Guess What .... Brake Problems

Hiram K

Registered User
My wife takes the 90SC down the road, about 2 miles from home something happens to the brake system. She turns vehicle around, steam or smoke (her description) belching out from under the hood and out the back of the car, makes it home , no brakes, pedal as hard as a rock. I open the hood, NO brake fluid in the system , and a nice mess in that general area. This is my 2nd 90SC, and I already have replaced the abs relay, accumulator ball, and the motorized pump for this car. I have been ill for the past couple of days and haven't had an opportunity to see where in hell the fluid went. Please stay with me for a moment, I have had to do all of this on my other SC also. Am I allowed to say..... I truly hate these cars, maybe I should have said I hate Ford . I had to have both aod's rebuilt, the first one twice. Seriously, if I can get this thing fixed, someone will get a good buy. I will never be able to get back the $$$$ I have in it. Anyone ever have the teves11 system puke all the brake fluid out in a similar fashion?
 
My wife takes the 90SC down the road, about 2 miles from home something happens to the brake system. She turns vehicle around, steam or smoke (her description) belching out from under the hood and out the back of the car, makes it home , no brakes, pedal as hard as a rock. I open the hood, NO brake fluid in the system , and a nice mess in that general area. This is my 2nd 90SC, and I already have replaced the abs relay, accumulator ball, and the motorized pump for this car. I have been ill for the past couple of days and haven't had an opportunity to see where in hell the fluid went. Please stay with me for a moment, I have had to do all of this on my other SC also. Am I allowed to say..... I truly hate these cars, maybe I should have said I hate Ford . I had to have both aod's rebuilt, the first one twice. Seriously, if I can get this thing fixed, someone will get a good buy. I will never be able to get back the $$$$ I have in it. Anyone ever have the teves11 system puke all the brake fluid out in a similar fashion?

YUP, Same thing mine did!
Blew the pump seal and pissed fluid all over the catalytic converter!
Swapped to Conventional afetr that!!
 
okay

#1 you wanted to buy a stick shift...

#2 brake systems on the early models suck (sounds like your master blew)...

#3 you gotta love these cars to keep up with them...

#4 you're not crazy ;)
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Re:#4, I am and have tried to keep my sanity re these cars; but, they sure as hell could drive you crazy ! I live in the NE part of the country, 99.9% of all the mechanics I have talked to since buying my first one , (new in 90 ), don't have a clue what your talking about. Seriously, don't have a clue. So, I have had to research, and learn all that I could about this s... house brake system on my own. Having learned anything I suppose is a good thing, now comes the fun part, taking this crap apart in an area so crammed you can hardly shine light through there. I know this is a rant, please forgive. The axxholes that designed these systems and implemented them should be made to work on them. For days on end!! I could change over to the other system, but I don't have the heart anymore. I just want to find the problem, fix it and let someone else have some fun. I have said before, when these cars are working good, you gotta love em, but, boy does s... happen, and too often. Thanks guys .
 
One of many reasons Ive never owned an early style Tbird. The late models ABS are great, no problems.

Ive worked on quite a few early style ABS units to share your pain .. from replacing the whole unit, motors, to just the pressure switch alone. It's all a pain, but hey .. I get paid by the Hour. ;)


- Dan
 
It never quits amazing me the number of folks that are disappointed in the reliability of a car that now is 20 years old as in this example. Since most folks now a days are the second or third or more owner who can tell what has been done to the car over the years. They need to be MAINTAINED. There are many "weak" points well detailed on this board. Read and learn from others bad experiences and figure on spending money each and every year you own the car going after the "weak" points one by one. I now have 250K miles on this body of my 92 SC. I put on over 150K miles as a daily driver in 9 years of owning it. It only left me stranded 2 times...one a bad DIS Module easily fixed and the second a starter relay also easily fixed. If they are maintained...they can and are reliable.
 
Duffy,you should not be amazed. First, I DO maintain my vehicles, and have done so since 1964. That should give you some idea how long I have been on this earth. I have a fully restored 1969 Mach 1( did 90% myself), a 2000 Ranger 4x4 and a 2009 Mazda 6. Please know I am not bitchin at you for your comments, but these cars can be a pain in the axx. No disrespect Duffy, but I have read and reread countless accounts of others that have had similar problems, none of this makes me a happier person. Thanks to you and others with similar knowledge I have been able to keep these running. I am not a mechanic; a little story... but true non the less. My first SC was pitchin a fit, real bad, had 2 licensed mechanics look at it and $200.00 later was still in the same condition. I got the car home, and guess what , I found the problem myself....... the freekin HB was broke, had turned somewhat on the crank snout and you can well imagine how it was working. Please know, NO disrespect for you, none. BTW, one of the mechanics was a Ford tech, whom I actually hold in high regard.
 
x2 on that.....

The pump motors on the ABS units won't last forever.....

The seal between the pump motor and pump will eventually go bad on every unit Ford installed on these cars.....

They can be replaced and when done properly, should last another 20 years....

However, what I see happen (and I own quite a few of this example):rolleyes: is the pump seal goes out, allows brake fluid into the pump motor, corrosion occurs, pump motor locks up, then the car gets "parked" for 3 - 4 years....

It has been my experience that the best thing to do is pull the entire unit and service the pump motor, pressure switch, and accumulator all at the same time....

It is not that hard to pull the unit (although I have done a few):p.....

There are a few tricks of the trade to make it a little bit easier....

First thing is to pull the drivers seat out of the interior.....

This will allow easy access to the brake pedal and mounting hardware and it keeps you away from the chiropractor......:D
 
Thank you one and all, I do appreciate your comments and advise. I'm in my early 60's, maybe just too old for this anymore. But if I live long enough and can keep my sanity, I will repair it. I just need to be feeling a bit better, I'm taking a strong antibiotic for the next 7 or 8 days. Again, thanks.
 
I know what you mean.....:rolleyes:

I'm no spring chicken at 51 and an ailing back.....:(

Seriously, taking out the seat lets you lie flat on the floor board with your legs up on the rear seat......

The lower three 13mm nuts are easy to get to with a deep well socket.....

The fourth one will need a universal joint and a medium extension....

On the top side, make sure you have the correct size wrenches for the brake line fittings (you do not want to round one of these off) :mad:

One other thing, you do not have to remove the upper IC tube.....:D
 
Harim

And no offense taken. I first got into trying to learn as much as possible about these cars when I discovered that many Ford Techs knew little if anything about these cars. I had an intermittent crank sensor that was shutting down the engine repeatedly at the most inopportune times and resulted in a VERY unsafe car. Losing power and power steering on a curve or being stranded on the side of the road was not "fun" and this was back when the cars were still being made.

Now look at how few of the cars were built and the time since they have been in production and the original "problem" is only compounded.

It is the charter of this club to help preserve these cars and help members maintain them. Please allow us to assist YOU in this endeavor.
 
Duffy, your alright in my books! Have you ever heard of a place called Ft. Fairfield Maine? Well I live about 2 miles away. We are so far in the country, they pipe in daylight ! Thanks for the offer, and I sure will allow you and anyone else to help me with this. Now, the-big-e...... why I didn't think of pulling the drivers seat before, who knows. It will come out this time ! I am well stocked with tools, so I won't have an issue in that dept. Thanks again , maybe in a day or two I will feel well enough to tackle this. You guys have a good weekend.
 
Hiram,

I "Looked you up" on a map and you are in the boonies far north in Maine. There are only 2 listed members on the long outdated members map in your state. The one in Plymouth which is by far the closest does not ring a bell as far as being active.

It looks like the only thing we can offer is advice and moral support while you work on this project. I DO know once the unit is out "the big e" can hook you up with a way to get the motor and pump rebuilt. In fact if asked he might have a few "in stock" already rebuilt that you could get and return your core when you get it removed. Just thinking out of the box here since I am in no position to speak directly for another.
 
No problem with parts....

I just added two more SCs to my collection (back up to 14 now:rolleyes:)....

I have a good selection of ABS parts.....:p

Just let me know what you need and get well soon.....:D
 
Good morning boys, another restless night, but I'm probably going to live anyway.(lol) You can rest assured when I do tackle this, I'll be a-callin on guys. Have a good day boys.
 
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