Alleged ABS unit FIX described

[Ldub]

I wouldn't expect this to fix every unit. I wonder what ever made the guy try this fix?

The insane price of a new one...

Thirteen MEELION dollars.

[PK]

Can you say "DESPERATION"?

I don't know - it is a logical thing to try now that I have seen one in half.

For the ABS to work, the coils have to pull (or push) those pistons to make the brakes modulate.
If the pistons are seized up due to lack of use, then spraying them with a penetrating oil of some sort is logical.
Only reservation I would have, is to make sure the spray used is compatible with the brake fluid, if any was to seek in that far.

Makes more sense to get out on a back road and hammer the brakes once a month now.

PK

[VX KAT]

Makes more sense to get out on a back road and hammer the brakes once a month now.

PK

Didn't Rowhard subscribe to that theory, and made sure he tested/used his monthly....but then his still failed too? John??

[VX KAT]

• I wrote to the ebay guy (resk123) that wrote that today to ask him some more questions...awaiting reply.

• I've also written to the ebay REBUILD guy 3 times now, with pics, sent these latest pics of the innerds,
  and referenced the Isuzu Workshop Manual, page 5A-5 which says this:

General Service Precautions
The following are general precautions which should be
observed when servicing and diagnosing the Anti-lock
Brake System and/or other vehicle systems. Failure to
observe these precautions may result in Anti-lock Brake
System damage.


The EHCU and valve block connectors should never
be connected or disconnected with the ignition “ON” .

EHCU of the Anti-lock Brake System are not
separately serviceable and must be replaced as
assemblies. Do not disassemble any component
which is designated as non-serviceable in this
Section.

...here's his response today:

Hi Sue,
We have several thousand of this same type abs Module, This Design is used on many other Makes and Model Automobiles, We will have no problem rebuilding this abs Module.
Thank You
Don

Sounds promising.....

[rowhard]

Didn't Rowhard subscribe to that theory, and made sure he tested/used his monthly....but then his still failed too? John??

Yep, mine failed too, but heck, it doesn't work so trying this can't really hurt it. Just wondering about compatibility of the fluids

[atilla_the_fun]

Aren't both units sealed? The plastic electronics "brain+solenoid" component should not have any interaction with brake fluid. The brake fluid should be contained inside the valve box. if you look at the picture of the unit split into its two components, you don't notice any brake fluid at the interface of the two parts.

[circmand]

Needs More Cowbell

[ScottinMA]

Did anyone do this and tell us whether it worked?

[circmand]

Did anyone do this and tell us whether it worked?

Of course we havent heard anyone say they tried it and it didnt work either

[Knigh7s]

Oops, been busy, haven't had time to do it. Maybe this weekend...

[SlowPro48]

I haven't tried it - but I'll tell you anyway! NO it will not work.

Hose the connector down with contact cleaner if you want - maybe you'll get lucky and an oxidized pin or two was your only problem. I doubt it though - it's a good connector.

But DON'T waste your time spraying anything in the control module. You can't fix Fine German Engineering with a spray can!

I'm betting he just jarred the broken bus wires when he removed the EBCM to spray behind it, the ends made contact and the ABS light went out for a day or two. Or since the back of the EBCU is open - if his contact cleaner was Caig Deoxit and he shot enough in there to make it all the way back to the circuit board - and wash the protective gel off too - it would inhibit aluminum oxide formation in the break and the ABS light might stay off for several weeks - but the bottom line is - if he's got the classic Bosch 5 series problem, spraying contact cleaner will NOT fix it. AFAIK, you cannot fix a broken wire with anything that comes out of spray can. But hey, it IS possible to "fix" the problem with something that comes out of a tube! (silver epoxy) For a while anyway. The engine compartment gets pretty hot which is probably one reason the bus wires fail in the first place (aluminum wire with a sharp bend, lots of vibration and heat cycling.... can you say metal fatigue?) so even if you use a high temp silver epoxy like Duralco 124 it would probably break down eventually. They crow about it lasting 6 months at 650 degrees F though so it might last for many years at our 150-200 degree engine compartment temps.

Oh, and PK that was a good thought but there are no external moving parts on the hydraulic section so don't bother hosing it down with lube. I'm sure you can find something else to lube. If you want to see if those valves move freely use a magnet. The outlet valves (the flat topped ones) are normally closed so just put the magnet on top and you'll hear the click. The inlets (rounded top) are normally open so just put the magnet on the side and stroke it up and down that's right stroke it, stroke it real good - oh sorry - I don't know what came over me - it's like I was channeling someone else's thoughts - all of a sudden I had visions of roof racks dancing in my head and I started thinking about the shape of those inlet valves - they look like little.... ahhhh nevermind... anyway you should hear the valve clicking when you move the magnet up and down that's all I'm trying to say. But that doesn't tell you it's sealing properly - just moving as it should...

[leonml]

Well my light just went on when I pulled into a parkiing lot. Can't tell, but brakes seem fine. Gonna check the fuse in daylight. I wonder how hard it would be to just replace the whole ABS system with another from some other vehicle. Heck they are even putting corvette ABS in hot rods now.

[johnnyapollo]

You would need a 4WD system - it has double the valving for the sensors.

[leonml]

Well now my light was off in the morning, so I'm sure eventually it will be off and on for a while and then on for good.

To replace the whole abs wouldn't be too difficult I wouldn't think.

[rsteinmetz70112]

To replace the whole abs wouldn't be too difficult I wouldn't think.

But it does get Expensive$$