RABS help! ASAP

[NJGearhead666]

ok ive done a ton of reading up on this site about the infamous brake peddle fade. i quick backround on my truck. it has been parked for 2 years with a broke brake line. The brake system was completly dry and i had to replace both calipers and both wheel cyl. and a bunch of brake lines and the master and still i have the brake peddle that you can pump up and then it bleeds down to the floor.

now im thinking that its the RABS valve from all the reading ive done on here so here are my questions.

Can a RABS valve go bad from sitting dry for all that time? and how do you check to see if the valve is bad?

 

[Agnem]

If it bleeds to the floor, and you don't have any leaks, then it is either air in the lines or the master cylinder is bad.

 

[NJGearhead666]

If it bleeds to the floor, and you don't have any leaks, then it is either air in the lines or the master cylinder is bad.

ive blead 3 big bottles of brake fluid threw it and caped off the new master and it had a firm peddle. can it be that it has that much air in the line?

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Did you bleed the RABS module as well? With an open line it will suck air, and that won't purge with just regular wheel bleeds. Basically you treat the RABS as another wheel caliper, and bleed the system in the RR -> LR -> RABS -> RF -> LF order.

Also, methinks it would be good to replace the rest of the braking system as well, if one line was bad chances are others ain't in much better condition. Don't overlook the rubber hoses as well, I had one of my fronts start leaking slowly near to the caliper, and it felt just like a bad m/c.

 

[NJGearhead666]

i checked out ever inch of brake line on the truck. replaces any line that even looked tarnished even had the wheels off and my gf pump and hold the brakes to see if the rubber lines are swelling. my buddy is giong to come by later and help me blead the hell out of the truck and hope the bleeder opens on the RABS valve

 

[Optikalillushun]

i had the same issue, broken brake line and i replaced em w/ stainless steel. i bled them w/ a master power bleeder, should i try to bleed the RABS? the pedal is OK, but it cant hurt...right?

 

[supertom151]

When I bought my 92 E-350 it was sitting for 5 years after the transmission blew in a WI snow storm, with all the salt on the under body and after 5 yr. of sitting, all the lines were junk so I replaced everything in the system everything but the RABS valve.
I found it was better to bypass RABS valve, after reading many Ford forums.
The original owner drove it not long after, and the first thing he said was boy the brakes work better than the day I bought this new from Ford.

 

[redneckaggie]

i dont have a bleeding pedal but my brakes have never worked quite right just dont seem like they stop hard enough. I have replaced everything but the rabs and the vacum pump( it checked out to 14 lbs of vacum) my back brakes also dont adjust if that helps i have to get underneath and adjust them manually

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Guys, you should always bleed the RABS when you get an empty rear brake circuit. The RABS bleed valve is not hard to get unstuck, if anything the calipers and wheel cylinder bleeders will seize up well before it does. Bypassing the RABS ain't hard at all, but can bite you in the ass in an emergency stop on rain when not loaded - at least my truck is very easy to lock the rear brakes, I've had the RABS fault out once cause of air in the lines and that truck damn near went sideways when I was playing around in the rain. Fixed my lines, bled everything, went to play on the wet again - ABS kicks in like it should, truck goes just where I tell it to. Also, when it comes to doing an e-stop on snow, no RABS ain't no fun at all, especially as I got a dually and most of the time the only weight I get over the rear axle is from the fuel in the tanks...

 

[NJGearhead666]

well tonight i bleed it more and i cant get the bleeder open on my RABS and it looks like it still has roadsalt all over it so i been soaking it with good old PB Blaster and will try tomorrow or the next day to get it open. the RABS is my only thing left to fix and check so i hope its what the problem is.

btw my gf and I have decided on a nickname for my diesel finally. its been dubbed The Anti-Christ

 

[RLDSL]

Try some heat on that bleeder, use propane tho, not MAPP gas (MAPP gets real hot real fast), and watch the wires.

I don't know if I'd want to be using a torch on delicate parts there. That might be one of those cases where a can of Aero Kroil and a few days of patience might pay off will a little less collateral damage

 

[Optikalillushun]

i shall try bleeding the RABS than! my pedal isnt bad but it doesnt wanna stop like i think it should...

 

[redneckaggie]

could the rabs be the problem with my stopping cause i bled it out and there was no air truck still stops the same

 

[RLDSL]

Just a silly thought here, but have the rear shoes been double checked for adjustment here?

 

[redneckaggie]

changed the adjusters and adjust them by hand routinely the problem has been ongoing for like two years.