Hub Assembly/ABS Sensor

[Quinn's Regal]

I have been the owner of a 1998 Regal LS since June 2005. I recently had winter tires installed on the car. Since then the SVS/ABS and Trac Low warnings have come on. Initially they were on for a couple of days then went out, they have subsequently come on and gone out at different times over the last couple of weeks, the only common element is that the weather has been wet.

Is it possible that the sensor is getting wet? Can this be fixed without replacing the entire hub assembly? I was advised by the dealer that this is a closed system so the whole thing has to be replaced.

Does anyone have any information on this or suggestions as to the problem?

thanks.

[BNaylor]

How many miles are on your LS?

You might just check each wheel hub and see if the electrical connector is loose and check to see if the electrical plug has the rubber insulator. Just follow the sole wiring harness that runs along the lower control arm to the area of the hub and steering knuckle.

If a wheel sensor is going South then the whole Hub/Bearing has to be replaced so the dealer was correct.

[Quinn's Regal]

The Regal LS has approximately 48,000 miles on it. Is it a DIY job to replace the hub assembly or should I have amechanic do it?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by Quinn's Regal

The Regal LS has approximately 48,000 miles on it. Is it a DIY job to replace the hub assembly or should I have amechanic do it?

That is a shame because your mileage is low. But the sensor and bearings do go bad.

The job can be DIY but tedious and special tools are needed. 35-36mm socket with big breaker bar, torque wrench, hub puller, etc. Respective wheel and disc brake assembly must be removed. Then axle nut and all hardware holding hub. Then the hub pulled off the spindle on the drive axle. After completion axle nut torqued down to 151 ft-lbs or more depending on what replacment hub maker specifies up to possibly 180 ft-lbs. It is more complex than a typical brake job.

[MT-2500]

On the winter tires? Are all 4 tires the same heigth?
If not you may run into problems. The ABS brakes need to see all 4 wheels running at the same speed.
If your sensor wiring is good get it on a abs capable scanner and check for codes and see if all wheel sensor readings match.
If you have any codes post back codes.
MT

[BNaylor]

Although the ABS and TRAC lights are probably an actual wheel sensor problem the Regal owners manual recommends that the tire inflation monitor system be reset whenever new tires are put on even if there is no low tire light on. The tire inflation system also uses the same wheel sensors that ABS and traction control use to determine low tire pressure based on rotation of all four wheels which should also check for tire diameter anomalies. Once reset the system will recalibrate itself after a range of 45 - 90 miles driving.

Another DIY check that can be performed of each wheel sensor at the hub side electrical connector is a resistance range check to see if the sensor is within a certain tolerance. All it takes is a digital multimeter in the ohms position.

Front sensors = 1020 - 1137 ohms
Rear sensors = 1030 - 1180 ohms