Typical ABS repair

the-big-e

Registered User
A customer brought his SC in to replace a leaking ABS pump motor.....

Dave and I started the removal process, pulled the master cylinder out, and replaced the pump motor with one I recently had rebuilt....

We put the SC up on 4 jack stands and started to bleed the brakes when Dave noticed that the new pump motor was leaking brake fluid.....:eek: :mad:

We looked at each other, rolled our eyes, and had the ABS unit out in record time....

We replaced the pump motor with another rebuilt one and re-installed the unit for the second time....:rolleyes:

No leaks.....:D

Started to bleed the brakes.....

When we got to the front, I noticed that the brake and ABS lights would come on when I applied firm pressure to the brake peddle and the pump motor would run as soon as any pressure was applied to the peddle.....:eek:

We couldn't give the customer his car back with the brake and ABS lights on....

Dave pulled the accumulator off the car while I pulled one off a spare ABS unit....

Note: A charged accumulator holds a lot of brake fluid :rolleyes:

Installed the spare accumulator and guess what....:confused:

Still got the brake and ABS lights.....:mad::mad::mad::mad:

I asked Dave if he noticed if the brake and ABS lights were on when he pulled the car in....

He said that the customer drove the car into the garage....

Dave called the customer and confirmed that the lights were coming on while the customer was driving and he was meaning to tell us about it....

Sure would have liked to have known that little bit of info before we started the job....:p

I've swapped out a bunch of accumulators over the years and the ratio of bad to good is running at about 12:1....:p

I remember reading about accumulator lifetimes being time sensitive, not mileage sensitive....

These accumulators were OEM and had the hex nut on top.....:eek:

I dug through my pile of ABS units and found an after market one....:D

Installed that one and all lights went out.....:D :D :D :D

Bled the brakes and all is fine....:cool:
 
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Looking for an accumlator for 1990 SC

Been looking for an ABS accumulator under hood complete assembly for a 1990 SC. Any ideas?? Thanks
 
Been looking for an ABS accumulator under hood complete assembly for a 1990 SC. Any ideas?? Thanks

You want the accumulator, or the complete assembly?

If the former, Victor over at SpinningWheels-SC has brand new ones, a much better idea than a used one (as per the message you added yours to.)

If the complete Teves assembly, well, The-Big-E is about the best guy to talk to for that *grins*

I ask it that way because the accumulator is a ball with a thread on the end, and a bladder inside, all as one part.

RwP
 
Accumulator Ball

Aftermarket accumulator ball don't have the hex on top, what tool do you guys use to tighten these?

Thanks,
Brando
 
These things are a pain in the ~~~. I'm swapping mine over to conventional brakes. My pump won't run at all. It used to work but if you hit the brakes hard the lights would come on, so I was meaning to put a new accumulator on it, but after sitting in storage for 5 years the pump won't run and brakes are hard as a rock. So... I'm going to replace all that shi...stuff.
 
Aftermarket accumulator ball don't have the hex on top, what tool do you guys use to tighten these?

Thanks,
Brando

If the assembly is off the car, there's the hex at the bottom.

If not, a strap wrench is probably your best bet.

RwP
 
I use a strap wrench. :cool: Just don't overtighten it because one day you're going to want to remove it again.

I had that problem when the aftermarket accumulator I got in 2006 got lazy last year. I tried epoxying a nut to the top, and that was a dismal failure. Well, I found a fix for that ...

http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5751&p=49845&hilit=bend+wrench#p49845

The setup shown in the picture is more elaborate than it needs to be. I bought a cheap combination wrench on eBay, took it to the local Pep Boys, and asked a guy in the garage to bend it for me. He got out the oxy-acetylene torch, walked over to the vise, and went to it. A couple of minutes later, he handed me back a bent wrench and shrugged off any offer of payment. :)

To use it, I just put a breaker bar through the closed end and turned gently. It worked great!!!

(Incidentally, the wrench I got on eBay for like 5 bucks turned out to be a decent tool. It's a black oxide wrench made by Allen. I tried bending it myself with a propane torch and a vise before taking it to the shop. Not even close ... that thing is tough! Not bad for $5+shipping.)
 
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