One point that jumps out for me, the brakes are still pumping up. That suggests to me that there is still air in the system.

 

I understand and hear where your coming from. I was a journeyman mechanic and a service manager for a GM dealership back in the 60's and 70's I've been away from it for a long time. I have a home work shop that has lots of equipment for doing mechanical work. I do most of my own repairs, However at 79 years old I am getting tired. ABS is something I've never worked with, and without the proper tools is something I don't want to tackle. My biggest concern is the pedal travel. A couple of times the pedal went so far down before the brakes grabbed hold that my foot hit the gas pedal causing the truck to accelerate while trying to stop while backing up in a tight situation. I got the truck stopped 1 inch from hitting a fifth wheel pin box. so goes life. I just may go ahead and buy a new Booster and install it. If that solves the problem then it is money well spent. If not then it is still cheaper than what Ford would charge just for diagnostics. I doubt if most independent shops have the tools and equipment to do ABS systems. I find most and some dealerships are parts changers changing enough parts until they fix the problem. Anyway thanks for your efforts in trying to help me diagnose the problem.
Mel

 

 

Well I hope I didn't jump from the frying pan to the fire. I bit the bullet and set up an appointment with a garage and mechanic that I trust. We went for a road test and discovered that the parking brake is not working. could be adjustment or something else. Also found out that the brakes functioned better backing up and applying them. They are going to take it in the shop on Wednesday and put it up on the rack and remove all 4 wheels and take a look at everything. The parking brake has to be fixed. They will let me know whatever they find. There labor rate is better than Fords. Ford stealership charges $120 an hour where the independents charge $65. Anyway I will not do anymore until the shop finds out what is wrong. Just to many variables to deal with. Like I said before, I'm tired of dealing with this. 9 months is a long time.
Mel

 

 

It sounds like the ABS valves are not seating properly. I had the same issue with my 2011 when I changed the front calipers. I blead it multiple times with no success. I then took it in to a friend of mine that owns an auto shop and blead the ABS with the BCM program he had, no luck. I was going on vacation and needed to tow my toy hauler, so out of frustration I hooked up my toy hauler to see how bad it was. I panicked stopped it several time with the trailer attached it activated the front wheels ABS hard and whatever was causing the ABS valves not to seat was cleared and I had normal brakes again. I don't know if it was dirt or air but it's been good ever since.
Their is a bleeder called the Phenix system that bleeds by pushing fluid backwards from the caliper blenders to the master cylinder. They claim that it will push any air or debris from the ABS valves. I'm not sure what it costs but it might be worth a shot if you can't get it to work any other way.
. Mark

 

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Well when they told me what it would cost just to do the parking brake and diagnose the rest, I changed my mind and said no way. I am sure glad that I did. So today I jacked up the rear of the truck after blocking the front wheels and put jack stands under the axles. I the removed the wheels, Calipers and rotors. I suspended the calipers hanging by wire from the springs so as to not put a strain on the brake hoses The parking brake shoes on the drivers side are shot and covered with grease? It's probably brake fluid and chewed up brake shoe. I just can't believe a ford dealership would turn something like this loose on a customer. They had to have seen this when they turned the rotors. They never said a word when I picked the truck up nor did they call and tell me when they did the brake job. I found one of the pins and sleeve was froze and they never replaced it because it was froze I guess. They did install a couple of sleeves on the other caliper, but used all of the old bolts. I am going to mic the rotors just in case they took to much metal off when they turned them. I am going to replace the Calipers and brake hoses on the rear. Not sure about the Fronts until I tear them apart and inspect them. I am going to go ahead and replace the brake booster. When everything is replaced that needs it then if there is still problems. I will take it to a dealership that has the expertise and equipment to diagnose and repair the ABS system. Probably SLC Utah which is 47 miles away from me. Guess I'm a Hard Head or a glutton for punishment, but I don't give up very easy. I will keep the forum posted as to what I find and what the results are. I figure that even if I had to replace all of the rotors and the Calipers and hoses, It's still cheaper than fords labor alone. At least I will know what I have.
Mel

 

Unfortunately all work on a SD is labor intensive.

Sorry to hear of what you found. The parking brake shoes may have grease on them if the hub seal failed. Brake fluid would have to be caliper. Hopefully they turned the rotors with the on-car lathe.

Just watch out for the bracket to axle/knuckle bolts. They have a high torque and thread locker as well. One of my techs tore a shoulder ligament removing one and he was stoutly. From then on I made the policy to remove them only with an air impact.

 

My Impact wrench would not move them at 120 lbs pressure, so I got out my 25 inch breaker bar and managed to brake them loose. Once I had them broke loose I could remove them by hand. I got the mess cleaned up on the drivers side and the new parking brake Shoes and hardware kit installed. Will do the other side and then Put on new Calipers and hoses if the rotors are within spec. If not I will get new rotors. Will keep the forum posted as I progress.
Mel

 

Finally got good brakes. It was an expensive fix. I bit the bullet and replaced the rear rotors because The Ford Dealership had taken to much meat off of them when they turned them. I mic'ed them and they were not within spec's. Max and Min allowed was clearly stamped on them. Here is everything that I did. Replaced the rear brake Calipers, replaced the rear brake pads. replaced the power brake unit. replaced the master cylinder. replaced rear brake hoses. Replaced the rear rotors. replaced defective brake switch. replaced the front brake calipers. replaced Parking brake shoes and hardware kit. brake kleen and misc items. My total parts cost was $773.14 My labor was bruised Knuckles and sore back from laying on concrete, and a little scraped skin. Ford Dealership for turning rotors and new pads was $500 for a lousy job. total cost was 1,273.14 I now have good brakes and a full pedal with no excessive travel.
Mel