ABS Brakes

[Deere John]

Again yesterday, I was scared by my anti-lock brakes. The situation was me trying to stop at an intersection, and the anti-lock kicked in and I stopped 8 feet into the intersection. Speed at the time was less than 8-10 mph when they kicked in.

I call these anti-stop-NOW brakes. There was sufficient traction available to stop the truck IF the anti-stop brakes were not so touchy, and released most of the braking pressure.

My question: Does anyone know of a way to deactivate the system on a temporary basis? Anti-lock works well at higher speeds, but at low speeds, I am sure they become anti-stop brakes. The truck is a 2000 Chev 2500 diesel.

 

[wyldman]

If it is a 4WD,then putting it in 4WD usually does it,and the 4WD system will actually help the front or rears from locking separatly.Regular anti-lok will not work at all in most 4WD systems.You can also take the ABS fuse out and connect a switch across it (with an inline fuse).

 

[cat320]

John your not the only one with that problem my '97 does the same thing i could stop better with my '85 than this one and i'm not going very fast either when i have to stop but like you I end up into the intersection rather than stopping before it. These are the worst system that they could of put into the truck besides having to pay more for the truck becuse of them.I think that they shoukld be an option if you want them or not .

 

[nsmilligan]

This is one thing I found with my 98 2500 GMC the worst ABS brakes I've driven. GM seems to have a really slow pluse rate compared to the European systems, Citroen had ABS in the 60's. Must say, one of the positive things about my Dodge 2500HD is the ABS system works much better then GM.

Bill

 

[Mark Oomkes]

Our F-750 has ABS on the air brakes, they work great. Maybe its just the Chevy's. Be thankful, the brakes on our 1 ton Dodge don't work good anytime. We have disconnected the rear anti-locks and it still didn't help.

 

[John DiMartino]

Gm's abs is the worst,my 95 blazer's sytem is so lethargic,it should be illegal to sell.It pulses so slow and reacts like its in slow motion.My old 84 s10 woiuld stop so much faster without ABS in the same conditions.The ABS also has no feel whatso ever to it,just a spongy numb pedal.If mt ABS goes out,Im yanking the whole unti and converting to the mid eightys propotioning valve and old style master cyl.I also have a 94 Chrysler town and country AWD mini-van the ABS is outstanding,the pedal is firm and hasd feel,the abs is quick and quickly restores full braking the instant you regain traction.My 96 Ram's ABS was way better than my uncles 96 Chevy too.I hope the new HD's are better.The GM systems with 4 wheel ABS ,the abs works in 4wd too,the RWAnti-lock system cuts off the abs in 4 wd.

 

[SlimJim Z71]

I had a '95 Grand Am that had the "slow pulse rate" you guys are talking about. But... my '96 K1500 has awesome ABS brakes. They pulse REALLY fast! It does a good job of stopping me pretty quick.

-Tim

 

[plowking35]

I to am very pleased with my ABS on my 98 3500 and I like them.In fact they have helped me on more than one occasion.
Most people have a tough time just pushing the pedal, they think they have to help the abs by pushing the pedal repeated times, and that lengthens the stopping distance.
Most here know better than that.
I think gm had a recall on the s series abs a few years back.
Dino

 

[thelawnguy]

"Must say, one of the positive things about my Dodge 2500HD is the ABS system works much better then GM."

Then you would be shocked to know that the GM and Dodge pickups share the same brake system-yep, check out the Dodge real close, Delco stamped on everything, even front pads and rear wheel cylinders interchange with comparable Chevy/GM truck.

The thing folks dont realize is that ABS doesnt necessarily shorten stopping distances, rather it keeps the wheels turning so you continue to have control over where the vehicle can be steered.

 

[Mark Oomkes]

Too bad Chrysler can't make them work decent on every truck. Our 1 ton the pedal feels mushy all the time (went through three sets of pads in the first 21K), our 3/4 ton has a great pedal and no problems, our 1/2 ton is right in the middle. Some of our competitors had the same thing, one of their 1 tons had decent feel to the pedal, the other was just like ours, mushy and to the floor.

 

[thelawnguy]

The self-adjusters on the Dodge are garbage, every time you change the oil get out there and manually adjust the rears and you will have no more mushy pedal.

I put 1-ton rear cylinders in my 3/4 ton and boy did it make a difference in stopping!

 

[Plowboy]

had a 94 4x4 s10 great abs drove the bosses 99 3500 srw 4x4 with a trailer tried to make a panic stop in the rain, and I THOUGHT I would never get stopped the ABS let off all the pedal pressure, trailer brakes were doing most of the work. Love the 92 f250, in 4x4 with plow and salt, I can stop better than any chevy I ever drove, but it could be I have brand new tires so its hard to say yet.

 

[Mark Oomkes]

lawnguy, we have done that, we've had it to a couple different brake shops, as far as I know we and they have tried everything, and we still can't get them to work decently.

 

[thelawnguy]

Try changing the front pads to ones that are carbon metallic, Autozone for one sells them. http://www.performancefriction.com

 

[Mark Oomkes]

lawnguy, the problem we are having is not with the front brakes anymore (we replace them every year whether they need it or not), but that the back brakes are not getting used like they should. The front pads get very worn in that year, the rears are barely worn.

 

[thelawnguy]

Mark that is because the rear brakes are out of adjustment. Believe me when I tell you I went through the same exact situation you describe. You may have to get them adjusted more often.

What year is the 1-ton? Some of the later models have an adjustable rear proportioning valve, maybe a turn or two on the adjustment sleeve will give you just enough more rear pressure to take the load off the fronts.

 

[Mark Oomkes]

They are not out of adjustment, I personally have adjusted them, a couple of times too tight, and it still doesn't matter. I have had professional, licensed mechanics adjust them, it doesn't matter. Brand new shoes , it doesn't matter. It's a '94 same year as our 3/4 ton with the good brakes. I've had the dealer (for whatever that's worth) and they haven't been able to get a decent peadl on it either.

 

[John DiMartino]

It sounds like you've got a bad ABS controller or a proportioning valve problem.Another posibiltiy is the rear section of the master cyl has a bad seal and the fliud is going arond the seal,instead of pressurizing.Usually the fluid will leak externally when this happens though.My Dads new 3500 dually's rear brakes are to strong if anything.

 

[Remsen1]

ABS Brakes are for people that do not know how to apply brakes when they are in slippery conditions (the people who slam on the brakes). For people that know how to feel for tractions (I assume that most of us are adept) ABS is a hinderance to stopping quickly. I have experience with Chevy ABS and Dodge ABS. Somebody indicated above that they are the same, but my 95 Chevy was harder to stop than my 95 Dodge. With the Chevy the ABS would release ALL brake pressure, a moment before a good driver would release SOME brake pressure. Also the Chevy seemed to release brake pressure for too long.

 

[Deere John]

Remsen1 - my complaint is as you describe it. I try to brake to the threshold, but the GD anti-stop will kick on, and basically dump all of the stopping force in favour of being able to steer into whatever looks the least painfull to hit.

I am going to play with the fuse, as suggested above, and see if that helps - then wire a switch.

It even happens in reverse - I almost hit a building yesterday backing up for another pass - the just wouldn't let me stop. Brakes work well otherwise.