Anyone convert RABS to 4WABS

I've got RABS on my '99 4.0 4x4 and want to convert to 4WABS. I have access to an '99 explorer chassis that I can raid for the parts. Has anyone actually done this before or is it not possible?

I have converted RABS to non-ABS. Frankly I feel that is a much better use of time and effort.

But yes, if you have the right wiring, module, and add appropriate sensors and plumbing, it is possible to convert RABS to 4WABS.

I hate abs brakes. I feel I have better control with out them

stegomon said:

I hate abs brakes. I feel I have better control with out them

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yeah? Panic stop an Excursion at 50mph on black ice. AWD, 4 Anti Lock brakes, and traction control can make anybody a good driver.

I admit I should not have been driving that fast

BDAB said:

yeah? Panic stop an Excursion at 50mph on black ice. AWD, 4 Anti Lock brakes, and traction control can make anybody a good driver.

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And the overconfidence those things inspire can make anybody a catastrophic driver. Those things without any real skill produce this guy.





Frankly, ABS makes my wife a WORSE driver. She learned on a Dodge Shadow with no abs, then spent many years driving an S-10 with barely functional (but we were assured many times by the dealer "normally operating") ABS. Now that she has a vehicle with a properly functioning system she freaks out when the pedal kicks back and the "grinding" noise the pump makes start up and she start pumping the brakes. I keep telling her to just keep her foot on them and ride it down, but she can't get it.

She does NOT have this issue in the Ranger with no ABS at all, and I have seen her very skillfully stop the truck in very bad conditions where it should have slid helplessly.

The popular opinion is to ditch the RABS and 4WABS, and I value the opinions out there but the wife's cars have full 4wheel abs and she definately has made use of the systems. I want as much helping her as possible when she has to take the truck. I've searched the various ranger/explorer site but none have any pointers on how to add 4WABS. Anyone here actully done the conversion to help me along?

adsm08 said:

And the overconfidence those things inspire can make anybody a catastrophic driver. Those things without any real skill produce this guy.





Frankly, ABS makes my wife a WORSE driver. She learned on a Dodge Shadow with no abs, then spent many years driving an S-10 with barely functional (but we were assured many times by the dealer "normally operating") ABS. Now that she has a vehicle with a properly functioning system she freaks out when the pedal kicks back and the "grinding" noise the pump makes start up and she start pumping the brakes. I keep telling her to just keep her foot on them and ride it down, but she can't get it.

She does NOT have this issue in the Ranger with no ABS at all, and I have seen her very skillfully stop the truck in very bad conditions where it should have slid helplessly.

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Notice I said "CAN". It took me a while to get used to the grinding sound and the pump pushing back as well..... if anything its made me lazy....

I'm with "bdab" and "4wd" on this. I'd prefer all-wheel ABS on mine. Is it practical to install? I'm very curious how much effort & parts it takes to achieve. Please?

ABS in our other cars saved us from disaster during a few nasty surprises, some in the most awful weather, esp. when you just can't predict what some idiots will try. I've become a firm believer in ABS, when it's working properly.

Given the choice I would probably be lazy and leave things as is, but the wife wants the 4wabs. My biggest worry is swapping in the different modules involved and how they interact with each other. The GEM and ABS modules have different inputs and outputs, the speedometer on my year of RABS gets its signal from the GEM, 4WABS gets it from the abs module. If its a matter of cutting/splicing wires and modules from an explorer, I can handle that but if I have to reprogram anything I don't have the electronic tools to reprogram anything, not sure if anything has to change to the PCM or ECU. I was hoping someone might have more knowledge of this than I do.

BDAB said:

Notice I said "CAN". It took me a while to get used to the grinding sound and the pump pushing back as well..... if anything its made me lazy....

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Yes, but just like any other aid, it has to have some level of underlying skill present first or it just makes bad worse. At least around here that skill is a rare commodity.

4wd said:

Given the choice I would probably be lazy and leave things as is, but the wife wants the 4wabs. My biggest worry is swapping in the different modules involved and how they interact with each other. The GEM and ABS modules have different inputs and outputs, the speedometer on my year of RABS gets its signal from the GEM, 4WABS gets it from the abs module. If its a matter of cutting/splicing wires and modules from an explorer, I can handle that but if I have to reprogram anything I don't have the electronic tools to reprogram anything, not sure if anything has to change to the PCM or ECU. I was hoping someone might have more knowledge of this than I do.

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Nobody but the dealer would be able to reprogram things anyway.

If you can do it and make it work, more power to you. If you don't get it working you may end up with ABS activation all the time.

Frankly if it was me I would tell the wife that if she wants 4WABS that bad she can come up with the money to buy something that already has it.

Actually, if it was me the wife would be extremely lucky if I hadn't already taken the RABS valve and chucked it in the trash, and called it project finished like I did on the BII. The only thing that has stopped me from doing it on the Escape is how dependent the speedo and trans are on the ABS system being working.