Brakes Rock Hard after Transmission replaced

Wanted1990SC

Registered User
The SC I bought had a bad trans when I bought it. I had an agreement with the seller of my car to get the trans fixed and they'd pay for some of it. I went to a shop near me and I went to go pick it up today. However, the antilock brake was on and so was the brake light. I took it out on the road and when I came up to a light I had to stand on the brake to get it to stop. Rock HARD!!! The car took a long time to stop and I felt the brake pulsating like the ABS was kicking in, I turned it around and took it right back to the shop. The guy at the shop is telling me that nothign is wrong, that that's normal. I know it's not, I'm just wondering if something happened when they were changing the transmission or they missed something.
 
most likely the accumulator on the abs unit gave up, this happens with high mileage sc's, over time the insides of the accumulator ball will give up rendering the abs useless, the accumulator ball is on the passenger side of the ABS UNIT, its a big BLACK BALL! it costs about 100 bucks from priorreman.com good luck, any other info would help...
 
Thanks, i'll check it out. Me and my dad are going to the shop to look at it around noon.

Is there anything else I should look for?
 
Check the ABS Pump Relay....

If the ABS and BRAKE indicators are on solid, then the pump isn't cycling on. This is typically caused by 1) a stuck (failed) relay, 2) a disconnected (or failed) pressure switch, 3) no power to the pump or failed pump.
Turn the Key to ON and see if the pump powers up. If not, check the electrical connectors for the pump motor and the pressure switch. On the passenger side, near the windshield cowl on the firewall, there are a couple of relays for the ABS. One is for the pump (will be dark brown or marked with ABS Pump), the other is for the warning indicators on the dash (this is an accessory relay). Take a screwdriver and tap the ABS Pump relay on the case to see if the pump will kick on. If not, the relay may need replacing. GP Sorensen #MR120 is a replacement. Even if this doesn't solve the problem, its only about $12 to $15...

A bad accumulator will cause the ABS and BRAKE indicators to flash ON and OFF in sequence when the brakes are applied. You will still have brakes, but this needs to be corrected to prevent pump failure due to overcycling. If the accumulator is bad, contact Prior Remanufacturing www.priorreman.com
Another thing to check is the ignition switch... If it is worn out, the pump might not get power when the Key is in the RUN position. Jiggle the key and see if the pump kicks on.
 
Well, I went to go look at it at lunch and it was fine. I picked it up and have driven it around. It seems to be working ok. The trans shop said the ABS system might have freaked out because they had it up on a lift testing the trans and the front wheels were not moving. It just needed to be reseted. He checked the codes and he said there were none. He cleared them and it's been working fine ever since. I'll drive it more this weekend. Hopefully that's all it was!
 
Big guess on his part.. but not likely.

Anyways, what you most likely have is a relay going out. If the accumulator (black ball thing on the side of the master cylinder) were bad/worn, you would always have poor brakes. ABS pump motor relays have been known to stick on supercoupes. When that happens, the pump motor either runs all the time or not at all. Its worth your time to find one, either from a seller here, or new (they're cheap) and replace it.

Looks like Larry listed some part numbers.
 
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Ok, i'll buy one later this weekend. My fiance insists that she wants to drive it which scares the crap out of me to begin with! Wouldn't want her ramming into the back of someone.
 
Larry posted some really good info. That was exactly what went on my car, a cheaply replaced relay.
 
Good info - I had a relay on hand as the car I got from my dad had both lights on & hard pedal (he already had paid Ford to replace the whole system at one point as he gave me all the old parts). I drove the car this AM & all was well until it got hot out the lights & hard pedal, since my 3 year old was with me when we got home I didnt want to tear into things but I wanted to do a quick test so I turned on the key & not hearing the pump gave a tap to the ABS pump power relay (brown) & viola the pump popped on. Later in the day (today) I replaced the relay - now I hear the pump & when driving around out front I can hear it cycling on & off but the yellow ABS light is glowing all the time, any thoughts?
Thanks
Arnold In The Smokies

If the ABS and BRAKE indicators are on solid, then the pump isn't cycling on. This is typically caused by 1) a stuck (failed) relay, 2) a disconnected (or failed) pressure switch, 3) no power to the pump or failed pump.
Turn the Key to ON and see if the pump powers up. If not, check the electrical connectors for the pump motor and the pressure switch. On the passenger side, near the windshield cowl on the firewall, there are a couple of relays for the ABS. One is for the pump (will be dark brown or marked with ABS Pump), the other is for the warning indicators on the dash (this is an accessory relay). Take a screwdriver and tap the ABS Pump relay on the case to see if the pump will kick on. If not, the relay may need replacing. GP Sorensen #MR120 is a replacement. Even if this doesn't solve the problem, its only about $12 to $15...

A bad accumulator will cause the ABS and BRAKE indicators to flash ON and OFF in sequence when the brakes are applied. You will still have brakes, but this needs to be corrected to prevent pump failure due to overcycling. If the accumulator is bad, contact Prior Remanufacturing www.priorreman.com
Another thing to check is the ignition switch... If it is worn out, the pump might not get power when the Key is in the RUN position. Jiggle the key and see if the pump kicks on.
 
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