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Ford Ranger Brake Problems

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Comments

  • dac3743dac3743 Member Posts: 1
    At 50 stepping on brakes hard start to stop, then they turn spongie.Any help will be app.

    ty don
  • quartermiler66quartermiler66 Member Posts: 4
    Hey buster, I have an '02 and experienced the same problem. Right before coming to a complete stop it felt like the pedal started jumping up & down. The truck stopped ok, but that was a bit un-nerving. Otherwise the brakes worked fine. While I was working, the 'Boss Lady' took it to the 'friendly neighborhood Ford Dealer' and had it analyzed. They presented her with a printout of the diagnosis, which pointed an accusing finger at the right front sensor, which is mounted in the hub. Of course the sensor costs as much as, or more than the whole assembly, so you know what I did. I would say to go ahead and keep drivivg it for a month or two, then go on Amazon and look up the Actron ABS Scanner and order one. It's, by far, the best price I could find. The only bad point is that it cannot cancel the code or codes it reads. I'm told it takes a much more elaborate unit to do that, such as what a dealer, or major brake shop would have. Rangers seem to be prone to ABS problems, so having your own ABS scanner can possibly save you considerable moolah. Best of luck on this weird little glitch.
  • quartermiler66quartermiler66 Member Posts: 4
    Hi everyone. Just a minor little glitch here. When I'm out cruising a freeway and activate the cruise control, everything is fine until I start down a long gradual grade, then the engine starts bucking and jerking. A good friend of mine who is also older than dirt, like me, and a life long mechanic, (turned wrenches for Holman & Moody many moons ago) said 'vacuum leak' . I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced a similar problem and cured it. BTW, mine is a 2002, Std. Trans. And shifts like a 6 Spd. Spicer, in a dump truck. :confuse:
  • quartermiler66quartermiler66 Member Posts: 4
    I forgot to ask, does anyone know what ABS code C1939 is, and where is this "Brake Press Sw Circuit?
  • quartermiler66quartermiler66 Member Posts: 4
    Just a piece of advice. Don't drive through any deep puddles with HOT brakes, as this can cause the rotors to warp. You didn't mention the kind of use you put your truck through, or the model year. I have an '02 and my brakes work just fine, except for a couple of ABS alerts. Mine is 4X4, 4.0L, w/std. trans. I can see my rotors through those alloy wheels, and they look almost new. Almost 100K miles and runs like a clock. (Knock on wood!)
    Rangers got to be treated like one of your kids. Lots of TLC!
  • dcmotorheaddcmotorhead Member Posts: 1
    try having your abs checked out its probly that
  • ranlew1ranlew1 Member Posts: 1
    We purchased a 93 ranger for our 17 year old son. We have replaced the evrything on the brakes and the master cylinder but he continues to have a problem with the rear brakes locking up on him. Any ideas what we can check now? We want it to be safe for him to drive.
  • bolivarbolivar Member Posts: 2,316
    I had a 1994 Ranger. The rear drum brakes on most Rangers are very bad to 'grab'. I bet this is what you are calling 'locking up'.

    After the truck has set a while, like overnight, when the brakes are applied the first time, the rear brakes will 'grab'. A lot. If this is what you are talking about - as I said, Rangers have this problem. And I have read of a lot of things that have been done, including as you did with a lot of parts replacement - and little changed.

    I think the problem is the metal the drum itself is made of. It probably gets a coating of rust in just a few hours. It will 'grab' worse if the weather is rainy or just damp. My truck was kept in a garage, and it made no difference, the first stop of the morning, the rear brakes grabbed.

    My solution: As you first drive away, just put a little gentle pressure on the brake, as the truck is moving. You don't have to do much, or for very far. All you need to do is have the brakes remove the coating of rust, and this will do it. The brakes will not grab when this is done.
  • chuckski65chuckski65 Member Posts: 1
    My 2003 ranger xlt is doing the same thing as well. Does your ABS light on the dash come on when this happens? I have replaced all the front end brake parts and hubs.
  • yooper_in_txyooper_in_tx Member Posts: 2
    I took my 2003 Ranger XLT 3.0L, auto, to a brake shop last week. They replaced the rotor and pads. The first time I stopped, from about 40 mph, the brakes chattered until it got down to under about 15 mph. I took it back the next day and they again replaced the rotor and repacked wheel bearings. No change, still chatter. They have had it now for three days trying to figure out what the problem is. They replaced the rotor three times pads twice. Machined the new rotor. Still chatters. Truck has 105k miles and this is second brake job by the same shop, no problems before.
  • yooper_in_txyooper_in_tx Member Posts: 2
    Got it fixed. They finally looked at the rear brakes and found that the drums were out of round. Machined them and now all is OK. Originally they had only cleaned and adjusted the rear brakes so did not find the out of round condition. And they did not charge for machining the drums and apologized for the delay.
  • lionking1973lionking1973 Member Posts: 1
    I need help badly, i cant lose anymore work. Here is the deal, the previous owner didnt take very good care of this truck, the rear brakes kinda fell apart and dug their way into the drum, took me forever to get the drum off. In the process all the hardware kinda came out and i didnt see excactly how it was in there. I need to find a picture or detailed intruction on how to put the brake drum back together again

    This is for a 1990 Ford Ranger 4x4, the drivers rear side. I really need some help please so i can get to work tomarrow. Thanks
  • gettysburggettysburg Member Posts: 1
    About 3/4 of the time when I go to stop, the pedal will depress another inch or so and the Ranger will coast another 1/2 truck length. Doesn't do it every time, but one has to be aware that it will probably coast another 1/2 length. Could it be one of the wheel sensors kicking in for anti-braking? Any suggestions?
  • woodrow6woodrow6 Member Posts: 1
    i am haven the same prob have replaced the front pads rear breaks master cyld and booster ! still samething
  • singindavey38singindavey38 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2001 Ranger With the Big six and 15In Wheels. Went to replace pads and found rotors needed replacement also. I found a small amount of fluid on the line so
    I traced it up to the engine compartment.
    When I opened the hood I found an empty Master cylinder and break fluid everywhere. Was not that way a week ago. I did find that the cap had been put on crooked and was not sealed; is it possible all that fluid came from the top cap? or should I keep looking for another source?
  • bolivarbolivar Member Posts: 2,316
    I guessing you, or someone, did replace the brake pads. Doing this, you had to push the brake pistons back into the calipers. This forced brake fluid back through the system. It had to go somewhere. So it overflowed the master cylinder. You probably do not have a leak, just this overflow.

    You should have pulled some or most of the brake fluid out of the master cylinder before you started. And when finished, check to see if you needed to add some fluid back.
  • dinhcaradinhcara Member Posts: 4
    My Ranger has a problem with the brakes. If I panic stop the ABS kicks in but it won't bite right away. I can feel it pulsing before it grabs the ground. Twice I almost hit the car stopped in front of me. The third time not so lucky. Is this common? If so is there a recall?
  • chevellegeekchevellegeek Member Posts: 1
    My 99 Ford ranger has brake problems I put new pads on the front and now the pedal goes to the floor I have changed master cylinders power booster hoses and still no pedal what gives any Ideas? I have done plenty of disc brakes before never had this problem before
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Can you pump up the pedal?
  • CDLloydCDLloyd Member Posts: 1
    Hey all,

    I got an '01 ranger at auction which I am beginning to regret. It ran rough so we replaced the IAC, plugs, wires and finally the intake manifold which had a slight separation where the top and bottom come together. This whole time the brakes were really hard and got progressively worse. We replaced the master cylinder and brake booster. Brakes got a little better. It was still running rough when the check engine light came on with a code for a vacuum solenoid. Changed the solenoid and the brakes became hard as a rock. It seems there is too much vacuum now. The mechanic called Ford, which was no help at all. Called another guy and checked that everything was the right size. He asked about the throttle body and the mechanic found there is no vacuum line from the throttle body. No diagram from Ford seems to fit what is actually there, but Mazda has some closer diagrams. Thoughts?
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