ABS to non ABS axle swap

i did some searching and i could'nt find anything. if im missing it please throw the link my way.

im getting ready to toss these axles in and im curious if my ABS is going to freak out or if it will just throw the light and work like normal brakes? im goin to get the non ABS booster and MC soon but im trying to get these in before that. as of right now im running a front shaft without the tone ring and nothing happened.

thanks
Sean

Well i did more searching and found a little. im still not totaly sure though. i read that Renix will not like the tone rings being gone but no real explanation of what happens was stated. i have found conflicting stories on the Renix ABS system., i read it will be fine besides the light and i have read it will not like it.


i could always just pull the wires and see what happens first.......

That old Bendix system was first generation ABS. There is no redundant "normal" braking system behind it. Pull too many wires or fuses and while the system will have residual pressure for 10 or so pushes of the pedal, eventually you'll have no brakes. I recall that the wheel cylinders for non-ABS brakes were larger so in addition to the lack of tone rings, the proportioning will be odd. I found that old Bendix system marginal at best on 31's.

I had issues with mine randomly going into ABS mode - when it couldn't get a signal from the tone ring. The theory is it thinks the wheel has stopped moving / locked up. Diagnostics on the unit suck so it's hard to get a meaningful code - who knows.
Got tired of messing with it, did the 95/96 MC swap and a Dana 44 axle swap at the same time and never looked back.

You might get away with it but, it's not a good idea. Really you should do the non-ABS master cylinder / booster swap first.

thats not the answer i was hoping for. im gonna do somemore searching now.


thanks!

Yeah... on a 90 you should be eliminating the ABS anyways. They're known for unreliability.

Good luck!

SeansXJ said:

thats not the answer i was hoping for. im gonna do somemore searching now.


thanks!

Click to expand...

I recently ran into the same problem but that is the right answer. You have to eliminate the system. While you're at it you might aswell do the 95+ booster/Mc upgrade since you have to swap them anyway. Good luck.

yeah i knew it was coming. well i gotta hit the yard and grab somemore parts i guess.

on my '90 i pulled the fuse under the dash and swapped in a 97+ 8.25 and dont have tone rings on my front axles. i havent had a problem stopping at all. been without ABS for over a year and 20K miles without issues. i do have a '96 booster/MC waiting to go in but have yet to do so. i hear a WJ booster is an easier swap. id research that option as well

This probably won't help much, but I ran without ABS with the Bendix system for a few months. I actually tore out the sensors on the rear on accident and said screw it and pulled the ABS fuse. Brakes worked, they sucked, but they worked. In fact I had more brake failures on my WJ swap while working out the kinks than I ever did on the bendix system. With that said, I'd recommend a WJ swap. I picked my MC and booster up for $70 at a local junk yard, and they pulled it for me. From there I just had to trim the pedal mount a bit, buy a couple generic hard brake lines at NAPA, cut/rebubble a few lines, and install new ZJ disc prop valve.

~Scott

1990JEEPXJ said:

on my '90 i pulled the fuse under the dash and swapped in a 97+ 8.25 and dont have tone rings on my front axles. i havent had a problem stopping at all. been without ABS for over a year and 20K miles without issues. i do have a '96 booster/MC waiting to go in but have yet to do so. i hear a WJ booster is an easier swap. id research that option as well

Click to expand...

now this has me thinking


tommorow morning im going to pull all the sensors and fuse to see how it acts, simple as that. im for sure swapping to a WJ setup im just trying to get it driveable for now. well see what happens.


thanks for the help
Sean

at first i only pulled the fuse under the dash. but i have since cut the wires in the front wheel well that run to the tone ring sensors on the front axles, and the ones that run to the rear from under the rear seat. i didnt do anything else to the system. removed the one fuse, and the sensors from the wheels

I love how people insist on playing russian roulette with a 3300lb piece of metal because some guy on the internet said it worked for him, when even the manufacturer knew the system was unreliable...

I've said all I can. Your choice from here.

kastein said:

I love how people insist on playing russian roulette with a 3300lb piece of metal because some guy on the internet said it worked for him, when even the manufacturer knew the system was unreliable...

I've said all I can. Your choice from here.

Click to expand...

whoa! relax!!

im not goona be daily driving the thing, just need to be able to get it down the street to bend some lines up for the new MS and Booster.

your input is greatly appreciated, thank you kastein! thank you everyone!

I did the MC/Booster swap in my driveway, just cutting and reflaring the existing lines and using the pedal and rod off the donor vehicle. Bleed the system and was on the road. It took longer to hack out all the ABS junk than get the non-ABS system in.

It's important to note that with that old Bendix system, even after disabling sensors and the computer, you are not using a conventional braking system like what backs up a modern ABS system. You are still using the ABS system for pressure (that design and the components used are the underlying problem) - it remains just as unreliable - it's just dumber.

I completely dumped the Bendix ABS system in my '89 Limited. I took it in to the dealer for the lifetime recall procedure, which turned out to be pretty pointless, as the system failed again one week after they "fixed" it.:explosion After that, I bought a '96 XJ as a donor, and swapped everything in, even down to the hard lines. No more brake problems. Here are a few links that may help you:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12967

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=923070

http://www.naxja.org/html/techarticles/uninstall_OEM_ABS.htm

Hope that helps.