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Rear ABS Removal


Rockclymr
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Hello everyone, was wondering has anyone disabled or completely removed the ABS system on their Pathfinder? A search of the forums yields 0 results Since I SAS the front to a Dana 44, running a larger Master Cylinder. replacing lines. etc. was thinking I might do away with that whole system since I wont be doing any street driving anyway. Thoughts or any info would be much appreciated.

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I removed the ABS from my '93. There's not much to it.

 

The computer is under the driver's seat (the rounded box, the square one is the alarm), though I'm told earlier models have it under the radio. The valve block is on the passenger's side frame rail, about even with the B pillar IIRC. If you're running new lines anyway, just remove the valve block and run your new line. The hard lines on mine were in good shape, so I cut the squiggly bits off the ends, then scabbed in a straight section of line with flare nuts and unions. (I tried working with the lines as-is, but the result looked like a rat's nest, and I didn't like the idea of it vibrating around.) The fittings are M10x1 invert flare. If you have trouble finding them, try a Miata supplier.

 

The ABS block flows straight through when it's not powered up, so removing it shouldn't change how the brakes operate under normal circumstances. I never got mine to kick in under any circumstances, though I never locked it up at highway speed just to see what it would do. I deleted it both because I thought it might be contributing to another issue I was having (it wasn't) and because it was coding for a $250 speed sensor that looked like a pain to replace.

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Unplug the computer for it, that's all you have to do electronically, the light will go out and never come back. Then as Slart said, just delete the unit on the frame rail, since these are rear wheel ABS only it's fairly simple. You could probably just leave the abs pump there if you wanted, it doesn't affect anything when it's disconnected. Unlike modern cars lol.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just a thought for discussion... 

 

I have been battling my rear brakes seizing for a couple of years now. I have noticed a trend that the rear ABS light comes on more frequently when it's closer to the time that they are seized and require service. 

 

They were recently torn down and cleaned up and It was suggested that I take a different approach and actually put grease around the seals, rather than simple brake fluid to prevent the rust from building up. Time will tell on this fix.

 

So, My thought... it appears as though it's throwing a fault because it's not sensing the ability to pump fluid to the rear brakes. Am I wrong, or would you think that it's a symptom of 30yo electronics becoming glitchy and close to failure? I'm away from the rig right now so I cannot confirm, but after the rebuild, the ABS light turned off as usual, where before the rebuild, it would stay on religiously.

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I was going to say there's no way this primitive ABS system could tell if the rear brakes were working, but I just checked the service manual and among the codes you'd expect there's a code just marked "other" (code 5). The diagnostic procedure for "other" is to overhaul the rear brakes, and if that doesn't do it, replace the ABS brain. The manual offers no further explanation. There's no cutaway or hydraulic diagram for the actuator, probably because they didn't expect anyone to take it apart. The electrical diagram shows an unmarked switch inside the actuator that I would lay money is a shuttle or a pressure switch or something of that nature, and would explain this mystery code, if only they'd been bothered to label it.

 

So, yeah, I don't know how it knew what was wrong, but it sounds like it did, and you did exactly what the manual calls for!

 

Mine was boring. It just coded for an open speed sensor circuit when it got wet.

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Ya, I just confirmed it. The light comes on initially when I turn on the ignition for a second or two and then it turns off. That part, at least for now, appears to be fixed, where it was consistently lit before. 

 

I think that it recognizes that the flow of fluid is impeded and it then throws a fault. The brakes got so hot from them being seized that any coating on them was cooked off and now they'll likely be covered in rust in short order... good enough reason to give them a paintjob now... And now that I'm going to take axles out to replace the bearings and seals... another great time to do that. I just need to find something to cap off the lines for a short time...

 

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11 hours ago, gamellott said:

I just need to find something to cap off the lines for a short time...

 

When I replaced my soft lines, I cut the ends off the old hoses and welded them up to make caps. Overkill for sure but it works great. You can also prop the gas pedal down a little (a photography monopod works great for this) so the master blocks fluid from draining, though I haven't used this method in a while. I prefer knowing air can't get in there even if it wanted to.

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