CandyRedRC46

Hey guys. I recently did a major overhaul on the front end of my 2000 Integra GS auto coupe. It almost went perfect, but now my ABS light is on. I scanned it and took pics of the codes (I should probably still jumper the diagnostic port, pull the codes manually and maybe clear them, to see if they return, huh?). So I will try to be as clear as possible about everything I did on the overhaul.

I wanted to overhaul all the bushings/ ball joints/ brakes/ hubs/ bearings etc up front, so I figured the easiest way would be buying a spare set of front knuckles, rebuilding those and then swapping them over the weekend. I bought a spare set of knuckles, but they turned out to be off a non abs model, (I guess an early RS model), so I dropped them off at the machine shop to be drilled and tapped for the abs sensors, as well as having new lower ball joints/hubs/bearings pressed in. It looked like the machine shop did a great job converting the knuckles to abs knuckles, the sensors were in exactly the right spot and the wires were routed perfect.

I did have to drive around for a few weeks without the front abs sensors, as they were taken out to be fitted on the rebuilt knuckles, so I had an abs light on for a few weeks, no surprise there. Then last weekend I started the overhaul, which consisted of:

New oem upper control arms/ball joints/bushings.
New aftermarket lower control arms/bushings.
New aftermarket axles (replaced my old "Toughones" axles with new "Car Quest" axles. Both axles were from advance auto and both had the abs rings, see pics)
New Stoptech ss brake lines.
New front "Team Integra brake upgrade kit" from Pro Parts USA (Remanufactured ITR calipers, Centric Metalic TSX pads, Centric Mini cooper rotors).
Rebuilt RS Integra knuckles, Drilled/Tapped for ABS sensors, with new Moog Hubs/Bearings/Lower ball joints pressed in.
New Moog outer Tie rods
Bled the front brakes (May still need to do the rear? But the petal is very firm and the brakes work amazingly, minus the abs....)
Trying to think of anything else related... That should be it...

So after finishing up, bleeding and torquing everything down, I went for a test drive. I start the car up and the ABS light is gone. I'm driving around the neighborhood and everything feels great. Petal is firm, brakes work good. There is what sounds to be some brake pad noise, but nothing alarming. After 5 minutes, I turn, look to my wife and say, "I am so happy I don't have to look at that F@#$ing ABS light anymore" and I **** you not, the ABS light came on right as I said that. I am pissed, but decide to keep going with the test drive. The car feels amazing, finally no more sloppy ball joints/bushing, no more weak brakes, no more slightly warped rotors and slight pulse at the petal. The car just feels solid (also have 205/45r16 tires and 10k/6k BC coil overs). It is handling and stopping great now. I decide to do a few hard stops from 60 or so to bed in the pads/rotors... Bring it up to 60 and gently roll into the brakes. Man these brakes have power. It stops hard and is very easy to modulate at the limit. It locks up pretty easily and there is no ABS/ no buzzing/pumping when it does lock up, but it is very easy to modulate and keep at the limit of right before lock up. I do a few of those hard stops from 60ish and it just works great, no abs, but it works great.

So I get home and decide to double check everything in the morning. The next day after breakfast I double check the fluid level, its fine, but I top it off. I check the ABS sensor connections, they are solidly plugged in (maybe I should take apart, clean and reconnect?). I crawl under the car, the ABS sensors are bolted down and torqued correctly. I decide to clean the sensors, I unbolt them from the hub and see they have metal shavings stuck to the magnetic tips, (maybe left over metal shavings from the machine shop drilling/tapping the knuckles or maybe metal shavings from what sounded like brake pad/rotor noise). I wipe the sensors down till they look spotless and then bolt them back to the hub. I double check, remove and reinsert all the abs fuses, they were all fine. I start the car and the abs light is still there (f@#$). I drive the car around for a few more days. The pad /rotor noise is pretty much gone. The brakes are performing wonderfully, but the ABS light is still there (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday now....). I haven't tried to lock up and activate ABS since Sunday night, but I assume because the ABS light is on, ABS is still not working.

I can't get the brake codes to show on my personal bluetooth obd reader, so last night when I was returning my old axles to advance auto, I asked them to scan the codes to see if they could read the brake codes. They could and we got:

11-1 Right front wheel speed sensor open or short
14-1 Left front wheel speed sensor Malfunction
54-1 Fail-Safe Relay Malfunction
81-1 Antilock Brake system control unit Malfunction

I am not sure which codes are from driving with out the front sensors previously for a couple weeks and which codes are from the current state of the car.

So now this brings me to, what happened and what should I do? Maybe the machine shop damaged my sensors or maybe the metal shavings damaged the sensors? (I was pretty careful with them). Maybe I still need to manually jump, pull and clear the codes? Maybe the sensors are slightly out of alignment due to being fitted on the RS knuckles (God I hope not, as I am really invested in this set up now. I can take pictures and post later, but they look to be perfectly placed like OEM). I really really hope I don't need to dig into new pump/orings/relays and all these other things I read on ABS problem threads. Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and buy new sensors (is aftermarket okay here or is this a "You must buy OEM here" kind of deal? They look pretty expensive from Honda).

Thanks for the help guys.

CandyRedRC46

Some more pics

CandyRedRC46

knuckles/abs sensor pics

CandyRedRC46

Bump

CandyRedRC46

Maybe I should have put this in generic brake /suspension section instead of integra?

jdmark1

iTrader: (2)

That's actually what I was about to recommend. I wish I could help, but I have an RS integra so I don't have any abs experience

MotorMouth93

iTrader: (1)

Is it possible that the holes for the ABS sensors are off a bit and causing the sensor to not be in the right place? Also how far is the tip of the sensor from the teeth on the ABS ring on the driveshaft? If everything worked before and the sensors don't appear to be damaged then that seems like the first thing to check.

CandyRedRC46

I did way too many things at once. Way too many variables. Could be the new axles, new knuckles, possibly damaged sensors etc... Guess I will buy some new sensors from advance auto for 30 bucks just to give it a try. If that doesn't fix it, at least it will be an easy return.

CandyRedRC46

**** these abs sensors are way too expensive. I found what looks to be a clean set of 2000 integra front sensors, with warranty/return included, for a decent price, so I am going to give that a shot. Wish me luck lol.