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Help ... ABS Hydraulic Unit on a 2000 Ranger ... Why?


Sandho

New Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Messages
4
Vehicle Year
2000
Transmission
Automatic
Hopefully someone can tell me why I have an ABS hydraulic unit on my 2000 Ranger XLT 3.0 flex (2WD)
*See attached - right side above the battery

Long story short...
I started chasing an occasional lockup at the right rear wheel and soon discovered I have what is referred to as an ABS Hydraulic Unit. Rockauto, as well as some others have these listed for years up to 1998 but nothing for a 2000.

Can someone help me understand why my 2000 Ranger has one of these?
Is it common for a 2000 to have one and could it just be an error that they aren’t listed for this
Or do I has some kind of oddball, leftover parts truck that rolled off the line that year?


Btw.....
I do believe the locking issue may be caused by an out of adjustment problem. I’ll know in a couple of days of driving it.
It appears the adjuster cable is a bit too long because the metal tang that is supposed to contact the spanned wheel teeth is hanging below it and isn’t adjusting the brakes as needed.
A few twists in the cable seems to have shortened it up where it needs to be for now. I’ll replace the hardware next time I do the shoes. Probably sometime soon.

Current profile.
Front pads - at half life. Rotors - good, no grooves or warping
Rear shoes - past half life (new springs & hardware when the shoes were installed
Drums - good, no grooves and still round
Master cylinder - 1 yr. old.
Fluid - still clean 1 yr old, complete flush & bleed

I value all options on this one
Thank you

58427
 
Last edited:
All 2000 rangers had ABS. Rear wheel ABS was standard, 4 wheel ABS was optional. You have rear ABS. ABS units are complicated little buggers and very few aftermarket companies even bother to make them. You not finding a listing for one is most likely just because no one makes it anymore.

As for the lockup issue, could be improper adjustment, improperly assembled, leaking axle or wheel cylinder, bad ABS sensor, crappy replacement parts, rust forming on the drum... The list goes on.
 
Thanks Dirtman
Somehow that doesn’t surprise me about ABS systems.
Thankfully the adjustment on the right rear appears to have solved the locking problem.
I did notice the shoe was worn unevenly from side to side too. Most likely from twisting as it had to move so far to get contact.

I’ll be picking up some new shoes and hardware here soon and luckily not having to find ABS parts 👍

Thanks again 🍺
 
**Update**
The locking issue was caused by small wear grooves in the backing plate causing the shoe to bind & twist.
The last time the brakes were done those areas were inspected and greased. The contact points were smooth with only slight wear impressions at the time so nothing was done other than greasing the contact areas.
Saturday I had a mechanic friend over and he replaced the shoes and adjuster hardware for me.
He said those wear impressions were enough to cause the brakes to hang up and also pointed out that the uneven wear on the shoes was from them twisting when they were binding up.
He used an angle grinder with a scotch bright pad to flatten out & polish the contact points for the new shoes.
After everything was greased, installed, adjusted and the test drive complete, I am happy to report that the brakes have never felt so good.

It's amazing how such a small wear groove, even thought it felt smooth, would cause such a problem.
 
Good to know you resolved the issue.

Now, you need to rotate the tires every ~6k miles, and when you do, check, clean and adjust the rear brakes as required to keep them working that well. Drum brakes are not a "no maintenance" item.
 

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