Switching ABS to Conventional.

[thirdbird]

Hi,

Gonna bump this because I am rebuilding one of the rear calipers (92) and am wondering what the torque specs are for the two bolts that hold the caliper to the wheel bushing. I do not have a manual(Haynes or other) yet.
Maybe just 'real tight' wil work?
Thanks for any help!

paul

 

[TbirdSCFan]

I use mostly tight for the caliper pins on mine. With a 1' long ratchet and the Torx bit, I put probably 20lbs of force on it which is equal to 20 ft-lbs.

 

[ndiiorio]

i got my vacuum at the vacuum manifold at the rear right of the engine compartment. it is where the wipers get their vacuum. if you pulled your booster from the junk yard then you will have seen that is where the non abs cars get their vacuum for the booster. i checked the vacuum when i spliced into it through acceleration and it does not lose any vacuum.

 

[thirdbird]

Thank you guys!

 

[Jeremy_K]

Just to recap since I'll be buying this stuff new: I DO need a MC from the police interceptor crown vic? After reading this over it still isn't clear to me. When JVO said (ex police interceptor) did it mean former or except? Checker auto parts online is showing the same part number for both. So is there even a difference? Anyone with experience buying them new? Thanks

-Jeremy

 

[thirdbird]

Just to recap since I'll be buying this stuff new: I DO need a MC from the police interceptor crown vic? After reading this over it still isn't clear to me. When JVO said (ex police interceptor) did it mean former or except? Checker auto parts online is showing the same part number for both. So is there even a difference? Anyone with experience buying them new? Thanks

-Jeremy

Also to add,
In what RANGE OF YEARS C/V can the master cylinder we need be found?
Or is it the 93 ONLY?
thanks!

paul

 

[Jeremy_K]

Also to add,
In what RANGE OF YEARS C/V can the master cylinder we need be found?
Or is it the 93 ONLY?
thanks!

paul

I know the 92 is the same Part number.

 

[Jeremy_K]

OK, I've bought the new booster and MC. I'll be working on it tomorrow. In the pic on page 3 it shows the coiled up brakeline going from the 3-way block into the front fitting on the MC right? Is this just another piece of brakeline? As I recall there's only 3 brakelines going to the ABS unit so is this coiled one taken from the crown vic? Can It just be flared like normal or is it bubble flare? Also, Did anyone notice how long the post was sticking out of the booster? I know it's adjustable, but I'm not sure how far out it should be for the Crown vic MC. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

-Jeremy

 

[Jeremy_K]

Anyone???

 

[Jeremy_K]

I'd like to add a couple tidbits to this thread since I just finished doing the swap. If you buy a new crown vic MC from a parts store you will need a proportioning valve. Parts stores don't carry them (Napa told me it was for liability reasons) so you will need to find one at a junkyard or maybe Ford. I bought a 12" section of bubble flared brakeline with the proper fittings to go from the vic's 3-way block up to the front port on the MC. Bring the vic's block with you to the parts store to match the threads up to it and make sure you get the bubble flared line! All 3 lines from the SC are bubble flared as well which is good. Right now I'm having the same problems as sizemoremk with the low pedal. SuperXR7, did you ever gut the crown vic proportioner? I think this may be my problem having 2 proportioners squeezing off the rear brakes. I'll PM you about it. Sizemoremk, Did you ever get the low pedal figured out? Let me know.

-Jeremy

 

[2nd Anniv. SC]

Soft brake pedal and misc info-parts for brakes

I recommend trying Master Power Brakes, www.mpbrakes.com 888-251-2353 They have every kind of brake part needed for any type of vehicle or conversion. They were very helpful on a recent disc brake conversion on a 1966 GTO I just complete. I had the same problem mentioned soft pedal. They 2lb residual value, it used to prevent fluid backflow from the calipers to the master cylinder, its something you might want to look at since the abs system has pressure all the time and a normal system does not have till the pedal is applied.

 

[Jeremy_K]

I recommend trying Master Power Brakes, www.mpbrakes.com 888-251-2353 They have every kind of brake part needed for any type of vehicle or conversion. They were very helpful on a recent disc brake conversion on a 1966 GTO I just complete. I had the same problem mentioned soft pedal. They 2lb residual value, it used to prevent fluid backflow from the calipers to the master cylinder, its something you might want to look at since the abs system has pressure all the time and a normal system does not have till the pedal is applied.

Thanks for the recommendation. I found out the problem was my vac booster pushrod wasn't going far enough into the MC bore. I'm gonna try and find a longer one. Until then, I have a ball bearing between the pushrod and MC piston and it's working great. The pushrod is a very important and sensitive adjustment to make for this swap.

 

[Super XR7]

Jeremy, good news. As you know I have the same problem with the low pedal. Let us know what exactly you had to do to fix the problem as I am sure that there are others in the same situation. If there is something that needs to be made let me know and I will make some.
To insure that there is no air in the brake lines, do you know if one could apply a vacuum to the fluid resevoir (need spell check) and burp the system??
Mike

 

[Jeremy_K]

Mike, As far as bleeding, all I did was bench bleed the MC according to the instructions that came with it. Then I bled the brakes like normal with the key off for all four. R/R,L/R,R/F,L/F in that order.
I bled the brakes even with the low pedal several times and I haven't had to re-bleed them. A solution to the pushrod length would be to go to the junkyard and check out a few cars and see if you could find a longer one with the same threads. It could be that different booster manufacturers of the lowline tbird boosters have different length pushrods. That could be why some guys have problems and some don't. I'll explain exactly how I found out the problem.
I was determined to keep adjusting that pushrod. It just felt like it had to be the culprit. So I adjusted it all the way in and all the way out. The farther out, the better the low pedal got. So I figured maybe it needs to go a little farther. I had an old tensioner pulley laying around so I popped the bearing out of it. Then I shattered the bearing with a hammer. I took one of the ball bearings and coated it with grease so it would stick a little bit. Then I pushed the ball into the Master Cylinder bore. I then adjusted the pushrod on the booster all the way out to the last thread and reassembled the MC. I took it for a drive and the pedal was rock hard and had no give. I actually had gone overboard and the brakes were applied with my foot off the pedal (dragging). VERY DANGEROUS! You can blow out a brakeline like that. So I pulled the MC off again and screwed in the pushrod about 6 threads. Re-assembled and drove. Now the pedal was back to going low. I pulled the MC out again and had to repeat this a couple times adjusting the pushrod out only 2 threads at a time then test driving it. Finally, I got a perfect pedal. It's a lot of trial and error but it only takes 2 minutes to pull the MC off the booster and make the adjustment. There is a very fine line between your brakes dragging and having the right pedal height. It's a matter of only a thread or two.
I'm gonna go to the junkyard and compare some pushrods and hopefully find one that we can count on consistently for this swap. If you have the means to maybe make an extension for our pushrods that would be great. About 6 threads longer would be a safe bet on how long to make it. I put about 60 city miles on my car last night and the brakes are working awesome so I am happy with the swap now. Any questions feel free to email me. I may do a step by step with pics to put in the new chargin thunders.

-Jeremy

 

[Jeremy_K]

I emailed Cardone, the manufacturer of the booster I used to see if they have a longer pushrod that can be used. I'll keep this thread updated when I have more info.

 

[zillion_03]

ok so for a trouble free switch i need what?
a m/c off a 92-threw what year C/V?
a brake booster off of what kind of low lie tbird
and a brake porporting valve off of the same year c/v

is that it? please lets make a diffinitive list of parts. i need to change my brakes. my abs pump is crapping the bed.

 

[Jeremy_K]

ok so for a trouble free switch i need what?
a m/c off a 92-threw what year C/V?
a brake booster off of what kind of low lie tbird
and a brake porporting valve off of the same year c/v

is that it? please lets make a diffinitive list of parts. i need to change my brakes. my abs pump is crapping the bed.

92 or 93 crown vic MC /non-ABS
92 or 93 crown vic Proportioning valve (screws into rear port of MC. Parts stores won't sell them, junkyards and maybe Ford will).
Short section of bubble flared brakeline (I used 12". $3 at AZ, bring junction block with you to match threads)
90-92 lowline tbird W/O ABS vacuum booster
3/4" inside diameter vac hose (length depends on where you tap into intake).

I bought everything at Autozone because they were cheapest around and I didn't want to risk something not working. The MC w/reservoir was $52.99, The booster was 69.99+21.00 core ($10.00 cheaper online). I didn't have a core so it was like $91.00. The 12" section of brakeline was $3. The proportioner was free and the 3-way junction block was free at the boneyard. A buddy and a case of beer, Priceless....

I'll be doing an article for this swap in the upcoming Chargin Thunder. These ABS units aren't gonna last forever. I've gone through 2 in the last 6 months.

-Jeremy

 

[sizemoremk]

92 or 93 crown vic MC /non-ABS
92 or 93 crown vic Proportioning valve (screws into rear port of MC. Parts stores won't sell them, junkyards and maybe Ford will).
Short section of bubble flared brakeline (I used 12". $3 at AZ, bring junction block with you to match threads)
90-92 lowline tbird W/O ABS vacuum booster
3/4" inside diameter vac hose (length depends on where you tap into intake).

I bought everything at Autozone because they were cheapest around and I didn't want to risk something not working. The MC w/reservoir was $52.99, The booster was 69.99+21.00 core ($10.00 cheaper online). I didn't have a core so it was like $91.00. The 12" section of brakeline was $3. The proportioner was free and the 3-way junction block was free at the boneyard. A buddy and a case of beer, Priceless....

I'll be doing an article for this swap in the upcoming Chargin Thunder. These ABS units aren't gonna last forever. I've gone through 2 in the last 6 months.

-Jeremy

Just to be sure I didn't miss anything, the junction block and proportioning valve are the same thing, correct?

I have the block pictured here:
http://www.sccoa.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12055&d=1112635562

Also, I've been meaning to ask, is this thing important, or just a fitting, cuz I don't have one....

 

[CMac89]

The junctioning block is what the brake lines go to and the proportioning valve is what the connector is in. I think thats two individual pieces that won't come together if you get a new junction block.

 

[sizemoremk]

So these guys meant the junction block we already have in the car down on the "frame rail" area?

I thought they were calling that proportionaing valve a junction block.