ABS Brake Problem

[ljoneill]

I have a 1995 2WD Explorer and have just replaced the front rotors and pads.

Now I have a problem that everytime I brake to a stop, the ABS is actuated JUST before the vehicle actually stops!

It happen when I :1) drive hard, brake hard, 2) drive normal, brake normal, or 3) just creep along and brake lightly.

It occurs just before the vehicle actually stops, like at 1 mph and the fact that it happens even under very light braking conditions leads be to wonder if there is an adjustment I must make for the new rotors because the ABS plates on them might be a little different.

Any ideas, it's driving me crazy.

 

[Howard]

Adjust the rear shoes to compensate for the now fully working front. Or do the rears as well ofcourse

 

[ljoneill]

Howard,

Thanks for your reply.

I already checked the rear brakes and they are OK.

The ABS should activate whenever there is a relative rotational difference between the front and rear wheels. I'm certain that when I just creep along and gently brake to a stop, none of the wheels are skidding.

AND the problem happens every single time!

I'm inclined to think that the problem is associated somehow with the sensors, control unit, calibration, adjustment, something or other. Unfortunately, I don't have enough knowledge about the hardware to know what to do next.

 

[Howard]

Theres not much in the way of adjustment that can be done. But I would check the front wheel sensors and cabling to check that nothing is loose since the brake job. I know that you say the rears are ok but have you actually removed the drums and physically checked. Your front brake efficency has gone up considerably and if the rears are slightly out of adjustment then you'll get a pressure difference front to back that could be causing your problem. Other than that I would try a new set of shoes on the rear preferably the same make/grade as the new fronts. It seems to coincidental to be an actaul ABS problem but you never know. Are there any codes to get? Try pulling the ABS fuse to see if they do actually lockup. Hope this helps.

 

[Robert]

Howard, his '95 has rear disc brakes which are non-adjustable. I have seen several different front rotor types. It's likely that the ones he got are not proper for his installation. I would look over the rotors real good and if possible reinstall the old ones to see if the problem goes away. If it does, exchange the new rotors or buy some different ones.

 

[Howard]

Sorry I wasn't sure the haynes book doesn't state a year for disc all round. In which case there is obviously a mismatch between the old rear discs/pads and the new fornt disc/pads. When I changed mine just recently I did them all in one goe to aviod such issues.

 

[Robert]

On my '97 I didn't run into such problems. I bought all four rotors & pads since when I replaced my brakes at 50K, my OEM brakes were all worn down to equal amounts. This time however with the Extreme Performance pads (& more city driving), my front pads were down to the wear indicators. My rear pads still had about 1/4" of material left. I just changed the fronts and plan on doing the rears some time next spring. My new front pads & rotors have about 5K on them now. My old OEM rotors and Extreme Performance pads have 45K on them with no ABS related problems. I think the issue is with his rotors and not his rear brakes unless his rear brakes are so worn that they aren't stopping at all which would be easy to find out by getting up to speed and slamming on the brakes. If it stops as quickly as normal, then the rear brakes are probably OK.

 

[explorer97]

My Bro had that same problem when he got his 1996 ford lifted it did that same thing he toke it in to get it fixed and it was the abs sensor the wheel sensor where off they where not in correctly or try clean them or the disk on the spindle if it still happen just bring it to the brake shop they will hook up the comp and tell you where it is coming from. But first try clean the sensors make sure there in there corrctly make sure there in no dirt in the connetor and the end of the sensor make sure wire are not bare or cracked.



Delfino Gabriel Mendez