brakes???

[Sytsmar]

I have a 93 4 door explorer with a brake situation...
recently this winter when my tires slip at a stop my brakes make this terrible grinding sound. This only happens when the tires slip so i figured it was the anti-locks...
I unplugged the fuse to the anti-lock brakes and the sound stops...but now i have no antilocks aparantly!!!
so it must be that. This grinding i can feel in the pedal as if the antilock moduale is misfuntioning or somthing. This is preventing me from stopping so for now i am just not using the anti locks.


can somebody tell me what the problem is????

 

[mdrut]

check liners

This makes no sense at all. With or without abs your vechicle is stopped by the same set of pads and the same set of rotors. A grinding sound usually means your pads are excessively worn. (metal to metal) Check your front pads this is probally the cause.

 

[Sytsmar]

Re: check liners

it makes no sense yet its still there.. my brakes work fine im sure its in the abs, im just wondering what mechanicaly the abs could do to make this sound??

 

[96 EddieB]

Im no mechanic but from my experience w/ ABS breaks there are 2 kinds that I have encountered. One pulsates and the other you can feel the pedal kind of grinding and seems to push up on the foot (which is the case w/ most Explorers). This is normal, the reason it does not seem as though it is stopping is because the ABS system is sensing slippage in the wheels. The ABS system is letting the wheels turn so that you can maintain control of the truck so that you can turn and what not. Believe it or not, you will stop quicker than if your wheels locked up in a skid.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that this is correct.

 

[yob_yeknom]

My '95 also makes the same noise and I can almost feel it in the pedal. I just noticed it last week while stopping in the snow. I asked a mechanic I know who specializes in brakes about it. He said it was the power brake booster pumping up because the ABS pulsates so much when I slide. I took his word for it because his main job is fixing brakes where he works.

 

[Sytsmar]

Guys trust me im not stupid...this is not normal ill repeat """THIS IS PREVENTING ME FROM STOPPING"""ALLMOST COMPLETELY"" but thanks for the replys

 

[yob_yeknom]

type of ABS on a '93?

Don't the pre '95 X's have only rear ABS? (I could be wrong, that's why I'm asking.) What kind of ABS do you have? Rear only or front too?
If rear only: Can you kind of feel that only the front wheels are stopping you?
If all around: Can you feel what wheels are stopping you and which ones are turning?
Anti-lock brakes are SUPPOSED to turn themselves off if there is a problem with the system. It sounds like the ABS system is screwed, but if it is it should have turned itself off and the little ABS light in the dash should have lit up. You shouldn't have had to remove the fuse to stop the ABS from working.
One more dumb question... Are all of your tires the exact same size?

 

[regulator]

Originally posted by Sytsmar
Guys trust me im not stupid...this is not normal ill repeat """THIS IS PREVENTING ME FROM STOPPING"""ALLMOST COMPLETELY"" but thanks for the replys

MY 95 does the same thing......when there is snow on the road it almost doesnt want to stop at all, When there is no snow on the road, it still kicks on the power brake booster, and makes the sound. It feels like the antilocks because it pushes back on my foot. What the hell is going on here?

 

[yob_yeknom]

Check your pads and rotors for excessive wear and make sure the caliper slide pins are greased. Also check to see if one of the pads is sticking (excessive wear) and trying to lock a wheel up prematurely. Check the brake fluid level. If it is very low fill it and bleed the system to make sure no air is in it. See if any of that helps you out.

 

[sink]

I had a short in the wiring to my rear ABS on my 89 Ranger. This made the truck pulse and feel like you let up on the brake wheteher wheels locked or not. After screwing with the booster for a while I followed the factory manual diagnostics and found my parking brake cable chaffed the insul off the ABS wire. My 94 Explorer has all wheel ABS, probably like your 93. If its firing the solenoid valve fast, its going to sound like grinding. Now whether its firing it right or not is your dilemma. Drive someone else's the same way once to confirm or give some more intricate details about when it does it so we can check on ours. Like I said before, the ABS was one place where the Ford factory service manual kicked butt for diagnostics- for the Ranger. Try a manual maybe.