I have the first round of 4 wheel ABS on my rig and was wondering if there was a way to disable the front abs without throwing codes?
I have had a couple events that could have been accidents because the way the abs works.
If I loose traction at the back wheels while braking, the whole system softens up making the truck loose braking ability. Very strange and unstable feeling.
I would rather have no front abs than have it.
Thanks,
Ken

 

If you keep steady pressure on the pedal, there should be no softness. The pedal will drop and feel funny, but the pressure should remain constant on the fronts as long as you keep constant pressure on the pedal. They take a while to learn to drive with the ABS. It will act the same even if you were to disable the front ( which you can't!). The rear prtion of the ABS is activated and works on the same principles as the rear in that system. Totally different setup than the trucks that had rear wheel ABS only. There is no way of diabling any portion of the ABS without disabling it all.

 

What happens is the system lets up on the front and rear pressure when there is loss of traction in either front or rear.
The pedal does not change.
I can stand on the brakes and if the rear attempts to skid, the whole system will soften and the truck will roll like I am applying light pedal pressure.
I'm not sure if my ABS system has issues or if that is the way the system was made to work.
The PO had all of the pads and calipers replaced just before I got the truck.
He had recently replaced the front rotors with slotted ones to assist with braking issues.

 

The whole point of antilock brakes is to do whatever it takes to keep the brakes from locking up so you theoretically have "better control" of the vehicle. The rears should be separate from the fronts though as far as activating the abs. It should NOT reduce brake pressure on any wheel that is not showing a decrease in speed over the others. Basically if 3 out of 4 wheels are showing the same speed ( actually 2 out of 3- the rears are tied together), the abs will release pressure on whicever wheel is affected. It willbe either both rear, or L/F, or R/F. You can pull the abs fuse and see if the brakes have the ability to lock up. There may be more than one issue at hand. The brakes may be weak for one reason or another, and there may be an issue with the abs. If there are no codes, I would say the abs is fine. There may be a problem where there is more pressure going to the rears because of a bad proportionary valve or master cylinder. You are "feeling" the result by pressing the pedal harder and "releasing" the rear brakes when the abs kicks in. The fronts may be the whole problem in the first place. Too many possibilities at this time. Need to narrow them down some. Drive it with the abs disabled and see if you can lock up the front brakes on gravel or something.

 

What you said makes sense.
The brakes feel good with normal braking.
The truck stops well and even without any pulling from one side or the other
Just the panic braking is a little scary
The systems should be independent but it does feel like the fronts are controlled by the rear abs.
I don't know much history of my truck but I do know it did have a front end collisionat about 65,000 miles.
There is no sign of damage to the truck other than bad alignment of cheap foriegn fenders.
I will pull the ABS relay and do some test braking to see if the front is working as well as it should.
I will also check the harness to see if there is any way to have it reversed.

 

I know exactly what you are talking about. My '01 is rear only and I have no complaint with it, but our '02 Durango (with 4 wheel ABS) just plain will not stop when you need it to. Normal braking is fine but a panic stop is just plain scary. I have a cousin that also has a Durango and a friend with an '02 Ram, both with 4 wheel ABS, and both have the very same complaint. Will not stop under panic conditions no matter how you do it. If I were driving the Durango very much you can bet I would figure out some way to unhook that worthless system.

 

I am not a lawyer.

BUT,....if you "disconnected" the ABS system and God Forbid were involved in a collision,
a lawyer would have a Slam-Dunk case in front of a jury to take pretty much everything you own.

 

My 1997 has 4 wheel antilock. If I hit a bump (like an expansion joint), the brakes release for at least a full second. Depending on speed, this could be quite some distance. It has been this way since new and Dodge says that’s what it is supposed to do. While this may allow me to steer, it does not allow me to stop. I’ve driven several other makes and none of them exhibit this same behavior. Come take a ride in my truck and then comment. ;-)

I don’t like it and would not do anti-lock from Dodge as an option again.

T-Bone

 

seems there is 3 or 4 threads on this problem. everyone has the same symptoms (dodge) and the same fixes

 

Atleast I'm not alone but what are the fixes?
I was thinking 1/2 inch plate steel in the bed may help!

 

Try lengthening your proportioning valve rod under the bed. I have been going to try taking out some sort of plunger near the master cylinder, but haven't got around to it.Some fellow told us he had tried it and it worked. The plunger is located in the little aluminum block with brake lines & wires coming out of it for the ABS. I am tired of squirrely brakes too.

 

Where under the bed is the proportioning valve rod? What does it look like and is it just an adjustment to lengthen it?

 

I have a '97 4x4 with 4-wheel ABS too, and would like it permanently disabled. How did you do so?

 

You can only disable both axles, not one.