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The FORD dealership wants $54 for an 8mm bolt that holds the ABS sensor in place. Not kidding. $54. I called a second dealership, same thing, $54, but this time the guy said it was highway robbery, so he could give me a "deal" of $33. $33 for a bolt that ALWAYS shears when removed, no warranty whatsoever.
This is for a 2006 Econoline E-150.
This all started with the ABS light was on in the dashboard. I isolated problem to front left wheel ABS sensor and decided to replace it. I took off the caliper and rotor and when I went to remove the ABS sensor off the knuckle, I sheared the bolt. Happens all the time.
I then removed the knuckle (nightmare, had to rent the pickle tool) and took it to a machine shop to have the sheared bolt removed.
And now FORD wants extortion money for the bolt.
Can anyone recomend an after market part? Or am I stuck buying this specialty bolt??
thank you!
Last edited by ABSBoltSuicide; Jun 25, 2019 at 06:09 PM.
Reason: attach picture
Salvage yard is an okay idea but its entirely possible other bolts in that same position will have the same removal problems. You could run a thread gauge in the bolt hole to get its OD and thread pitch then simply replace it with a generic Grade 5 bolt with SAE washer, a bit of anti-seize to prevent it from doing this again. If a standard bolt head is too big to fit into a recess a hex drive cap screw of the same OD and TPI might work too.
Sadly that location doesn't allow PB Blaster etc use as there are no exposed threads for it to wick into.
And yes all manufacturers have outrageous prices on some of their own designed parts. You and I might think its robbery but more often than not something like a bolt is made for a very specific application and they change whatever they want.
The Ford dealership guys felt soooo bad about the $54 price tag on a single bolt (NOTHING special about this bolt, btw, M6, 1, fine thread, NOT made of stainless steel, titanium, platinum or gold)), they just reached into a bin, matched the thread size/count and gave me a couple of free bolts. One of them worked perfectly. Saved $54!
The ABS sensor replacement did NOT clear my ABS light, even after disconnecting battery for 1/2 hr.
Perhaps it will take 2 days of driving to clear the light???
The Ford dealership guys felt soooo bad about the $54 price tag on a single bolt (NOTHING special about this bolt, btw, M6, 1, fine thread, NOT made of stainless steel, titanium, platinum or gold)), they just reached into a bin, matched the thread size/count and gave me a couple of free bolts. One of them worked perfectly. Saved $54!
Perhaps it will take 2 days of driving to clear the light???
Very cool of the stealership to do that---just one of the benefits to being polite and maybe establishing a decent relationship with those guys. Like most of us they're just working people who have felt the pain of unfairly priced whatnots. Give them any business you can afford---good guys to have in your corner.
The DTC and/or MIL is due some issue the PCM sees----once or if the issue is corrected and the codes manually cleared it would be an immediate cease in the MIL showing. Since your MIL is still showing the codes haven't been cleared and/or you've not yet addressed. Have the ABS codes read and go about fixing whatever DTC pops up.