95 Town & Country ABS probs

[Paul of Dayton]

Hi folks -

I am looking at a decent 95 T&C that has ABS problems - - diagnosis is "Front Brakes 20% Pressure - Accumulator pressure down ".

Any ideas as to what this will take to fix? As far as I can tell, the major ABS problems were on vans before 1995. Otherwise, all the van needs is new plugs and wires. Tranny recently rebuilt, all other stuff seems ok.

Any ideas, suggestions, stuff to share?

Thanks!

PoD

 

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

Hi folks -

I am looking at a decent 95 T&C that has ABS problems - - diagnosis is "Front Brakes 20% Pressure - Accumulator pressure down ".

Any ideas as to what this will take to fix? As far as I can tell, the major ABS problems were on vans before 1995. Otherwise, all the van needs is new plugs and wires. Tranny recently rebuilt, all other stuff seems ok.

Any ideas, suggestions, stuff to share?

Whatever the problem it will have to be repaired at a dealer.

The pre 96 ABS designs were completely proprietary and Chrysler did not release interface documentation to the scantool manufacturers, you cannot even bleed the brake system without a genuine Chrysler DRB scanner.

The ABS design in 93, 94, 95 were the Bendix 4, the design is fine.

The ABS design prior to this is the Bendix 10, the design is ass-backwards and although you can keep it running, it will consume repair parts on a regular basis.

How many miles are on this and what are you looking at paying?

It's not a common failure for ABS in the 93, 94, 95 series of vans. I'd suspect some shadetree mechanic replaced a caliper or master cylinder and didn't take the vehicle in to be bled at the dealer, or they didn't periodically flush the brake fluid and water got into the system and corroded the lines. Is there any fluid leakage in any of the lines?

This could be a pretty spendy repair. If it was me and I got the van for free I might take it, gut the ABS system and replace it with wrecking yard ABS parts, then take it in for bleeding and cross my fingers. You really have to get under it and take wheels off and such and really look closely at the condition of all the brake lines, calipers, etc.

Both my 94 and 95 T&C's have original factory ABS, no problems.

Ted

 

[Paul of Dayton]

Whatever the problem it will have to be repaired at a dealer.

The pre 96 ABS designs were completely proprietary and Chrysler did not release interface documentation to the scantool manufacturers, you cannot even bleed the brake system without a genuine Chrysler DRB scanner.

The ABS design in 93, 94, 95 were the Bendix 4, the design is fine.

The ABS design prior to this is the Bendix 10, the design is ass-backwards and although you can keep it running, it will consume repair parts on a regular basis.

How many miles are on this and what are you looking at paying?

It's not a common failure for ABS in the 93, 94, 95 series of vans. I'd suspect some shadetree mechanic replaced a caliper or master cylinder and didn't take the vehicle in to be bled at the dealer, or they didn't periodically flush the brake fluid and water got into the system and corroded the lines. Is there any fluid leakage in any of the lines?

This could be a pretty spendy repair. If it was me and I got the van for free I might take it, gut the ABS system and replace it with wrecking yard ABS parts, then take it in for bleeding and cross my fingers. You really have to get under it and take wheels off and such and really look closely at the condition of all the brake lines, calipers, etc.

Both my 94 and 95 T&C's have original factory ABS, no problems.

Ted

Thanks Ted. It has 186k on it and it is close to free. The asking price is $800 - negotiable. For just a few hundred more, I bet I can find a van that I can just get into and drive.

I have more thinking to do but I am looking away from it, now.

Paul

 

[Paul of Dayton]

Whatever the problem it will have to be repaired at a dealer.

The pre 96 ABS designs were completely proprietary and Chrysler did not release interface documentation to the scantool manufacturers, you cannot even bleed the brake system without a genuine Chrysler DRB scanner.

The ABS design in 93, 94, 95 were the Bendix 4, the design is fine.

The ABS design prior to this is the Bendix 10, the design is ass-backwards and although you can keep it running, it will consume repair parts on a regular basis.

How many miles are on this and what are you looking at paying?

It's not a common failure for ABS in the 93, 94, 95 series of vans. I'd suspect some shadetree mechanic replaced a caliper or master cylinder and didn't take the vehicle in to be bled at the dealer, or they didn't periodically flush the brake fluid and water got into the system and corroded the lines. Is there any fluid leakage in any of the lines?

This could be a pretty spendy repair. If it was me and I got the van for free I might take it, gut the ABS system and replace it with wrecking yard ABS parts, then take it in for bleeding and cross my fingers. You really have to get under it and take wheels off and such and really look closely at the condition of all the brake lines, calipers, etc.

Both my 94 and 95 T&C's have original factory ABS, no problems.

Ted

The current owner reports the car does not stop well. I can't help but wonder if a poor brake job may be aggrivating the problem as - from what I can tell - faulty ABS shouldn't affect regular braking. Oh well, maybe I can drive it a bit soon - my brother found it and it is a few hours away.

Thanks again!

Paul

 

[damnnickname]

ABS has nothing to do with this. Go back to checking the base braking system, pads, rotors, master cylinder, Booster.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

[Paul of Dayton]

Thanks Glenn-

I was leaning that way myself. I am not familiar with the ABS system except for what I can find on the web but an ABS problem causing weak brakes doesn't seem right. The van in question is one I may buy - if the price is right. I may get to look it over this weekend - it is a few hours away (my brother found it for me)

I appreciate the help!

Paul

 

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

Thanks Ted. It has 186k on it and it is close to free. The asking price is $800 - negotiable. For just a few hundred more, I bet I can find a van that I can just get into and drive.

I have more thinking to do but I am looking away from it, now.

$800 is too much for a vehicle with weak brakes and 186k on it. The other problem is the transmission - you said it was a recent rebuild, well the problem is you really don't know if the rebuild was done by someone skilled or by the owner's brother in law Clive with kitchen implements.

Naturally, the braking system is fixable - and in fact, brakes are pretty easy for a DIYer to do compared to tearing down an engine. But the mileage is just pretty high. If the engine is bathed regularly in oil it can easily go to 250K. But, I would have to ask if the owner let the braking system go, I'd wonder what else he let go. Is there a regular maintainence log that came with the vehicle?

If the body is straight with no rust and no body damage that some body shop has bondoed over, and the transmission has a 50K mile warranty with 40K still left on it, which is transferrable from the owner, then $800 is a fair price.

Otherwise, I personally wouldn't go much over $500 for it but it's tremendously dependent on the condition of the engine. There's a number of easy tests you can do to ascertain this, and a mechanic who works on a lot of these vans would be able to tell after 5 minutes looking it over.

Ted

 

[Paul of Dayton]

$800 is too much for a vehicle with weak brakes and 186k on it. The other problem is the transmission - you said it was a recent rebuild, well the problem is you really don't know if the rebuild was done by someone skilled or by the owner's brother in law Clive with kitchen implements.

Naturally, the braking system is fixable - and in fact, brakes are pretty easy for a DIYer to do compared to tearing down an engine. But the mileage is just pretty high. If the engine is bathed regularly in oil it can easily go to 250K. But, I would have to ask if the owner let the braking system go, I'd wonder what else he let go. Is there a regular maintainence log that came with the vehicle?

If the body is straight with no rust and no body damage that some body shop has bondoed over, and the transmission has a 50K mile warranty with 40K still left on it, which is transferrable from the owner, then $800 is a fair price.

Otherwise, I personally wouldn't go much over $500 for it but it's tremendously dependent on the condition of the engine. There's a number of easy tests you can do to ascertain this, and a mechanic who works on a lot of these vans would be able to tell after 5 minutes looking it over.

Ted

Thanks Ted -

I had pulled about $500 as my max figure from somewhere deep in my head... I have been a shade-tree mechanic all my life, learned it from my Dad. My first car in 1972 was a '67 T-Bird with 82k miles on it and rust. I learned fast since I couldn't afford many trips to the garage. I still enjoy doing most of my own work, as long as exotic equipment isn't needed.

Mt brother is also a good mechanic although not professionally for many years. He is a great hores-trader, tho. He thinks $300 might get it.
We'll see.

I appreciste all your tips, suggestions, and advise. I am not too afraid to tackle the brakes, that old '67 Bird had 4 piston front disc brakes. I was into them quite regularly. ICK!

Paul