Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Removed the ABS valve thing

Here are the brake parts still attached to the chassis. The ABS valve is on the left, master cylinder is in the middle, and power booster on the right. The power booster is what gives you "power" brakes. I'll be removing and discarding the ABS valve. I made a quick sketch of where each line goes from the ABS valve. I don't know why I did this, as I will not be reusing it and will not need this information. Old habit I guess. I make a lot of sketches and notes as I take a vehicle apart. Can't hurt.

No, the car in the background is not falling off a cliff, the picture is a little tilted.

Here I am about to loosen the lines from the ABS module. For disassembling any type of tube fitting, you should use a Line Wrench. This is like an open end wrench, but it wraps farther around the fitting for better grip. Look at how it wraps 3/4 of the way around the fitting instead of 1/2 way like an open end wrench would. This is 2 extra points of the hex it grabs. That matters. This wrench is less likely to slip and strip the hex, and it also prevents crushing the fitting, which can happen if you 'gorilla' them like I do. After you have broken them loose, you can switch to a regular open end wrench for faster work.
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Line wrenches come in a set of four or so. Get 'em. For every fitting you don't booger up, your brakes will thank you.

Here is the ABS valve, sittin' in the pan like a big fat ripe appendix. I wish I had dumped it at the scrapper, it's got to weigh 20 lbs (the valve, not my appendix). Is this really necessary? Do people really not know how to stop a car to the degree that this thing has to be on there? You should have seen the amount of wiring that was attached to this thing too. Pathetic and ridiculous. Pump and steer, people, pump and steer. Sounds like an ale and steak house, the Pump and Steer.
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I was considering putting in a combination valve from an earlier model S10 where the ABS valve was. But I am thinking that the brake bias will be permanently different than a stock truck. The estimated 1500 lb battery load will see to that. I think a simple solution will be to put a proportioning valve like that used on race cars on it. All you do is hook up the brakes, front and rears separated, and do a panic stop. Note whether the front or rear wheels lock up (go into a skid) first. Usually it will be the rears, but with the rear load this truck will have, it may be the fronts. Install the proportioning valve in the set that locks up first, and close the valve a little. This restricts the amount of fluid that can pass, delaying that set of brakes from locking up, until they all do at once or more nearly at once. Get it?

Here are the parts we will be reusing, the master cylinder and power booster. Now sitting on the previously mentioned small pile of parts. I believe that is the sun visors it is dripping on there.

A small task, but I have done enough ambitious projects to know that you get them done the way you eat an elephant: One little bite at a time. Plus now you know what a Line Wrench is.

Now I'm hungry.

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