Hi, new to the Ford-Truck forum and a new owner of a 97 blue ford expedition that i paid 500$. i just moved in a new (first) house and going back to school at the end of the summer i dont have money for a newer and better car, but i want to try and fix this truck, and i mechanically inclined and love working on car.

that being said here my problem :
- exhaust leak that i have not located yet
- sluggish acceleration/erratic idle
- weird braking problem when the truck have sit for a while, goes away when yellow ABS light goes on

i will try to locate the exhaust leak this weekend, as well as doing a engine oil flush/new spark plug/air filter. ive also read something concerning cleaning EGR/PVC/IAC/MAF sensor. any DIY/tips for cleaning these part somewhere? also any other thing i should look?

now the braking issue. it only act when truck have sit a while, and only the first or twice time i stop the truck, brake pedal shake a lot, truck dont seem to have braking power but issue goes away almost right away, ABS light goes on and never did it again once i was driving around town, only come back when i turn the engine down and let it sit for a while.
any idea what would be the issue/faulty part?

sorry for the big story, and thanks for the help!

 

After a start up, as soon as you get to ~5mph the ABS module goes through its self check procedure. If the module determines that the self check procedure didn't pass, it requests that the ABS light turns on and disables the ABS.
I'd get the codes read with a reader that also reports "C" (Chassis) codes like maybe a wheel speed sensor issue or an internal dump valve problem. Codes are your friend.