off an E450 and put it on my 98 E250. $35 at the junkyard including the swaybar, links and bolts. I had to drill holes in the frame to mount and also had to get u-bolts to attach it to the axle. It works fine IMO. If anyone out there knows if this is a bad idea please let me know.

Also, I thought they switched to rear discs in 99?

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by derJack

Google helps took me 3 minutes
http://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/nor...itment_PDF.pdf

That doesn't answer my particular question that you quoted, although it is a useful fit guide.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by BrianW

Also, I thought they switched to rear discs in 99?

I can't see why a stronger ?? rear bar would be detrimental.

Not sure when rear discs became standard on the E-Series, just going by my '00 (drum) and '03 for comparison (disc).

[carringb]

Originally Posted by BrianW

That doesn't answer my particular question that you quoted, although it is a useful fit guide.

Here are the various "Ford" alloy E-series wheels:

This is Alcoa:

The dually version looks the same.

This is not Alcoa. I'm not sure who makes them, but they are the current offering:


This was also offered for a while, but has been discontinued:


Alcoa was the OEM through 2008, so they will fit the current axles.

This pic is also Alcoa (yup, I broke it):

[BrianW]

^^ Yikes! Good thing you caught the break. How did you notice it under the hubcap?

These are the rims I have from a 2012 take-off:

[carringb]

Originally Posted by BrianW

^^ Yikes! Good thing you caught the break. How did you notice it under the hubcap?

I actually didn't see the crack. I had what sounded like a squeaky tire! I was afraid I was getting tread separation, so I went to Les Schwabs for them to check it out. They couldn't see or feel anything, so they put the wheels on the road-force balancer. That's when the guy pulling them noticed the cracks. The opposite wheel cracked too, but cracked around the valve stem. Long story short... My actual loaded weights are over what the 16" wheels are rated for, and I drive lots of rough terrain. I now have all 17" wheels, which required machining GM dually wheels to fit the Ford hubs. I had to run 16" inners previously since nobody makes a hub centric dually wheel in 17" with the 4.88" hub bore. Ford 17" wheels are metric.