- Joined
- Sep 14, 2026
- Messages
- 2
- Points
- 1
- City
- La Vergne
- State - Country
- TN - USA
- Vehicle Year
- 1996
- Vehicle
- Ford Ranger
- Drive
- 4WD
- Engine
- 4.0L
Hello, long time lurker first time poster. Delete if not allowed here. This might be a long one but I'll try to trim the fat.
I have a 96 Ranger 4wd 4WABS that I just got done doing a whole bunch of work to. All brake lines and hoses are replaced with new, axle u joints, spindles, wheel bearings etc. Whole nine yards. Calipers and rotors were replaced about a year ago along with a booster and master cylinder (because rust, not because lack of function).
After getting done with all the work I noticed the front brags are dragging really bad. It's noticeable due to very hot hubs after a short drive, and you can kinda feel the truck struggle like it has a load. In drive, the truck will not creep unless given throttle. After this, during some testing, I blew the last rusty brake line. Replaced that and the flexible hose. Issue still persists. Replaced master cylinder and booster AGAIN, because I had a faulty booster last time this happened, causing the same dragging issue. Now after the current booster, the drag isn't as bad SOMETIMES. I took it for a short drive and the truck didn't feel like it was struggling to move, and would creep just fine, but the hubs were still hot afterwards. Then, on the drive to the shop, I noticed the truck would not creep. I remedied this by shutting it off and pressing the pedal to release the vacuum.
What I have noticed, is that when vacuum is removed from the booster, either by clamping the vacuum hose, or shutting off the truck and pressing the pedal to release all the vacuum, the brakes free up.
So after taking it to a local shop, they have told me they confirmed my issue but cannot figure out why its happening. I am leaning towards a booster issue due to me being able to free up the brakes by what's mentioned above. The only thing I have not touched is the ABS pump. I read in the Haynes manual that during normal operation the ABS pump closes the valves going into itself, basically letting the brake juice bypass to the calipers so its hard to suspect that as an issue.
Please help I just want my truck to work again
I have a 96 Ranger 4wd 4WABS that I just got done doing a whole bunch of work to. All brake lines and hoses are replaced with new, axle u joints, spindles, wheel bearings etc. Whole nine yards. Calipers and rotors were replaced about a year ago along with a booster and master cylinder (because rust, not because lack of function).
After getting done with all the work I noticed the front brags are dragging really bad. It's noticeable due to very hot hubs after a short drive, and you can kinda feel the truck struggle like it has a load. In drive, the truck will not creep unless given throttle. After this, during some testing, I blew the last rusty brake line. Replaced that and the flexible hose. Issue still persists. Replaced master cylinder and booster AGAIN, because I had a faulty booster last time this happened, causing the same dragging issue. Now after the current booster, the drag isn't as bad SOMETIMES. I took it for a short drive and the truck didn't feel like it was struggling to move, and would creep just fine, but the hubs were still hot afterwards. Then, on the drive to the shop, I noticed the truck would not creep. I remedied this by shutting it off and pressing the pedal to release the vacuum.
What I have noticed, is that when vacuum is removed from the booster, either by clamping the vacuum hose, or shutting off the truck and pressing the pedal to release all the vacuum, the brakes free up.
So after taking it to a local shop, they have told me they confirmed my issue but cannot figure out why its happening. I am leaning towards a booster issue due to me being able to free up the brakes by what's mentioned above. The only thing I have not touched is the ABS pump. I read in the Haynes manual that during normal operation the ABS pump closes the valves going into itself, basically letting the brake juice bypass to the calipers so its hard to suspect that as an issue.
Please help I just want my truck to work again
