Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes ABS Unit Dead

I took my car into the dealer with the ABS light on, and according to them my ABS unit is kaput. They want $2700 Cdn. to fix it.

I have had some issues with the ABS fuse in the past (lost my fan -- they're on the same circuit). Is there anything else aside from the fuses that I can check?

Has anyone here done a remove and replace on the ABS unit? How rough is it? Is is really bad for those of us with larger hands.

Phil,

I remember reading on here not too long ago that someone replaced their unit over a weekend and it wasn't overly difficult. Also, if you're interested, drop me a PM as I might still have the used one from my parted out 2000 SVT.

Rick

I probably have one on my 98.

Autozone has a pretty good diagnostic and how to.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1e/b3/98/0900823d801eb398.jsp

Thanks for the offers guys. Apparently the part I am looking for is F8RZ 2C219 AA. not sure if that corresponds to the 2000 MY or not. That I guess begs the question of whether or not Ford changed anything up over the years.

I read the instructions last night after posting, and it would seem to be reasonably simple, just a pain in the butt to do.

The tech says he did the scan test which gave him a C1095 (pump motor fault), a C1137 (power circuit) and the sensor codes (1148, 1168, 1158, 1176). He also got a C1076, and said it had power and ground. Therefore, I guess, the unit is cooked.

I am going to check out the fuses and relays (hey, you never know) as soon as I can, but if he got power and ground, it doesn't look good. There is an ABS unit listed online in a local wrecking yard for a fair price.

Then there is also the possibility of trading the car (I was thiking about it anyway)......

I'll let everyone know how things go.

Well, I found one in a wrecking yard. They quoted me a good price to do the work: $550 after taxes....or so I thought. They asked if I wanted it back last Friday, but I gave them the extra couple of days and they agreed that it wouyld be done Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. They called me Tuesday noon and said that they misquoted me by using a quote from a 2.0. This was fair, I had seen both, and I would be gaining nothing by taking it to Ford, or so I thought. So I said go ahead.

Well, they didn't finish it on time. In fact, not even close. And they didn't call me. So, when I went to pick it up, I wasted both mine and my girlfriend's time. They dropped it off the next day, and my girlfriend took it for a test. The ABS light came back on, and the pedal was soft, she told me. I tried it when I got back home, and the light went back off, but the pedal was soft.

My take is that they bled the brakes, but didn't properly bleed the ABS system. Meanwhile, it's back at Ford, getting the system bled on the proper equipment. if the unit still doesn't work, I will have to go back to these bozos to get the warranty honoured, but I won't like it one bit.

OK, I had the ABS system properly bled at Ford. Now, when I start the car, the light goes off as it should, but the first time I hit the brakes, the light comes back on and stays on until I shut it down. Any idead what this could be?

Further update: I was driving today, and the pedal felt a smidge soft. Then it firmed up and the light came on. I am thinking that the system has air in it. Next chance I get, I am bleeding the system.

If anyone else has any input, I would appreciate it.