New explorer, couple issues

[tjsxplodr]

Ok, I bought another explorer today I had traded my 91 in back in January and couldn't stand not having one ANYWAYS, I bought a '94 XLT with all the goodies in it. Couple issues tho:

1) the ABS light is always on, what does that mean....will I have to take it to a shop to have that looked at? Is it dangerous to have that light on?

2) The rear main oil seal is slightly leaking, is there anything I can do for it, or just make sure there is oil in?

I really gotta say I LOVE this '94. I have noticed tho, that it has the same exact wheels as my '91. Is that normal? I thought the 94's had different wheels?

 

[urmull]

There is a connector under the right side of my 91' that goes back to the abs-valve-thingy that might be loose or badly connected.

 

[urmull]

Or you could read this:

http://explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258803

As it seems the abs on a 91' and a 94' isn't the same

 

[Roadrunner777]

ABS light means ABS system is disabled. Is that dangerous? I don't think so. It is no worse than driving a car without ABS, and I would not call that dangerous. In fact, the way the Explorer ABS works, I may disable mine this winter and see if I like it better that way.

I think the main seal is going to be your own call... how much is it leaking, is it leaking in such a way that it presents even a minor environmental issue, is there other work that you could do on the way to the main seal? I am not a big fan of adding chemistry to oil to fix a seal.

 

[beauboy]

Your ABS light could mean 1 of a 100 issues. As Roadrunner mentioned, it could disable your ABS so that you only have "standard" brakes. Mine on my '91 (RABS only) malfunctioned about 7 years ago, and it turned out to be the Master Control Unit. Cost me a pretty penny to fix, but it's been perfect ever since.

A little history - when ABS was first installed on American vehicles, drivers actually suffered more accidents than the system prevented, for a few reasons:

- Drivers continued to pump their brakes (a no-no with ABS)
- Drivers refused to 'slam' on the brakes and hold them for a sufficient amount of time
- another reason I can't remember (sorry)

My point is, if you're used to working with ABS, don't operate your brakes the same as if you still had ABS.

 

[tjsxplodr]

Not used to working with ABS, not one of my cars that I've ever had has had it soooo....

Turns out two bolts on the tranny connecting to the engine were loose...I'm HOPING that's the fix to my rear main leak, its not leaking THAT bad, as far as I can tell, Ive not even had it for 24 hrs yet, so I cleaned it off last night and am going to see tonight how badly its leaking, if at all now.

 

[Anime]

ABS could be an electronics issue, but there are little things like the connectors and the plug-in wheel sensors on the front to check first. Sometimes wiring goes bad or just gets old and falls apart. The ABS rings (silver gear-looking things on the back of the brake rotors) could even be damaged or missing if they replaced them with non-ABS rotors.

What looks like a rear main seal leak can sometimes be from the rear of the valve cover gaskets or the head gaskets. Shine up in there with a flashlight at night to see if there's any traces of oil on the block higher than the tranny. If it's all dry up above and all oily down below, it's probably the rear main, but sometimes the oil pan gasket leaks too.

Wheel options were pretty similar from 91-94. Plus they all fit each other so someone can just use older/newer wheels.

 

[tjsxplodr]

Ok thanks man!