The wife's 2003 XLT recently developed some problems. After first getting new pads and some new rotors, and a full few rounds of bleeding, we had positive engagement, but the pedal would start sinking once you stopped. Or it would sink as you were stopping, requiring a second push to get that stopping power back.

So we installed a new master, rebled everything, including plugging in to do an ABS bleed. Brakes felt fine, but then started jamming tight, dragging the brakes like crazy. Pulled the master off and adjusted the pushrod (which is a known issue on these trucks). Got back home from up north, and had to do another adjustment. But all the heat buildup left me needing to redo the brakes again.

So, now truck has new brake master, new hoses, calipers, pads, and rotors up front, new calipers, pads, and rotors in the rear, has been bled more than a vampires favorite victim, and has seen more rod adjustments than a *****house. Pedal will feel like I finally have the adjustment right, but then a few minutes later will start sinking slightly again. And then by next day, it'll just randomly start applying the brakes on its own.

Like this morning. Did another rod adjustment last night, went for a drive, it felt damn near perfect. Then this morning on the way to work, I'm going down the street and I'm feeling the resistance, and needing to lay further into the throttle just to maintain speed. Had to really push it the last few blocks to a parking lot so I could do another rod adjustment.

I've been watching a mark I made on the rod. It's not adjusting itself, which leads me to believe the ABS system is absolutely ****y and is engaging the brakes by itself, until I pull the master and relieve pressure. I'm not dealing with trying to rebuild the ABS, or replacing it. I've already warrantied a full set of brakes on this truck, and I'm not gonna keep doing this.

So, with that said, has anyone done an ABS bypass on this gen?

2003 F-150, XLT Crew Cab sport bed, 5.4 auto 4x4, 5 lug, under 7700lbs.

For what its worth, I'm a mechanic myself, but I've never had a system give me this much grief. At this point, I need the truck to stay consistently on the road. The ABS is becoming more of a liability than an assistive system. It's gotta go.

 

you cant bypass............ but might be able to pull an electrical plug off ? I don't think it has a separate fuse just for ABS............ light may stay on constant, but could be a good test to see if it is electrical end of the ABS.

 

Simply unplugging it wont fix this issue. There's something physically wrong with the ABS block. I'll be going down the road and it just starts building up pressure and holding the front brakes.

I get paid tomorrow, gonna spend some time at the local store mocking up fittings. That goddamn block is going away. I'm getting damn tired of having to pull over 3 times in a 5 mile trip to pull the master and readjust the rod just to relieve pressure/get my pedal back.

It's not even throwing an ABS light.

 

I would check the wheel sensors. I had the same problem, was a faulty front wheel sensor.

 

Not even gonna bother. Tired of wasting money. Not gonna keep trying to change out small parts one at a time while burning through 1 set of pads after another.

 

wheel speed sensor would give a ABS light on dash.
------ the fittings on the ABS are not "standard".... I replaced the brake lines to the rear end and front wheels from the abs... ended up using compression fittings on the line 6 inches down stream of the ABS.... what im saying is you might not get "FITTINGS", you might have to cut the ends off and use compression fittings on the open line... You can buy 6000 # fittings at NAPA.. steel , not copper.

 

My bad sensor did not cause the ABS light to come on.
It did cause grabbing on one wheel.

I went ahead and bought the wheel bearing with the sensor as it wasn't much more expensive than just the sensor.

 

Brake Pedal Fade - 2002 F-150 - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans