Brake problems

Check for frayed wires shorting at the sensors, I would however expected
codes to show up. StuK

I have the same problem on my 91 xlt. I think my drivers side rear tire locks
very quickly, so quickly i can't even tell, when I shut off the engine it
resets the light, it only seems to happen off road on the dirt or when i hit
the brakes hard

On 17 Sep 1998 05:06:04 GMT, (DSCHULER77) wrote:

The '91 ABS is a two-wheel 'passive' system. If you have one rear
wheel locking, you need to get your brakes looked at and fixed. It's
not the ABS doing it.

dr bob

My '91 XLT has locked the right rear brake since new. Multiple trips to the
dealer have never solved the problem despite replacing brakes, etc. Usually
only happens during the rainy season. I suspect I'm getting enough traction
when it's dry to keep the tire from skidding. RR also is sometimes frozen 1st
thing in the morning again during rainy season and I have to give it some gas
to break it loose. Probably unrelated is my ABS light coming on when braking
hard and that too only happens when it's wet out. Last winter it came on for
about a month and since summer has not lit up once. We'll see what happens this
fall. Rain is in the forcast.
Dewey

If my explorer acted like this from new, I'd have had a new one a long time
ago, at Ford's expense.
This is exactly what Lemon Laws are for. If the problem is safety and/or
drivability related, and they can't fix it, the car is officially a Lemon, and
the Lemon Laws outline what must be done. (This assumes that your state has
such a Lemon Law, of course.) Since the brakes are definitely safety related,
this would qualify.

The frozen RR tire after a rain is indicative of moisture getting into your
wheel/axle/bearings somewhere. I doubt it's the brakes, unless you have the
parking brakes set, or the shoes are draging on the drum (come to think of it,
this is a very likely scenario. I'd have them checked carefully)
Good luck.

Bill Funk
All I ask is the chance to prove that money doesn't buy happiness.

My '92 does the same thing during rain or snowy weather. It only is
touchy for the first few stops. Checked and cleaned the rear brakes and
without any improvement. I am going to clean the ABS sensor and hope
that helps somewhat. But it has me stumped so far...

I don't know if it is the same problem I had with my 91 but it sounds
similar. On wet days my rears or one rear brake was very grabby. When I
replaced the shoes I used organic linings (read ASBESTOS ) and I never
suffered it again. My 98 F150 is starting to do the same thing, but I have
found that if I ride the brakes gently a few hundred feet, ( I have a small
hill near my house which helps) It heats up the brakes and must "dry" them
out as they no longer grab. Just a thought. StuK

See my other post and see if it helps. StuK

---

The problem causing the rear wheel locking during cold/wet weather is
the friction material. It started occurring right about the time the
companies were switching from asbestos to non-absestos bases brake and
clutch linings. Many FOMOCO large cars and light trucks that use
non-organic/semi-metallic linings all have this problem. Night time
temperature drops and cool/wet weather allow moisture to form on and
between the drum surface and the friction material surface causing them
to be very 'grabby' until the surfaces are heated enough to drive the
moisture out. Use the brakes a couple of times in the AM and the problem
is usually gone for the day. The '89 Aerostar I had did it, the '92
F-150 my dad owns does it and even the '92 Festiva I once had did it.
Use non-FOMOCO shoes and see if it helps. As recommended by another
post, the use of organic shoe (read el-cheapo) is an alternative that
gets rid of the problem. If you need metallic linings then you'll also
have to put up with the grabby feel until you find a brand/quality level
that does not have these problems.

-Mike.