Bypass the RABs valve on the frame....... remove and save the valve though they are really expensive and someone will buy it.

 

What about just unplugging the harness off the RABS module? Won't that disable the valves in it and make it behave like a straight piece of brake line?

 

The brakes are acctually anti skid not antilock. Antiock brakes unlock and reapply so fast you cant tell it. Anti skid unlock and stay that way. The truck speeds up as the rear brakes quit . This will scare the hell out of anyone, you think you are going to shove you foot through the floor. LOLOLOL

If you were to disconnect them you might swap ends the first time the brakes lock-up.

FWB

 

so what is the best thing you guys reccomend do? i really need to get this truck to stop better then what it is now.

 

I think I'm gonna go and bypass it hydraulically, then at first opportunity convert to hydroboost - I now have a Chevy hydroboost with a rod that's 1" longer than it should be, but that's actually good cause I really don't like the brake pedal so low, so really I only need the hoses... which will more than likely come from a Chevy truck again, seeing how that's about the only hydroboosted vehicle I can find at the junkyard

 

I just pull the fuse on mine and then remove the warning light bulb from the dash. I have done this on several trucks and it works every time so far. Ford RABS is dangerous IMO.

 

Well last night I disconnected the harness from the RABS module, and it felt like the pedal is going to the floor, you know, as if the solenoid goes wide open and when I get on the pedal the fluid has to first fill that piston-accumulator-thingie and then start building up pressure... Does the RABS need some key-on power to keep that solenoid shut so I can build up pressure like normally?

 

My brake & ABS lights are on all the time (the ABS light goes off very briefly right after I start, then comes right back on). I'd prefer to correct the cause of the problem, but so far haven't been able to. So, I disconnected the wiring from the RABS control module. The brake & ABS lights are now off, and the brakes perform just fine. BTW: this is my first post. I've been lurking for a few weeks now. Great site!

 

Congrats on your first post!




You will find alot of great advice here from people that are more than willing to help. I too have the same issue with my truck and working with a few ideas regarding the RABS valve. Ie.. removing springs.. disconnecting.. bypassing. I dont know what the brakes were like when this truck was new but its less than acceptable now. Im getting used to it but had a friend drive it yesterday and forgot to tell him about the brakes and his face turned white the first time he had to stop quick.. lol.. wouldnt be a good rental truck..

 

Im going with the stiffer springs therory... will let you know the outcome once i dial it in ..

 

Hey, just pull the fuse and try it. If you don't like the way it feels, put the fuse back in. Like I said, I have done this to several trucks and the brakes are good. My rears are not lockup prone at all.

The RABS valve is bound to have some sort of default proportioning setting for if the system goes down. I doubt it is "wide open" as you say or else I would have locked up the rears big time the other morning when a deer jumped out in front of me.

 

yep, my ABS light is on too... in a 94.. i'm not sure if it's just a sensor or if the ABS is actually disabled. sure feels like it is. but like y'all are saying the "ABS" in these trucks is kind of screwy anyway. havent checked the fuse or anything yet, i just got used to the ABS dummy light.

i'm not messing anything up am i?

 

Jstrauss, you drive a SRW truck, correct? These ain't as prone to wheel lockup as dually trucks are, tis when you have 4 across the rear with little to no weight on them when things get real scary real quick.

Dieseldirt, are you sure you have no air in your brake lines? It will mess with the ABS big time, so check the fuse and if it's good then try bleeding your brakes before condemning the electronics. As to messing up something - your yellow warning light shows something's already messed up with the RABS, whether tis someone pulled the fuse to disable it, or disconnected harness to the HCV on the frame rail, or tis a VSS going out in the rear axle...