Disableing a cars antilock break system?

Question

My cars breaks are all sorts of messed up. I took it to a mechanic, he though the problem might be something with the master cylinder or something like that, but he said that on closer inspection it is a problem with the antilock break system.

Basicly what happens is that when you push down on the break it gives a little bit of resistance (like it should) and it slows the car down. After a few seconds the break peddle does not give any resistance and the car is no longer breaking. This happens till you get to the bottom, and then it will break with out fail (I do not know if i am going to say this right, but at that point the breaks are very sensitive, and they almost seem to work as if they are either loose or locked)

I was wondering if it would work if i could just disable the antilock breaks, and if so how would i go about doing that.



[if this question is not clear, then please ask for more explination and i will add as much as i can]

The mechanic thought it was a problem with the master cylinder, but he looked at it, and it is not the problem with the master cylinder. It is a problem with the ABS(antilock break system).

If the ABS is not working then the breaks will work just like they would on a car with out an ABS system. (am i wrong?)

But any way the car is only worth about a thousand dollars, and to replace the ABS it would cost about a thousand dollars, So i am not doing that.

It is an oldsmobile I think the model is called an 87 or 97 something like that...

THE MAKE AND MODEL
95 oldsmobile

98 REG EL

This is as it appears on the insurance.

Answer 1

I agree that the master cylinder is probably the first thing you would want to invesigate, but as far as disabling the ABS there is usually a large blade-style fuse in the fuse box under the hood. I had a vehicle where the ABS was malfunctioning and I just pulled the fuse. Other then the ABS light staying on, the brakes will work just fine. If you ask me, ABS is more of a pain than a help. I bought a new car last year that does not have it and am glad about that. Ignore that moron that said your braking system will fail they don't know what they are saying.

Answer 2

Disabling the ABS in your car will not fix your problem. If ABS fails or malfunctions the brakes will still safely function, this factor is designed into the ABS system.

You might want to consider a better mechanic. I would first BLEED THE ENTIRE SYSTEM ACCORDING TO MANUFACTURER SPECS. From what you have said, I would say you have air in the system.

If you can't seem to bleed the air out of the system, start looking for a bad/broken/loose/rusted brake hose or line, maybe a bad wheel cylinder, and also check around the master cylinder itself for leakage. If theres a leak somewhere you could be loosing pressure and drawing air into the system. If you cant find any leaks then I would check the master cylinder. See if it holds pressure. You should be able to stand on it without it sinking. If it does sink, its not working right and should be replaced. It may not be leaking on the outside but there are valves inside of master cylinders that sometimes get tired and stop working.

If the ABS light is on, hook up a scanner and it should tell you whats acting up, but the scanner is not going to tell you that you need to bleed the system, and that you may have a bad master cylinder.

Answer 3

First off on a car they are called brakes. Not breaks, Second I'm thinking you have one of 2 problems (that is if the mechanic was right and the master cylinder is good.)
The brakes need to be bled correctly. Chances are with a scanner hooked up to it. There is a certain procedure for bleeding most ABS systems and if it's not followed correctly can cause the problem you described. OR
The brake power booster is bad. It's what the mastercyclinder is bolted to.
Make and model is always nice to have too

Answer 4

Sounds like air in the lines, and/or the master cylinder is bad. With the engine running, unplug the vacuum booster at the booster itself and see if it is holding vacuum. I have saw the check valve go bad that is in the vacuum hose, and cause all kinds of wild stuff to happen, but that would usually mean a hard pedal. Is the fluid level low on the master cylinder, or have you had to add fluid to it? Sounds like one side of the master cylinder was allowed to go too low, and cause it to get air into the system for either the front or rear brakes. I would replace the master cylinder, bleed it as to instructions on the bench, and bleed the lines once its installed. This should resolve your problem. No ABS warning light, no problem usually! I don't believe you have an ABS problem at all, except air in the lines causing you to loose brakes. Hope this helps. Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Well, to me it sounds like you may have air in the system. is the ABS light in the dash on? this would indicate an ABS fault. it sounds to me like you are losing vacuum, the ABS unit would not have an effect at the pedal except for the pulsing you feel. what it does is very very quickly pulse the fluid so that there is not a steady braking, but more of an on and off 60 times a second kind of thing. for the pedal to grab, then fall to the floor, then grab again, i think you actually do have a master cylinder problem. my advice is to go to another mechanic and see what he says, and if it is an ABS fault, tell him to hook a scanner to it and you want to know the codes it has, yes, the ABS sends codes to the computer just as ODB-II and the air bags do, so if it is faulted, tell him you want to know the codes. and, you cannot disable the ABS unless you route the brake lines to a distro block and then to the wheel cylinders, but you just can't unplug it and be ok, since maybe one servo might be closed so you will lose braking performance. but you can bypass the entire system by rerunning the lines. and unhooking the wheel sensors.

Answer 6

I'm not sure if you can disable the anti-lock system, it is integrated into the calipers and axles. What you might want to consider is taking it somewhere else where you can have the wheel sensors checked. There are four of them on your car and they are the chips that tell the antilock system how fast your wheels are spinning. They use that information to feedback the brake system and release the brakes when your tires lock. Maybe they are not sensing speed accurately and therefore not allowing the system to work as it shoudl.
Now I'm far from being a mechanic, but it would seem that there is an electronics issue at work.

Answer 7

If I knew what type of car you had it would be help full.
The ABS system in most cars have the same basic components. wheel speed sensors, ECM (computer) and some type of accumulator.
99 % of the time if there is a problem with the ABS the ABS light on the dash will turn on. when this happens (on most cars) the ABS system is deactivated and you have normal brake function.
It does sound like a faulty master cylinder or rear brakes way out of adjustment. Like i said earlier knowing what car you have would be helpful.

Answer 8

It sounds like you have a defective master cylinder. Replace just the master cylinder.
If the ABS was bad you would have a ABS light lit all the time.
If the light comes on it means the ABS is disabled. Your brakes will work fine without ABS.

Answer 9

VERY EASY mate ! get the abs fuses out , that will disable abs but abs ligth will b on . 2 pass mot remove also bulb ( dashboard ) and u done . now u ve got normal brakes and no 1 will now that abs s faulty or disabled . get brake pads and check discs , if they ok u sorted . if u don t remove dashbulb mot boys will fail ur car over the abs , cuz abs is off and ligth wil b always on . that s all u got 2 do , save u money and work and s safe , brakes 100% ok , but if u brake 2 hard wheels can block ( no abs ) .

Answer 10

first rekit the marster cylinder or replace if the problem is still there you abs booster is faulty either the gas chamber has lost of air pressure or the internale seals have perished if at

if rekitting or replacing master does fix it cheap fix then get a second hand abs unit and try that there is nothing else that may couse the problem unless if is simple like a fluid leak of brake hose balloning at the wheels esay to find if leak or hose faulty