Antilock Brake install?

[JustLiveIt]

Anyone attempted to take a late model GM rear axle with antilock and install it on our trucks? Maybe from an '88. It would be drum and the ABS system might be self contained due to the age of the truck. Could you just get the axle, ABS computer, harness, etc? Maybe...

What do you think?

[action]

I don't like anti lock brakes so for me it would not be worth the attempt.

[matthufham]

i wish i had abs so bad. i always end up sliding through stop signs and intersections. it teaches me to brake earlier though which is better for ya.

[ProStreet68SB]

Having ABS on just the rear axle is IMO pointless, since the front does all the braking. Used to have a 1990SS454 pickup with ABS on the back, and most people just disconnect the abs because it does nothing. But thats just what I'm thinking.

[Aarons72s]

Originally Posted by ProStreet68SB

Having ABS on just the rear axle is IMO pointless, since the front does all the braking. Used to have a 1990SS454 pickup with ABS on the back, and most people just disconnect the abs because it does nothing. But thats just what I'm thinking.

Aaron

[JustLiveIt]

I have to rebuild or replace my axle anyway so I was just thinking that ABS could help keep the rear of my truck from locking up under hard braking. There is no weight back there so it locks real easy under panic stops.

Also having the ABS on the rear prevents the rear brakes from locking up and the rear end from coming around.

[cdowns]

good driving prevents the brakes from locking up and the rear from comin around// IMO alot more people need to learn the proper way of driving than they need dubious driving aids

[action]

I don't know what you have done to your brakes(disk/disk-disk/drum or?)-but if the problem is that bad I would try an adjustable proportion valve and maybe take a little out of the rear.
Jack

[JustLiveIt]

Originally Posted by action

I don't know what you have done to your brakes(disk/disk-disk/drum or?)-but if the problem is that bad I would try an adjustable proportion valve and maybe take a little out of the rear.
Jack

I have disk up front and drum in the rear. The drums seem to have gotten worse over the last few months. There is a proportioning valve installed but not sure if it is the right one. PO upgraded the front brakes to disc so not sure which valve he put on. I think he put a complete 71 cross member on up front so I would think he put the correct disk/drum valve on but I can't be sure. Is the stock disk/drum prop valve adjustable or would I have to buy an aftermarket one? Can I identify it as disk/drum or disk/disk by looking at it?

Thanks!

[gator2511]

Well, I don't like ABS. My 2001 Silverado (thank God its gone) had ABS and on dry pavement if I hit railroad tracks while slowing down it wouldn't stop the truck and I would roll right out into the intersection. Maybe its good for up north in the ice but for down here I would not have it on my vehicle! I like to tell the truck to stop, not some computer.

[JustLiveIt]

Originally Posted by gator2511

Well, I don't like ABS. My 2001 Silverado (thank God its gone) had ABS and on dry pavement if I hit railroad tracks while slowing down it wouldn't stop the truck and I would roll right out into the intersection. Maybe its good for up north in the ice but for down here I would not have it on my vehicle! I like to tell the truck to stop, not some computer.

I had the exact same problem on my 2000 F250 SuperDuty. I think it wasn't tuned correctly because my 1989 Silverado had rear antilock and had no problems. It worked well. I was a teenage driver when I owned that truck and it saved my butt a few times in the rain.

I just thought the swap would be interesting. I never knew people were so passionate about antilock brakes!

[wibilly]

thats why i like these trucks. they don't have all that stupid electronic shlt that is nothing but trouble

[68shortfleet]

IIRC, the sensor for the rear ABS is in the tailshaft of the transmission, not in the rear axle at all. Ford has sensors in the rear differential. If going to the trouble of installing ABS, why not put late model front spindles on, and run a four wheel ABS system?? A few more wires, but way more reliable.

Jason

[CG]

Originally Posted by matthufham

i wish i had abs so bad. i always end up sliding through stop signs and intersections. it teaches me to brake earlier though which is better for ya.

If im ever in Texas Im going to be watching for you in my rearview mirror..

[Lafayette 68K20]

JustLiveIt - any progress on your ABS install? I'm not so interested in the ABS, but the next logical evolution - Electronic Stability Control. Just read my CR 2008 Auto Edition mag and found an interesting fact from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. According to them - SUV's, vans and pickup trucks equipped with ESC are involved in 63 percent fewer fatal crashes than those without.

Seems like you'd have to get ABS working first.

[JustLiveIt]

What I decided to do was have my stock rear end rebuilt and then I added a rear disk brake kit, new master cylinder, booster, and prop valve. Brakes work great now. The rear disk kit was definitly overkill. I think my drums were out of adjustment and / or i had the wrong prop valve so I think i could've replaced the booster and master and rebuilt the rear drums and it would've been just as good. So to make a long post short, I did not do the ABS install but I still think it would be a neat project.

I know some people dont like ABS and other electronic aids and I dont want to debate it here (to each their own, right?) but I think I would have fun trying to make it work.

Good luck with your project!

[red71cheyenne]

Do the rears still lock up on you with the disc's? I'd like to upgrade to some on mine, but I've been hearing horror stories on them on the newer Chevy pickups.

[JustLiveIt]

The rears still lockup but only under extreme braking and it is totally normal. My old brakes would lock up easily with only slightly more pressure than for a normal stop.

The disks are cool but I think correctly functioning drums would be just as good in the back of the truck. Now drums in the front is a different story... A disk upgrade in the front is a definite improvement.

[chris71]

I think you need the master cylinder and prop valve too. i think the computer tells the prop valve to surge pressure in the fluid