Pulsating Brake / Brake pedal

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
J

James Hatch

Active Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2013
Messages
125
Reaction score
0
Location
Portland, ME
Hello all,



I haven't had the issue for a year or so now, since pulling out my ABS fuse and driving that way, but before I did my issue was this:



Slowing down to a stop was fine... Until I hit 2-5mph. Then the brakes would pulsate very rapidly and the wheel would pull to either side until I came to a stop. Pushing harder in the pedal is not an option, I had tried that, it will not apply the brakes to stop the pulsation.. I thought that I had heard or read something about this problem on here earlier, but I wasn't sure if any of you had this issue before?

Stopping is much easier with the fuse out, I don't have to anticipate an extra 7 feet guess how many extra feet I will need before I stop. I would like to rectify this problem before I really need the ABS.



Any ideas?
 
James,

FIX YOUR BRAKES !! The system is telling you that something is wrong, STOP IGNORING THE PROBLEM or stop driving the vehicle ! You are endangering everyone who is on the road with you.



Pulsing brake pedal is typically caused by warped brake rotors. That is usually fixed by replacing the rotors or having them turned (on or off the vehicle) as part of a brake pad replacement. That the least expensive route for your immediate problem.



The problem with your ABS system still needs to be looked into. That can be an easy fix or a very expensive fix. Often times the problem with ABS is someone replaces the original rotors with ones that do not have the correct Tone Ring for the ABS sensor, or one of the ABS sensors is dirty, out of alignment, or faulty.



You probably need to take your Sport Trac to a qualified mechanic with the proper equipment to determine exactly what your problem is and get if fixed right !!



...Rich







 
Bad wheel hub is my guess



and fix your truck, if you crash, they will blame you 100%



Todd Z
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When I was working on my ST last week, I noticed that the slotted ring that the sensor reads was coated with brake dust/grime. That could be your problem...once your rotor speed is slow, the blocked passages are giving a false reading. Pull the tire and rotor/hub and clean the ring.
 
Thanks for the emergent warnings, I will look into having my buddy help me clean the sensors asap. Hoping that's all it is.. a new sensor harness is $80 last I checked and money is tight. Hoping I can ask nicely and get the rotors turned, and maybe my mechanic can turn them for me while replacing brakes.
 
Didn't see the double post at first as my cookies had been lost so have copied that post here and will remove from other thread.







My first guess is that at least one of your ABS sensors is giving a bad signal and the ABS system thinks that one (or more) wheels have locked up, hence the ABS action.



Did you by any chance replace any rotors? If you have, maybe you have an incorrect rotor and the pulse ring may not be the correct one. If your rotors are still original, I would start by checking all the ABS sensors.



I see that you have a 2002 (like I do), so only your fronts have disk brakes. I don't know where the sensors are for the rear wheels (never have looked).



By the way, you profile says you are a Job 1. I don't think that is possible as the Job1 vs Job2 only applied to the 2001 model year. Every thing after the change to Job2 in 2001 model year, all remaining Gen1 Tracs were Job2.



I am sure others will also chime in here to help.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow. I'm glad I sold my 1999 GMC when I did. I didn't think about the ABS being a possible consideration in an accident investigation. The GMC's ABS system went into full pulse mode one day, whether the truck was on or not. I pulled the relay, and it quit, so I checked the brakes, and they worked fine. Researched it and found it was a bad component that was going out on all of them, but with 90,000 miles on it I was unlikely to get it fixed under warranty, and they wanted $1700 to fix it! I left it that way for the rest of the life of the truck, and it actually stopped better without it! Apparently any bump in the road activated the ABS, so I was shocked to find out how quickly it stopped without it. The ABS on my Trac works much better, and has never given me any problem, but I might have considered disconnecting it if it went weird because of my previous experience. But if I did that, any accident would probably automatically be my fault, because the ABS was disconnected. Thanks for stating the obvious for those of us who are oblivious!
 
FYI - the tone ring for the rear brakes on a solid axle is in the differential under the ring gear (one ring).



[Broken External Image]:



Note this has a Lock-Right installed.
 
dreman,

Yes, in most cases vehicles will stop quicker on dry pavement without ABS. But there are other advantages to having ABS. The advantage of ABS is that you prevent wheel lock-up on the front wheels and that gives you steering control. Being able to steer the vehicle in a panic stop is often more important to avoiding an accident than simply a shorter stopping distance. Also, ABS does it's best work when the roads are wet or slippery...That's why nearly all Stability Control Systems use the ABS system to apply and release brake pressure at the proper wheel to help the driver regain control.



In vehicles like an empty pickup truck, ABS provides a much greater level safety when braking to prevent loosing control of the rear end in a panic stop.



So yes, it is a Big Issue, and ignoring the problem does not help.



...Rich

 
Uncle Bob, never replaced rotors. I'll have my mechanic check the sensors next time truck goes into.the shop, hopefully this or.next.weekend, and try to clean and see if that works. He thinks it's the front, as one of my brake pads was a little worn than the other, but still wouldn't hurt to clean both.



Again, thanking you all for your insight. I keep the fuse in the truck, but that is still no excuse. Will look into fixing this issue asap.
 
James H,

Sounds like you are taking the appropriate actions.



Whenever you have a situation where brake pads on one side are wearing more than the other, it usually signifies that one of your calipesr is sticking. This can be cause by hydraulic problems meaning pistons are sticking, or the "Floating" caliper is binding on the slide pins.



If you have the original Calipers, they probably need to be rebuilt or replaced. I prefer to replace the calipers with rebuilt units at every brake job....but I tend to be a little anal about having good brakes on anything I drive.



...Rich
 

Latest posts

Top