pulling to the left help!!!!

[jar2187]

Today we went to get mulch and dirt, we had 4 40lb bags of mulch and 4 40lb bags of dirt. Plus me, and 3 other people in the truck. As soon as I pressed on the gas I could tell it felt different, but once a pressed the brakes while coming to a red light I could really tell there was something different. As I was slowing down the wheel was pulling to the left pretty hard I had to keep adjusting it to the right to prevent it from crossing into the other lane. It felt as though the rear end was tring to swing out and pass the front. What could be causing this? My brake and rear anti lock light are both on and I cant figure out whats wrong to set them off. Could this be causeing the rear to swing out because the abs is off? And i have a leak from the left rear drum off brake fluid, after we just did the brake two months ago. I plan on pulling my jet ski this summer, and if it does that I think I might have a heart attack, since its my first time pulling it(just got my permit in feb.). So we got to fix it before it gets really nice out. Help anyone!

 

[jimbo74]

if it is leaking, have a mechanic check it out, if you did the brakes, and now it is damaged, something is wrong.... it is a major safety issue... and needs to be checked out by professionals...... why does the abs not work? why also are the brake lights on? is there enough fluid in the system?

 

[Alec]

Definately take care of any leaks in the system.

Was the load (passengers and cargo) distributed evenly side to side in the truck? Was the rear sagging in relation to the front?

 

[jar2187]

well see my dad is a desiel machanic and he did my brakes. When i got the truck the brake light or the rear antilock light didnt come one when starting the truck so I take the cluster out and found both the bulbs to be out, in the glove box there were to bulbs sure enough these were them so i plugged them back in and now the lights have been on ever since. I toped off the fluid and the light still didnt go off. I have posted about 5 threads asked what could be wrong but I get no response. cleaned the rear abs senor yestreday but it didnt fix the problem.

 

[jar2187]

it was pretty even, it was saging a little bit but not much, I notice every little thing thats why I noticed it. But my dad didnt say it was saging.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Brake systems run at around 1400psi, and any air in the system will cause major problems. Brakes aren't too hard to work on, and aren't too expensive either. Fix the leak before you use the truck, it sounds too dangerous and you don't want to put yourself or other people at risk.

There might be codes in the computer that say why the lights are on. Autozone has free testing for codes - worth a shot.

The brake light may be on because the fluid is low, a definite possibility with a leak. As for the ABS, codes will be needed.

 

[jar2187]

fluids not low its alittle bit above the bottle of the bottle neck, does autozone run abs codes too. I dont want them to be messing around with my truck though.

 

[jar2187]

anyone have any idea what I should do first?

 

[Quake Guy]

I have the ABS light go on and off on my 1994 Explorer.

My mechanic read the codes and summarized by saying the valves become weak (mostly through lack of use) and no longer function well.

He said it would cost $1500 to replace them and has never seen anyone go through with it at that cost. He also recommended not to do so.

However, I noticed the following today and will ask him about it shortly.

With ABS light on, the front left wheel would lock up under hard braking and cause the vehicle to veer off. Without ABS light, ABS seem to work as intended.

My question is, would I be better off disabling the ABS via the fuse and have predictable braking compared to my current situation?

 

[Shurup]

you mean you can disable ABS (via fuse) and rear brakes will work as there aren't any ABS at all and that will not cause any stupid lights (ABS light or CEL light) to come on???

 

[94WhiteEB]

1st generation Explorers will drift all over the place, but shouldn't pull when breaking. If your steering column vibrates when breaking, it could be because of old, unevenly worn break pads. I've found that driving my 94 Explorer has actualy improved my piloting skills when flying in turbulent air because I'm so acustomed to constantly correcting the bumps and pulling while driving. Is it just me, or does it scare the crap out of anyone else when the ABS kicks in? Eeeegh, thats the wost sensation on ur foot, like the petal is being used to grind stone or something.

 

[Quake Guy]

My understanding is when the fuse is pulled, the brakes should work as normal. However, the light will be on.

Either take out the bulb or put electrical tape over it. Or live with it.

However, don't take my word on it as I have not tried it nor should you. Its baaad....

 

[Bwana Bob]

If it pulls while braking and you see a leak, chances are that one of the brake cylinders is leaking. I had this on one of the rear wheels on my 92 X at about 50,000 miles. This will cause severe pulling when braking. Also, the leaking brake fluid contaminates the drum and brake shoes, so both will have to be replaced.

Bob

 

[Bill MacLeod]

I think that Bob is correct on the fluid leak. Its not un-common for brake cylinders to leak after turning drums and installing new shoes. Good chance that the shoes are contaminated and causing the pull.

If the abs light is on, then the abs has a diagnostic fault (code) stored and has shut the abs unit down. You will have normal braking, BUT without the abs function.

Time to get some "professional " service on the brakes.

 

[jar2187]

update, It wasnt the brake cylinder that was leaking it was the axle seal that we just replaced about 2 months ago, so that is what was causing the brakes to grab, its feels fine now that we fixed it but ANTI-lock light and brake light are still on, and dont know who to get the codes to see what is wrong.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

Glad to hear that you have one problem fixed, strange that a seal would fail so quickly.

Now for the problem lights. I have a shop manual for 1990 Ranger and Bronco II that also used the RABS that would be very similar if not identical to your X. Here are a couple of things to check when both lights are "ON".

- Check master cylinder float for buoyancy.(use clean steel implement and push down on float - sits on bottom - replace reservoir)

-Doide Resistor Element - remove parking brake switch, turn ignition key to on position. If both lights go off, then rabs diode/resistor element needs replacing. If both lights stay on, then obtain flashout code.

- To obtain flashout code locate a single black/orange wire that will be taped to the main harness where it exits the cab, lower left corner below parking brake. It will probably have a cap on the end of it.
Once located, attached a jumper wire and with key-on, momentarily ground the jumper. The RABS light should flash a series of short and one long flashes. example, 3 short and one long is a Code 4, 9 short and one long is a Code 10. The codes will continue to repeat until the key is turned off. Read the codes several times to verify exact code.

Try the above and let me know the results. The possibilities is endless, so start with the above.

 

[jar2187]

I have tried grounding it but I probably didnt it wrong. I attached a jumper wire, and touched it to both the sheet metal and the metal on the brake pedal, and then turned it on, and the light didnt flash. What did I do wrong?

 

[reichhartkg]

Try unplugging both ends of all 4 ABS wires and then plug them back in. If an ABS wire is loose, your light will come on.

 

[jar2187]

what do u mean both ends, Its rear wheel abs. Not 4 wheel, I have unpluged the rear abs sensor and took it out to clean it and put it back in and pluged it back in, so its not that.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

jar2187

Assuming that you located the RABS Diagnostic Connecter (black/orange wire) then the reason you couldn't get a code/flashes is:
"If the red Brake light was On, the problem may be with the low fluid level circuit and, in this case, no flashout code will be flashed and the yellow Rear Anti-Lock light will remain On steady"

So, did you check the float in the reservoir for bouyancy? If so what where the results?

This is the first item to check (other than low fluid level) for Diagnostic Test "C".

BTW, Diagnostic Test C is for condition "Yellow Anti-Lock Light On, Red Brake Light On"

2nd item to check is the Diode/Resistor Element. Did you disconnect the parking brake switch? Once again, if so, what where the results?

Bill M.