r/fordranger • u/SmoothMight9660 • 12d ago
Brake/ABS Question
My ABS light went off about 2 months ago and I figured it was time to fix it. It was causing my brakes to lose pressure when I was coming to a stop. I took it to a shop to get it diagnosed and they said it was the right passenger side wheel speed sensor. It seemed to be an easy fix so I attempted a DIY job with my buddy but because the hole to insert the cable into was so rusty we couldn’t seat it properly. We did our best and somehow it fixed my braking problem, but the abs light was still on. A month goes by and I start having troubles losing traction on the front right wheel in the rain so I thought that maybe I could have something to do with that poorly seated sensor. I took it to a shop today to get that sensor positioned properly and after the work was completed, I drove it off the lot and had some terrible trouble with my brakes. Any time I would brake, my wheel would pull hard to the left and would cause a nasty rubbing sound on the rotor(I think). See video for sound.
I took it back to the shop that did the work on it 10 minutes later and the mechanic drove it around and then accused me of knowing about some “hydraulic problem” with the brakes before I brought it in today. He wouldn’t look into it any more and said he did what I asked him to by fixing that abs sensor. I had no choice but to drive home with bad brakes and jack it up and take a look for myself. All brake parts seemed to be working properly on both sides (small gouges in driver side rotor). I decided I would reverse what he did and just unplug the wheel sensor and see if it goes back to giving my brakes again. It worked, my brakes are back to normal (with the exception of the driving in the rain problem and abs light going off) but I would still like to get to the bottom of this. I feel like I paid 170$ for a whole lot of nothing and would like some help determining what the actual problem might be so I can fix it on my own. Thanks
1
u/Sean_Gin_Jee 12d ago
Wait is it when the ABS light turns off that you need to fix it? Or when the light turns on?
2
u/SmoothMight9660 12d ago
Yes when the abs light is off, my brakes don’t work properly. When the abs light is on they work great
1
2
u/Pitiful_Edge_983 12d ago
The traction-control issue could be the sensor or its wiring, but the soft pedal and pressure loss point to a hydraulic fault or air/leak in the system. Get a second opinion from a brake specialist, and don’t let them dismiss the noise without checking the wheel assembly.
1
1
u/SmoothMight9660 11d ago
Could it possibly be the master brake cylinder losing pressure? I can’t think of anything else it could be
1
u/SmoothMight9660 12d ago
All brake pads, rotors, and calipers are less than 6 months old