Ok, that wasn't cool (yet another brake thread)

Ok, I was finally getting sick of my ABS pump cycling on and off constantly while driving so I thought for now I'd just pull the fuse for the pump.

Bad idea.

The brakes worked fine for a while, but then I stopped at a gas station where a friend of mine works to talk to him. When I went back out to my car and started to leave I noticed my brake pedal would jump to the floor and I would hardly be able to stop. So I pulled the car back into the parking lot and popped the hood. Right away I noticed that the brake fluid reservoir was completely full, and right there I knew something was wrong. I pulled the fuse out of my pocket and put it back in the fuse panel. After starting the car up about three times, pumping the brake pedal and letting the ABS pump cycle the fluid level went back to normal and I had normal braking pressure again.

So was it totally stupid of me to pull that fuse or is my brake system pretty messed up? Since the pump never runs when the car is off I'd assume the relay is good and the accumulator to be bad.

Any suggestions? Or should I just kick myself in the butt and do a search? (so lazy...)

Kick yourself in the butt for pulling the fuse. If your ABS is cycling while driving you may need to replace the accumulator. Try this with the key on, engine off:

Touch the brake pedal and listen for the ABS pump motor to come on. Count the number of pedal presses it requires to activate the pump. If you are getting less than 3 it is time to replace the accumulator. My '89 gets 1 pedal press and the ABS/Brake lights come on, my '91 gets 2 pedal presses before the pump activates and about 5 before I get the lights. Do a search for the phone number to Prior Reman. Ask for an accumulator for a Teves Mark II ABS unit.

Thanks man. I should get it taken care of before the pump decides to kill itself.

Heh...I suppose I chose a bad time to buy a car AND prepare for college. Both need money

How many pedal presses are you getting? If you are only getting 1-2 and/or getting the ABS/Brake lights when you touch the pedal get it taken care of. Otherwise you could probably hold off until you have the extra $$. My '89 has been down since May getting head gaskets so I have not bothered replacing it yet. I do know that when I needed to stop quickly the pedal became hard...very unsafe if you need to stop quickly. The accumulator is around 100$. I have read that they can go bad if the car has sat a length of time, which could be possible. My '89 sat for about a year before I bought it, and I see your '89 did too. I'm not sure if there is any truth to that but I am going to hold off until next summer to replace mine since both cars will be stored for winter. Just something to think about!

Ok, I just went back out to the car and it takes 2 pedal compressions to make the pump come on, so I guess I'm looking at a new accumulator. I'll probably call up Napa and a couple other places tomorrow to see what they can get me one for. I still have yet to replace my toasted brake caliper in the back too (slide boot deteriorated and the slide rusted in a braking position, therefore killing the pad and rotor).

I'm still amazed at how clean the underside of my car is for sitting so long, except for the part of the underbody that sat on the ground from the flat tire... Gonna need a little sheet metal for that, but it's not that bad..

Augh, now that I think about it I really need to have the rear diff serviced, as the fluid is a milky color and had what looked like a few metal shavings in it. Trans probably needs new fluid too as it's a little stiff putting it into first or second after slowing down and starting again.

The only places to get a new ABS accumulator for the Teves Mark II unit are Prior Reman or Ford. If you go the Ford route, the price is alot higher and you need to measure the nipple length as there are 2 different sizes. If you buy the wrong size, forget about taking it back. As for your tranny problems, it seems a bunch of us have the same problem and it isn't as easy as changing the fluid. I still think it is an issue with the clutch not disengaging correctly, a few think it has to do with the hydraulic system, and other just say it is the synchros.

The motor coming on after 1-2 presses does not indicate a bad accumulator. however, if the ABS and BRAKE light come on with key on engine off after any less than 4-5 presses then the accumuator is worn out.
I just replaced mine with a known good one, before the ABS and BRAKE light would come on after 2 pumps, now it takes 10-15 pumps before the lights come on but the pump motor will cycle after 2-3 pumps but no lights. Duffly Floyd who has written a complete tech article on the Teves II braking system on the other board indicated to me that this is normal.

I forgot to write that in with my other post. After 5 pedal presses the Anti-Lock and Brake lights do come on.

i pulled my ABS fuse once and the pedal was so hard it hardly worked.....good thing i was going from wegmans to my house whcih is really close....

todd

My system was triggering lights as well, after only one pump.
Replaced the Accum. and it fixed the problem. Now it takes
three pumps to activate pump and no lights.

Prior Reman. $99.95
Ford Dealer $140.00

Do it yourself $107 plus one hour.
Have ford do it $410 plus other stuff they do wrong
which you'll have to bring back later to fix.

j.

An accumulator is basically a rubber baloon inside a steel can. On the other side of the baloon would be an inert gas such as nitrogen charged to approx 80% of the working brake pressure.
When charged with the pump, the brake fluid is pushed back into the system on demand from the force of the inert gas on the other side of the bladder.
If the accumulator had lost the gas charge, or the bladder had ruptured, the extra fluid that the accum carries shouldn't have forced it's way back into the reservoir tank once the fuse was pulled.