to abs or not to abs

about 3 weeks ago i got the dreaded abs light going on and off at random times. the abs actuates and works fine when the light is off.

last two days no abs light everything was perfect. i had a prescheduled appt for the diagnosis for the abs light this morning.

again no light the whole way there, abs actuates just fine

shop has it for 2 hours saying they "tried" cleaning the sensors (they were muddy of coarse) and that the front driver side sensor is completley "dead"

i dont buy this seeing as i drove for 2 days on it with no light and abs actuated. then all the sudden they get done tinkering with it and he light is on?

long story short they wanted 200 dollars for a 150 dollar abs sensor and 200 for labor. im calling bs,

going to pull the sensor and clean it, check connections to the abs computer and if i have to get the sensor and do it my damn self what do you guys think? are they jerking me around trying to get a quick and easy 250 out of me?

any opinions appreciated i know the abs topic has beeen beat to death

of coarse this all goes down when i have a potential buyer for the truck.

 

Have you connected the terminals on the diagnostic plug in the engine bay to pull the code? If you don't know how let me know, I have the service manuals and can give you the instructions. If you have the code let us know what it is, that will tell you if it's a bad sensor or not.

 

i actually brought it into the shop for a presale inspection so they told me what code and what not so im cool there, but i appreciate the help tho mane

 

The ABS on these trucks is garbage. If mine ever goes out I'm liable to completely disable it

 

Just curious, why do you say that? I've been aware of my abs (when it works, see separate post on code 48 error I'm getting) activating more often than I expected. Seems to me it's doing it's job preventing loss of traction under braking. It's more active since I did the Tundra caliper/rotor upgrade despite the 33x 12 tires on 17 inch rims I'm running now.

 

intresting i also have the bigger caliper and rotors for the tundra but i didnt have problems untill a few weeks ago and its had tundy brakes since i got it two years ago. i just refuse to pay someone inflated part price plus 200 labor to put two bolts in a sensor and plug it in to the cable. absolutly rediculous. also quoted like 390 for a cv replacement, cant stand that shit

 

I also have the tundra brakes and if anything I notice it activating less. I had a major problem with it activating when going over potholes, resulting in a major loss in braking power. Once I nearly rear ended someone because of this. Thankfully after adding the tundra brakes I don't encounter this problem anymore (knock on wood)

 

I was quoted $350 in labor alone to replace both my lower ball joints. Instead I bought a nice handy Ryobi cordless impact with 3 batteries and a charger for $170 and I'm gonna do it myself

 

seriously haha i can understand they provide for people without a clue but jesus lol the youtube video for a cv change is what? 15-20 mins? 300 for labor? come on.... haha

 

they usually have an hour labor minimum which is around ~$100. usually have to remove either lower or upper ball joint to get the CV out of the spindle and from there it just kind of pops out of the diff

I can honestly say my ABS has not activated that much unless hard braking or on snow/ice (occasionally)

 

My ABS light has been on for about 5 years lol.

 

lol i would literally not give a crap about the abs light but im trying to sell it at the moment, of coarse perfect timing lol

i agree there too it only really activates of snow and ice

if a mechanic cant swap a cv with a shop full of tools in under an hour idk what to even say to them, and still 200 dollars i cant account for. it was the cost for a whole new cv as well not replacing the boots, grease and seals which would definetly drive labor up

neither here nor there, i will be doing the work myself anyways

 

I whole heartedly concur. I never even noticed my ABS - not IBS; would definately notice that! My friend's truck brakes would pulse and cut out on gravel descents so hard it was scary as hell. I looked under the hood of my '02 after that and realized the fuse was missing. Never bothered to replace it.