Brake fluid leak from the RABS proportion valve? | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Brake fluid leak from the RABS proportion valve?

I tried to plug the leak with silicon and jb weld...neither worked...so I went to the pick-ur-part and found a used one on a Ranger. I noticed it had a rubber slip-on seal and slipped it off into my pocket...got home and slipped it onto the RABS unit...problemsolved! no more leaking! $400 saved!
 



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My $0.02 - whatever you decide, just be careful. Brakes are the one thing that I leave to the pros (other than replacing the front discs or rear drums). Fortunately we have an excellent repair shop locally.
 






fixed again!

unit kept leaking so I decided to replace it. Found a couple in local junk yard (and several 1989-91 Bronco ii and Ranger where unit had already been removed..what does that tell you?)and was ready to pull it and install in my vehicle bu yard manager put the price of a used 25 year old unit at $120.00! are you crazy I sez becuz you can get a new one for that...take it or leave they reply. so I found a brake line union at NAPA for $3 and just bypassed the unit..on my lil truck there is just one line in and one line out so it was easy. now no more leaking!

I thought I was going to have the "rear anti lock" light lit up, but it lights only when you turn the key on and then goes off like before...(?) I know I have disabled an important safety feature but it's an old car (200K) but it just passed smog..good for 2 years here in Cali so I'll just be extra careful until I get my full use of this little jewel!
 






My $0.02 - whatever you decide, just be careful. Brakes are the one thing that I leave to the pros (other than replacing the front discs or rear drums). Fortunately we have an excellent repair shop locally.

I'm not that lucky about knowing a good shop, so I'm the opposite: all brakes job is something I always do myself. For exactly same reason - it's too serious.

... can't remember if I told this horror story already... here it goes, anyway: few years ago friend of mine had his Nissan Sentra front brakes serviced in a shop. After few days he heard "strange sound" from front right wheel, called me and drove to my garage.

Jacked up, removed the wheel... :eek: ... the shop guys forgot to install the upper of the two bolts holding the brake caliper in place. Caliper, holding on single lower bolt alone, turned a little and started touching the rotating wheel rim from inside... causing "strange sound"... and probably some sparks...

I've imagined what would happen if the caliper would jam the wheel on a highway... mopped the cold sweat, thanked my friends blessed luck, installed missing bolt and told my wife: "This is exactly why I always do my brakes myself... and yours too!"
 






I just bypassed it..cost me like a $1 fitting and brakes work 90% better, they still never lock before the front even in the rain......obviously I wouldn't suggest it if you live in a snowy or icy climate but many have done it and had no issues
 






RABS update: rear brakelights not working...didn't notice at first...got to be related to the bypass. can't find any info on wiring diagram for RABS unit...what a headache!
 






RABS update: rear brakelights not working...didn't notice at first...got to be related to the bypass.
I doubt that. My bet is on a fuse. Most cars I've seen have simple push switch under the brake pedal for activating brake lights. It's too important for safety, so manufacturers tend to avoid complications in this circuit.
 












I just tackled this job. My symptoms were identical to the OP. And like another poster, I found the rubber grommet missing and that's where the brake fluid was leaking. I just want to share tips from things that held me up.

First off, my metric flare nut wrenches I used on the lines coming out of the master cylinder didn't work. You'll need a 7/16 for the two lines coming in/out of the unit (and yes, get flare nut wrenches. They are worth it!) And the mounting bolt is a 10mm.

The line from the MC was easy to take off for me. But, the line going to the rear of the vehicle was super tough. The unit kept twisting away from the frame rail all while the line wouldn't budge. The bracket that mounts it to the frame is only a u-shape, so that's why it twisted. The solution to avoid that was a 6-inch c-clamp to secure the ABS unit to the frame rail from the outside. Voila! The line came right off.

And I didn't follow the Hayne's manual order of re installation. The lines might have bent a bit because of my attempts without the clamp, so I put the lines on first before mounting the unit to the frame rail. After that, it's a piece of cake. Bleed the system, etc. Good luck to those of you that need to do this repair!
 






Good info, thanks for sharing!
 






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