2002 Windstar 3.8L replaced front ABS sensor

Howdy folks, I changed the left front ABS sensor on my 2002 Windstar and wanted to share my experiences.

My ABS has been flaky for a while, probably 2-4 years. The system does a self-check when the car starts and is OK. Then when driving if I hit a bump, the ABS and brake light would come on. I took it to the dealer and they recommended changing the main ABS electronic control module (ECM), which was expensive. So I figured I would live with the problem while it was intermittent, then hopefully if it became consistent I could figure out a cheaper repair.

While the ABS light was out, the ABS system worked correctly. If the ABS and brake lights came on, the ABS did not function.

Apparently there are known issues with the ABS ECM failing as the system ages, see this web site: http://www.fordwindstarrecall.info/#Problem2

Recently the ABS system started to fail self-check. After starting the vehicle, the ABS light came on consistently, so did the tire pressure warning light.

I have access to a local auto craft shop that has an advanced scanner. The scanner found a bunch of codes, including the left front ABS sensor being bad. The technician recommended changing the LF ABS sensor and then seeing how the system was performing after that.

I was able to get the part at a local Auto Zone, they had it in stock and I later found out it seemed like a perfect replacement.

If you remove the wheel you will have pretty easy access to the ABS sensor. It helps to turn the wheels left or right as you work, to get easier access to the part you are working on (the front or rear of the hub).

The ABS sensor has one plug where it connects to the wiring harness. It was easy to separate and also easy to reconnect.

There is a big plastic support attachment that holds the ABS sensor wire in the correct location. This was not intuitive to open, but I squeezed it with a big pair of pliers and wiggled it, and it opened. Later closing was pretty straightforward, you have to squeeze it a little while closing and it will lock in place.

The ABS sensor has one bolt that holds the main unit in place (8 mm) and also one bolt that supports the wiring on the front part of the hub (also 8 mm). The bolt that supports the wiring on the front also has a tiny metal tab that fits into a hole, to ensure the support bracket is aligned as intended.

There is a video on U-Tube that shows a technician removing an ABS sensor, I believe on a blazer. Looks pretty simple, just remove the retaining bolt and pull out the sensor.

Unfortunately, mine was not so easy. An experienced guy at the auto craft shop said he had never seen one come out intact. He said the plastic front end gets stuck in the hole and breaks off, then you have to break out the pieces and clean out the hole well in order to be able to insert the replacement sensor.

I had read something online about using PB Blaster to try to free up the old part, so I squirted a bunch of PB Blaster around the old sensor.

I had also read something online about how removing the old sensor and cleaning off any accumulated debris might resolve the issue (maybe the old sensor would work OK), so I was hoping to start with that as a first step.

Removing the main 8mm bolt holding the sensor was easy. It looked rusty so I had squirted it with PB Blaster before removing. It was rusty but came out OK.

So far so good, so now I was ready to remove the sensor. I used a big pair of pliers and tried to gently rotate the sensor. It rotated - great! Still using the big pair of pliers, I gently rotated and tried to pull the sensor back from the hole. The main part came back with the pliers, but the small front piece stayed wedged in the hole and lots of fine copper wire started to spill out. Oh no! :banghead:

If the front plastic was metal, I would have said it was rusted firmly in place. It is plastic, but it was definitely stuck. Maybe the rust around the plastic locks it in place.

To remove, a 1/2" socket extension looked just about the right width, so I tapped that in a little with a hammer, then used a breaker bar to rotate it. That helped remove some of the plastic around the inside diameter of the hole. Hammering the extension in further worked also, it pushed the plastic end cap forward (toward the teeth). Caution - if you hear a "metal on metal" sound, stop hammering, that means the breaker bar is starting to impact the ring of teeth that the sensor is supposed to detect.

Some of the plastic was still firmly embedded with the metal outside of the hole, so I used a small screwdriver and tapped with the hammer. This loosened some more of the plastic.

Then I used needlenose pliers to grab small pieces and pull. It worked better to try not to break off the small pieces, but to try to work the needlenose pliers to try to get under more of the plastic and free up bigger pieces.

At some point the front cap also started to free up, so with wiggling, prying and pulling I was able to remove the bulk of the plastic.

I used the screwdriver and gentle tapping to try to remove any additional plastic I could see around the inside of the hole (around the interior tube of the hole).

Then I used a screwdriver to try to scrape all around the inside ring of the hole. It was looking pretty clean but the new sensor still didn't look like it wanted to fit in the hole.

I then used an air drill with a small wire brush on the end to clean out the hole. When I got done the hole looked great! Nice and clean. I definitely recommend having a drill with small wire brush attachment on hand if you are going to replace an older ABS sensor.

The new sensor still looked like a tight fix, but now I was confident. I put a small amount of grease around the outside of the sensor, aligned it correctly and tapped it gently into the hole using a small plastic/rubber hammer.

Putting the rest back together was straightforward. I also used a little grease on the two bolts before re-inserting them. With the grease they both went back into position very happily. Do not over-torque.

Then I started the vehicle and - voila! - no ABS light! :thumbsup:

Interestingly, the ABS light/brake light haven't come on randomly since I installed the new sensor. It's possible changing the sensor has also helped with the random ABS light/brake light combo. I've made a couple of trips and hit some bumps. It's too soon to say, but it would be nice if changing the sensor helps to resolve that issue as well.

Had the same problem removing mine. I had been having an ABS light that would come on after driving about 1000 feet. A scan pinpointed the problem to the right front wheel.

After replacing the sensor I still had the same problem and code. Closer inspection revealed that the tooth wheel on the axle shaft had cracked and the space between teeth at the crack was wider than the other spaces. I tryed wiring it together with copper wire and I could now drive about 1 mile before it would set the light again.

I would up replacing the axle shaft as the area the tooth wheel on the old one was badly rusted. The expansion of the rust had caused the wheel to crack.

PS the new shaft must have been bumped into something hard during shipping and it nicked the boot so now I have a grease leak, did a tempoary patch on it but it will need to come out again some day.