So my question is...The front pads and rotors on my truck need replaced. No bones about it. However- The rear brake shoes do as well. My question is- what is the percentage of stopping power the front have over the rear. If that makes sense. I would imagine the front brakes put out about 80% or more of the stopping power of the whole truck, right? I have a pretty soft brake pedal which could be cause from the caliper pistons stretched all the way out. but I was going to wait to replace the rear shoes for a while.

So any opinions on this?

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 5-speed

your right about the front disks doing most of the work. it's not uncommon for small/light duty trucks that don't haul/tow to have original rear shoes/drums at 200k miles. they will be rusty & may start causing problems at any time tho lol

edit: to help make up your mind, just go ahead & bleed the rear brake lines at the same time as the front brake work, that'll force you to inspect them closely & make a better decision (that usually works for me anyways)

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1999 xlt 2.5l 5-speed Supercab 159k
83 diesel 2.2l na
06 F250 6.0l psd
{click for lol}

cool! good answer. Thank you

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 5-speed

no prob!

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1999 xlt 2.5l 5-speed Supercab 159k
83 diesel 2.2l na
06 F250 6.0l psd
{click for lol}

If you have the original shoes and drums on at 200k.. you are stupid. Your front brakes do most of the work because drum brakes don't do shit. I would change them both.. at least the pads and rotors on front and shoes on the rear.

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2004 Ranger Edge 4x4, 4.0L SOHC, 4.10's, Black, Step-Side Bed, Quad Cab, 3" PA Body Lift, Underdrive Pulleys, Flowmaster 40 Catback, Mustang GT Disc Brakes
33x12.5 Goodyear Duratracs, 15x8 MB Motoring Overdrives, STX/Sport Grille, Explorer OHC & Auto-Dimming Mirror, Blacked Out Headlights & Corners,
Smoked Altezza Tail Lights, 35w 4500k Hi/Low HID Heads & Fogs, Hella 500ff's, Ultra-Gauge, Red LED Interior

you haven't seen too many vehicles come & go have you?

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1999 xlt 2.5l 5-speed Supercab 159k
83 diesel 2.2l na
06 F250 6.0l psd
{click for lol}

that escalated kinda quickly

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 5-speed

lol yeah, don't listen to him. millions of people safely run light duty vehicles with more than 200k miles on rear drums and shoes. he's also wrong about how rear drums affect braking. they do infact 'do shit' during normal braking lol

edit: he does bring up a good point though, if you go ahead and pull them apart, you'll see how rusty & corroded things get inside there. that may be enough to make you decide to replace them. plus, pulling it apart will might make it quite a bit easier to do next time (if you wait or do it again). see, that's how you politely respond on the internet lol

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1999 xlt 2.5l 5-speed Supercab 159k
83 diesel 2.2l na
06 F250 6.0l psd
{click for lol}

Lol it's all good. I'm not sensitive. And I have been working on cars for some time now. I just don't have much experience with drum brakes. Lol

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 5-speed

Ford recommends you inspect your brake pads, rotors, drums, lines every 15,000 miles. Your truck is 15 years old. You live in Ohio. Brakes are a safety item, they are cheap.. just change them. 200k per set is an insane amount of miles on a single set. 50k.. MAYBE 100k at most. And.. as someone who just switched to disc brakes in the rear.. the stopping power is night and day.. so when I say my drum brakes didn't do shit to help me stop.. I wasn't lying. If your brakes have 200k on them.. they most likely are doing nothing to help you either. But that depends on your driving style/habits too to determine how long they might last. Driving in city traffic a lot, probably won't last nearly as long as someone who drives 90% highway all the time.

Btw.. plenty of youtube videos to show you how to change them. There is a member on this forum.. dogfish something or other.. that has a youtube channel ChrisFix where he does work on his Mazda B4000 (Ford Ranger basically). His videos are pretty good, and I think he has one showing how to change the rear drums.

P.s. I wasn't calling you stupid. I was saying leaving them on for 200k is stupid. Your brakes are how you stop.. Replace them at regular intervals and inspect regularly to make sure you are in manufacturer's recommended specs, and for uneven or irregular wear patterns.

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2004 Ranger Edge 4x4, 4.0L SOHC, 4.10's, Black, Step-Side Bed, Quad Cab, 3" PA Body Lift, Underdrive Pulleys, Flowmaster 40 Catback, Mustang GT Disc Brakes
33x12.5 Goodyear Duratracs, 15x8 MB Motoring Overdrives, STX/Sport Grille, Explorer OHC & Auto-Dimming Mirror, Blacked Out Headlights & Corners,
Smoked Altezza Tail Lights, 35w 4500k Hi/Low HID Heads & Fogs, Hella 500ff's, Ultra-Gauge, Red LED Interior

1. ford recommends inspection, not replacement.
2. again, 200k on working rear drums on light duty trucks is not unheard of by any means
3. drums are still capable of locking up on the rears of an unloaded truck. why else would they use RABS.
4. you're right on, rear disks have superior control!
5. & you're right on about those vids! they are awesome!
6. you are still calling out millions of people for 'stupid behavior' evidently lol, replacing shoes at 100k max intervals? that's just not justified at all unless they actually need replaced.
7. brakes should be replaced as needed & inspected often (your words essentially).

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1999 xlt 2.5l 5-speed Supercab 159k
83 diesel 2.2l na
06 F250 6.0l psd
{click for lol}

I'm not arguing with you dude, calm down.

1). I said Ford recommends inspection, not replacement
2) 200k miles of wear on any set of brakes means greater stopping distance, increasing your risk of having an accident because you can't stop as quickly, or at all. 200k miles increases the risk of failure of the parts. If you don't like to stop, and like to cause accidents, then yes, that in itself is stupid.
3) Not arguing that point, they are just crappy in general
4) Disc brakes in the rear is an amazing difference, best mod I've done
5) ChrisFix is awesome
6) Not calling out millions of people.. millions of people neglect their vehicles yes, and some of those might go that long. That doesn't make it right, or safe.. and it isn't recommended.
7) That's exactly what I said. Inspect them.. sometimes the shoes can crack or wear unevenly, or be worn down past what the manufacturer recommends them to be.. change them if they are any of those things.

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Basically, It all depends.. but here is a pretty decent write-up: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-...-pads-last.htm

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2004 Ranger Edge 4x4, 4.0L SOHC, 4.10's, Black, Step-Side Bed, Quad Cab, 3" PA Body Lift, Underdrive Pulleys, Flowmaster 40 Catback, Mustang GT Disc Brakes
33x12.5 Goodyear Duratracs, 15x8 MB Motoring Overdrives, STX/Sport Grille, Explorer OHC & Auto-Dimming Mirror, Blacked Out Headlights & Corners,
Smoked Altezza Tail Lights, 35w 4500k Hi/Low HID Heads & Fogs, Hella 500ff's, Ultra-Gauge, Red LED Interior

Replace what needs replacing.

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2017 Lightning Blue Mustang GT PP 430/402
CJ Pony Parts Lowering Springs | Texas Speed Longtubes | PMAS CAI | Lund Tuned | Borla S-Type Catback
2013 F150 FX4 5.0 - Sold
1998 Jeep Wrangler TJ 4.0 5spd - Sold
2001 Mustang Bullitt - Sold
2005 Level II - Sold
2001 Integra GSR - Sold
1999 XLT - May 2013 TOTM - Totaled

Yeahh I've watched tons of the ChrisFix videos. They are awesome. The truck only has 150k on it so it definitely doesn't have 200k on the brakes. I was just curious on the lifespan, reliability, and expectations of drum brakes. Now I know lol.

I will take a look at them this weekend. Thanks

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 5-speed

thank goodness somebody said it!

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1999 xlt 2.5l 5-speed Supercab 159k
83 diesel 2.2l na
06 F250 6.0l psd
{click for lol}