I hope you will find these FAQ of some use to you. Whether it saves you posting a question on the BB, or waiting for a question to be answered. I am not a mechanic, nor am I an expert on RS cars. All that is here is just from learning about the car itself over the years and getting my hands dirty by working on my own car.

There are also some articles by other RSOC board users


CONTENTS

1. Starting problems
2. Air leaks
3. Oil leaks
4. Water leaks
5. Brakes
6. Servicing
7. Cold starting problems
8. Electrical problems
9. Smoking
10. Rust proofing

11. Bumps and vibrations
12. Boost problems
13. Misfires
14. Dump valve fitting
15. Cam followers
16. Overheating
17. What petrol?
18. D.I.Y Two stage boost
19. Fitting a boost gauge
20. Chip identification in ECU

21. Rear disc conversion
22. Cleaning after market air filters cheaply
23. Changing valve stem oil seals the easy way
24. ABS removal
25. Water injection – what is it?
26. Lowering your ACT
27. Gearbox replacing and linkage overhauling
28. Bodykit removal and refitting
29. Sensors and their location
30. 90 spec – list of changes

31. List of all bushes on car
32. Paint codes for all series 2 cars
33. Bailey swirl pot – fitting instructions
34. Bailey breather – fitting instructions
35. Pace charge cooler – fitting instructions
36. GRS intercooler – fitting instructions
37. ACT gauge – fitting instructions
38. Buying guide for the Series 2 (1986 – 1991)

SECTION 1 - STARTING PROBLEMS

Normally the main reason a car won’t start is if the battery is flat or some cells are damaged. But there are other reasons as well. What I will do is list all the reasons I know of, and how I fixed them. I am assuming that the car runs OK here e.g. fuelling and timing are OK and doesn’t have any other known problems on it.

Starter turns but car won’t start. The battery isn’t putting out enough power to kick the car over. If you jump start the car with another battery it will work fine. Time to check each cell with a hydrometer and then see what the results are. Eventually when you turn the car over you will hear the ECU clicking madly, this means that the battery is virtually discharged and you will have NO chance of starting the car. The slower the starter spins reflects how worn it is, and how much power the battery is putting into it. I would get the battery checked and then replace it if need be.

Another common fault is the fuel injection relay blowing. This relay is a pink colour and lives under the dashboard on the drivers side. It is in a bank of relays. They do fail, but they only cost £15 new from Fords. Best to buy new rather than get a second hand one.

Starter won’t turn when car is hot. A very common problem on RS turbos, and basically the turbo is cooking the starter motor. All the cars should have heat shields on them, but not many do now. If you find yourself stuck then the best thing to do is to put the car in gear and rock it forwards and back wards, that might unstick it. Failing that you have three other options;

a bump start
wait for the starter to cool down, which might take hours
try hitting the starter motor with a hammer or wheel brace to unstick it

Starter turns, car runs, battery light comes on and all lights dim very quickly. Again I found this one out the hard way. The terminals to the starter motor get corroded and covered in rubbish over time. They need this part of the loom to charge battery but if they are black they won’t charge the battery too well if at all. What I did was to jack the car up, take the keys out, take the heat shield off, and then clean up all the terminals with some sand paper. Then reassemble it all. Everything was back to normal but the battery needed time to recharge itself.

Another reason the car won’t turn over might be the electrical connections on the ignition barrel, or the barrel itself might be faulty.

Over time the earth connections get dirty and corroded, especially with all the heat generated. I would recommend you either clean this up properly or run another earth wire on it’s own.

Car starts, but the battery light comes on then dims. This can be a few things. Normally it happens when the car hasn’t been moved for a while, or if the battery isn’t charging properly, or if the alternator is charging the battery up. Take the car for a run and after about 20 minutes the light should have gone out, if not then there is a fault somewhere in the electrical system. The best thing to do is to check the battery, the alternator and the loom that joins the two.

Another reason a car will kick over but not start is lack of fuel. Take the airbox off, and get someone to turn the car over whilst you push down on the flap on the air flow meter. Again it might not be the metering head it could be the fuel dizzy that has packed it. Try removing and injector and starting the car, and see if any fuel comes out when it turning over.

If the car starts and then idles then dies you might well have an air leak somewhere. The first things to check are the boost hoses.

Maybe the car won’t start, as the battery is flat. Have you thought it might not be the battery that is as fault? There might be a circuit somewhere in the car that is staying open, and that is what is draining your battery. The most common reasons are:

Head lights left on
Boot loading light not going off (time to put your mate in the boot and close it to see what’s going on)
Stereos and amplifiers taking to much power out of the battery

An open electrical circuit that should close when the car is off but hasn’t. Very hard to find. If you suspect a circuit to be open even when you lock the car then try removing the fuse for that particular circuit and seeing what happens when you start it in the morning.

SECTION 2 - AIR LEAKS

There are a lot of places an air leak can develop on these cars, and most of it is down to old age and parts wearing out, and clips and bolts working loose over time. The best thing to do is to replace the part with a stronger item if you can, if not then tighten it up then replace it as soon as you can. The following should be checked out, and when I mean checking, I don’t mean having a quick look whilst the part is still on the car. Take the part off, clean it up, and then have a good look at it. Sometimes you will find the leak straight away, sometimes you won't. Also check the parts are connected properly, and that the surfaces they are going onto are clean and that the jubilee clips are OK and are secured as tight as possible. Use a small ratchet and socket to get the clips very tight, as even after tightening a clip by using a screw driver, a socket will enable you to tighten them up better.

Boost hoses, all four of them. OK the one for the throttle housing very rarely fails, but the others do tend to fail. Simply they just age, crack, split open and die. In the past I have gotten away with simply cutting the edges back and then refitting them. But once one fails you know they are all potentially on their way out, so its best to order a set once you get the warning sign.

The most common one I have found to fail has been the hose that runs from the turbo charger to the inter cooler. This hose always seems to split at the back so you can’t see it, I guess all the heat must take its toll over the years. Another thing to check for on these hoses is that they don’t collapse either. Personally I would replace all four hoses with silicone items. They are quite cheap now, less than £100, and they seem a lot stronger than the Ford items. Plus getting hold of Ford ones can be a pain to say the least.

Rocker cover gasket. These always seem to pack in after about a year on my car, I don’t know why but at £3 a go it doesn’t bother me. The best thing to do to get an airtight seal is to grease the gasket and then tighten up the bolts. If any grease runs into the engine, don’t worry as it will just burn, and won’t harm the engine at all.

Oil filler cap. Again, the seals go inside these and air will start to get into the engine, which will effect its idling, or it might even cut out.

Breather system. The best thing to do with the breather system that the factory car has is to change the crank case filter. Remove all the hoses and clean them out thoroughly, you will find that there will be a bit of rubbish inside them. Again all the clips for them should be nice and tight, and they should seal up well.

Air box. If you remove the air box you will find a large rubber seal where the box connects onto the air flow meter. Sometimes these are missing, or they get worn over time. Make sure it goes back on before you put the air box back on. Then tighten the 2 bolts up nice and tight.

Inlet manifold. Well both parts of it really. There are 6 bolts at the back of the engine that hold the inlet manifold and spacer plate onto the cylinder head. You should check these to see if they are nice and tight. Normally I wouldn’t expect the manifold to be have worked loose, but never rule anything out.
If you think its leaking spray some WD40 over it and if the engine speed picks up then you have a leak, but it might not be on the manifold.

Injectors. The things to check here are the injector O rings and the metal brackets that seal them to the manifold. As I have said above, spray some WD40 over them and see what happens. Make sure the injector retaining bolts are nice and tight too.

Exhaust manifold. Sometimes the bolts work loose slightly, so give them all a good tightening up. The same for where the turbo joins as well.

Brake servo. Over time the servo will develop a leak, and you don’t want that to happen at all. Normally when the servo is on its last legs you can hear it hissing, but you want to stop it before it gets that bad. Also check the vacuum hose that runs from the servo to the inlet manifold is ok. If you have to remove it be very careful, as the end that goes into the servo itself tends to snap off. I found that out the hard way.

Auxiliary air device. There are two hoses that go to this, and they need to be air tight, hence they have little rubber grommets inside to ensure they go on very tight. One goes to the back of the inlet manifold, the other to the underneath of the throttle housing.

Throttle housing. I have never come across a throttle housing that leaks, but your might. There are four nuts that secure the housing to the manifold. Tighten these up and that should be OK.

SECTION 3 - OIL LEAKS

It happens to us all sooner or later. You come out in the morning and you see oil under the car. There can only be a few places it can come from though. Try checking the following parts for leaks.

Sump gasket
Oil return pipe, from the turbo to the block
Rocker cover gasket, there will be oil on the inlet manifold
Sump plug and washer
Gearbox oil seals, both of them
Crank oil seals, normally the drivers side leaks with age
Cylinder head camshaft oil seal, cam pulley side
Cylinder head dizzy oil seal
Cylinder head gasket, normally the front left leaks when its gone
Oil pressure switch, at the back of the block
Oil cooler seal, which joins the oil cooler to the block
Oil filter itself, loosens off at the back

Another reason for an oil leak might be when you have changed the oil and filter and the filter has spilled oil on the block, and then it has run off over time. You will think you have an oil leak when you actually don’t have one at all.

SECTION 4 - WATER LEAKS

The first thing to check is the amount of coolant that is in your header tank. Check this when you know it is going to be cold. The best time to check it is first thing in the morning before you start the car. If it is down, then you might well be leaking water from somewhere. There are quite a few places to look and check, but if you follow the system from start to finish you will eventually find where the leak is coming from.

Header tank, over time these expand and crack and water will leak from the plastic mould joints on the tank itself. Any normal MK4 header tank will do to replace it. Also check that the cap seal is OK and that it is leaking out through the cap itself

Radiator, normally a tell tale sign is when the radiator is getting old and has changed colour from the original factory black to the green colour of corroded copper. Normally a vain gives way and you can see where the coolant has been leaking from straight away. If not start the car and see if you can see when the system gets pressurised.

Water thermostat, these tend to stick and eventually the gasket fails and water leaks out from there. Best to get a new thermostat, clip, gasket and seal. Test the thermostat in a pan of hot water to make sure it works before you fit it to the car.

Heater matrix, prone to giving way and covering your nice clean carpet with rusty, smelly water. As it is located behind the dashboard I would leave this until last. If it is faulty and you need to use the car, simply modify the pipes. In the engine bay, there are 2 hose that run through the bulkhead. On for in, one for out. Join them together in the engine bay and it bypasses the heater matrix totally. On the down side you will have no hot air in the car.

Water pump, these rot from the inside and eventually they give way, and then coolant leaks out from the camshaft pulley side of the car.

Cylinder head gasket, it might be on its way out, and as such you will be loosing a bit of water, or if you are seeing white smoke from the exhaust, a lot of water.

All hoses, check they are all OK and not rotten and brittle. Also make sure all the jubilee clips are on nice and tight by using a socket to tighten them up, not a screwdriver. You should also check the water feed that cools the turbo. It’s only a small pipe but it might be loose or split.

SECTION 5 - BRAKES

Normally the brakes on the car are OK when new, again over time things get worn out, and things start to play up. The front brakes are normally fine, although the discs do tend to get scored or have a lip on them after a while. Mine did after 10 years. So I changed them for a new set. As for the rear brakes well that’s another story…

Why did Ford fit drums on the back? It was a bad choice if you ask me. Over time the rear cylinders tend to leak fluid out of them, so they need replacing. If you are unsure then take the drum off and get a mate to stand on the brake pedal and see what happens when the cylinders open up. No fluid should get past the seal at all. If it does then it needs replacing.

The brake shoes will obviously get worn over time, but at a lesser rate than the front pads. As the fronts do more work than the rears. Once replaced they shouldn’t need adjusting as they have automatic adjusters on them. But if they don’t auto adjust properly like mine then you should adjust them by using a big flat headed screwdriver.

The hand brake cable will need adjusting as well, the fewer clicks the better, on my car it works on about 3 clicks now.

Working on the front brakes is a doddle, even the PG tips monkeys can do it. The best way to change the pads is to open the bonnet and take the top off the brake fluid reservoir. Then put an old towel round the reservoir to absorb any fluid that comes out. When you take the caliper off and push the piston back in there won’t be as much force required to push it back in. When the pad has been removed, push the piston all the way back by using a g clamp.

If you need to change the discs due to warping or having a lip on them then buy a new grub screw from Fords as you will struggle removing the old one that secures the disc to the hub. If it won’t come out the simply drill it out, there is a spot on the hub provided so you can put another screw hole in if need be.

If you are having problems with your brakes you should check all the lines, as eventually the metal ones will rust away, and also check the rubber lines, as these are known to rot and then fluid leaks out. Not what you need at all. It’s a good excuse to replace your lines with braided items though.

Bleeding the brakes. This should be easy, but how many people know how to do it properly? Fords say you need a special tool, as the car has ABS. The tool is in fact the key in the ignition barrel and the ignition to be switched on. If you are going to bleed the brakes then try doing it this way, I think you’ll find it works rather well.

Remove the wheel from the car when bleeding only the front brakes. When you are doing the back of the car you should leave the wheel on the car, jack it up and put an old wheel under the wheel in the air and lower the wheel onto the other wheel. The reason behind this method is that the car has rear load valves, which sense if there is extra weight in the car or not, and they adjust the brakes to suit. You are in fact fooling the car into thinking that there is more weight than normal in the back of the car, so it will adjust its breaking system to allow the brakes to be more powerful at the back. By placing the wheel on something this allows the valves to open up a lot more, making the bleeding easier. Even the Haynes manual says that if you don’t rest the wheels on something then the fluid won’t come out.

If you don’t use this method you will find that either the fluid won’t come out of the bleed nipples at all or hardly any will. This might be down to seized rear load valves though.

It’s amazing how many garages don’t know this, and they wonder why people always re bleed their brakes afterwards. Even the big national chains don’t know about this trick. I found that out the hard way.

Anyway here’s the correct order to bleed them all in.

Rear right
Rear left
Front right
Front left

Something to bear in mind is don't let someone to stand on the brakes with the drum off without some way off stopping the cylinders opening too far, you could pop the pistons right out and wreck the seals, which means new cylinders.

Brake fluid should not be over looked either. It should be changed at least once a year, maybe more depending on how many miles you drive or if you do track days and brake hard all the time. The fluid in the reservoir should look clear, not a dirty brown. The fluid I use in my car is 5dot1 fluid. It costs £10 per litre and it has a very good boiling point. It’s available from Halfords and other motor factors. Cheaper fluid is available as well, and so is proper racing fluid. Use what you can afford, and change it regularly.

It is also worth considering buying a one man brake bleeding kit. I got a Gunsons kit from Halfords for £10 and it’s well worth the money in my opinion. No more messing round with putting fluid into the reservoir and getting a mate to pump the brakes, it also gets any air out of the system straight away too. One thing to note though it to make sure the nut that is inside the cap that goes onto the fluid reservoir is nice and tight or the fluid will leak everywhere. It happened to me the first time I used my kit.

The kit works off the air contained in the spare tyre being used to force the fluid through the system. You fill a bottle up with your fluid, attach the top to the reservoir and then connect it up to the spare tyre. Then simply loosen the bleed nipple at the corner you are going to bleed, attach the hose and watch the old fluid come out.

I find it best to use an old coffee jar to catch the fluid in as well. The hose that connects to the nipple is too short in my opinion, but I am fussy as a person. I am going to replace mine with a longer hose that reaches right to the bottom of the jar. You will also have to add more fluid to the rear brakes than the front ones, as the brake lines to the rear are longer.

Have a look at the brake fluid that comes out of the system and compare it to the new fluid that you have bought and you will see the difference in colour. The old fluid will be a lot darker and might well have little bits of sediment in it. It is almost definitely a sign that the fluid has been in need of replacement for some time. Just wait until you compare the fluid that has come out to the new fluid you are putting into the system. As you will see, all the expanding and cooling certainly has its effect on the brake fluid.

Before you open up a bleed nipple spray some WD40 onto the nipple itself and leave it for about 5 minutes to soak in. After that it should open up a lot easier. As brake fluid is often never changed on cars, the nipples themselves might never have been opened up in over 10 years. Then again you might be lucky and the nipples won’t have seized at all.

When you are bleeding the brakes on the car, you might well have problems at the back even after jacking the car up using the method I mentioned earlier. When I did mine no fluid came out of the rear passengers side at all, yet 2 weeks before it worked fine as it passed the mot. So I disconnected the brake line before the cylinder and no fluid came out of there either, which means either the brake line is blocked with rubbish, or that the rear load valve is seized or is just playing up a bit.

I guess I will have to remove them both and give them a good clean up and over haul to make sure they don’t seize up again. Which means removing them from the car and cleaning them up and make sure that fluid can pass through them under all circumstances. Due to their location, underneath the car near to the fuel pump, means it will be a complete pain to remove them. Once done I will add a guide on this.

If you are wondering why I haven’t mentioned the ABS on the car, it’s simple. I have only ever managed to get it to kick in about three times in about 4 years, and both times it has done its job, but its not the best system around. My advice would be to remove it from the car entirely to get better feeling brakes.

What pads to use on the car at the front is always a subject of debate on this board. I use Ferrodo ones on mine and they work well from cold and in all temperatures it seems. Some people say to use harder compound pads, but I have found from past experience that these pads are good once warmed up, but useless from cold, and being a road car, you need the car to stop when the pads are cold. By all means use a tougher pad if you are out on the race track, but not when you are on the road.

The front discs should be checked when you change the pads, to make sure they aren’t warped or cracked or in case they have a huge lip on them. I have been using a Black Diamond ones on my car for over 2 years now, and the grooves have worn down a lot, but they still haven’t warped or cracked yet. What discs to use is down to personal choice, I have only ever used these and standard discs, both have worked well and stopped the car from all speeds.

The rear brake shoes I use are always standard Ford ones. I have never bothered to use any other make and I probably never will do. They do they job well and seem to be quite cheap as well. Just make sure they supply you with the right size shoes for the car as there are many different types of shoes and drums made by Fords and we all know how clever most people on the parts counter are don’t we?

If you don’t feel up to messing with your brakes and finding any faults then simply drive your car slowly into a garage that offers a free brake check, and let their staff find the problem for you, free of charge. Then just drive away and get it sorted for a lot less money than what the garage wants to charge you.

SECTION 6 - SERVICING

A point that some people seem to skimp on for some reason. That’s down to them I suppose, I service my car religiously (too religiously if my girlfriend and parents were to speak to you)

The main thing to remember is that servicing an RST is fairly cheap. The labour to service a car isn’t though!

The best way to do things, or rather the way I do things is to do it myself. Get your hands dirty! Also you really should join the RSOC that way you can get a discount on all genuine Ford parts.

Also think about buying a Haynes manual for £10 or whatever they cost and read the thing. A bit of time learning things will save you a fortune. I dread to think how much I would have paid out to garages over the years for all my servicing on my car.

The main thing to remember is to change the oil and filter regularly, and to keep an eye on the oil level. Check it once a week from cold and top it up if you have to. The same with brake fluid levels, anti freeze and tyre pressures. It might take you 10 minutes, but it might save your car from damage, and your wallet from big bills.

Since owning an RS I have only used a few oils in my engine, and they are;

Castrol RS 10/60
Mobil 1 way back in 1997 when it was thick enough
Castrol magnitec

I don’t work for an oil company, so you’ll get no bias from me as to which oil to use. I thought Mobil 1 was too thin, so I only used it the once and my engine sounded a bit rattly, where as with Castrol RS and Magnitec it sounded fine. I can’t recommend or comment on any other oils as I have never used any other ones in my RST.

I always change my oil when it needs changing, e.g. before 6,000 miles, sometimes even less. In a turbo charged car you need good oil, none of the cheap £3 mineral oil will do. Again, some people say to use oil flush, some don’t. I have recently started using it, and will continue to do so. Whether you decide to or not is entirely down to you.

When you change the oil change the oil filter as well, as the old filter will contain a fair bit of rubbish, you don’t want your fresh oil getting contaminated with rubbish straight away do you? They only cost £4 so there are no excuses not to. If you struggle to remove the oil filter because of the ABS modulators then get a tool that attaches to a ratchet and use that to remove it.

Air filter, these should be changed as often as possible. Or if you have an aftermarket one clean it out when you can and re oil it. I run a panel filter and it gets cleaned every other month. The factory items cost next to nothing and they are stopping a lot of rubbish from entering your engine. If your filter looks very dirty when you remove it from the box then its time to change it.

Fuel filter, these should be changed every 6 months; you want good clean petrol getting into your engine, not petrol with all the rubbish from your tank. Sometimes if they haven’t been changed in a long time you will find your car will be down on power as they get blocked with sediment, and the fuel pump will be working harder to push the petrol through..

Spark plugs, change these every time you service your car. They are cheap and don’t last on turbo charged cars (as you would expect and probably know). I would also change the dizzy cap and rotary arm once a year as well.

Anti freeze, I would say to change it once a year, but also flush your radiator out as well, just to make sure there is no sludge in there blocking it up. You will be surprised what comes out of your radiator when you flush it out.

Cam belt, these should be changed once a year, but according to Fords they only need changing at 36,000 miles. They cost about £17 each, and they stop your engine from self destruction. Change it once a year unless you have the money to buy a new engine once a year.

Gearbox oil, yet another item that is over looked. Change it once a year and make sure you use enough oil, 3.1 litres, or you will loose fifth gear!

Alternator belt. This always gets my back up in winter! You always here cars that have their belts on way too tight and they make that squealing noise that drives me up the wall. Again I change mine once a year, before winter, as the less you have to do on your car in winter the better.

Brake fluid should be changed once a year, although Ford recommend doing it every two years. If you are driving a fast car then you need decent brakes to stop you. Don’t over look the importance of bleeding brakes, as the fluid does deteriorate over time due to it heating up and cooling down. Look at the colour of it in the reservoir and see if it’s dirty brown or not.

Cleaning out the fuel system. This is what I do on my car every now and again. Take all your boost hoses off, and take the air box off. Buy a can of carb cleaner and clean the air box out. Clean the hoses out, as even with a good breather you will get a tiny bit of boost left in the hoses (unless you re route it) and then clean the throttle housing out as well. Remove the auxiliary air device and clean that out. When its all back together the car will take a few more turns to start, but it will clear any rubbish out of the system.

Don’t bother using injector cleaner or anything like that, it just doesn’t work. If your injectors need cleaning then you should remove them and get them done professionally or even replace them.

Setting up, like I know how to do this as well (well not everything) The only thing I will say is to get the car set up as close to home with a decent well established company with a good reputation, not a dodgy back street garage. Afterwards the car should run and pull better. If you are unsure as to what they should be checking or setting up you should get the following checked (and more probably!)

timing
fuelling at idle
fuelling at 3,000 rpm and above when on boost, all the way to the limiter
throttle position switch
boost level
idle speed
spark plugs, right gapping and right heat range
fuel pressure

Any garage that knows its stuff should let you know if they find any problems on the car as well. In the past I have had little things wrong and they have been fixed for free. Sometimes the car can’t be tuned properly until a fault is fixed.

I am saying nothing about who to get to set up your car, or what the settings should be, I can’t be bothered with people starting a war over who is the best tuner. If in doubt ask on the board for some opinions.

SECTION 7 - COLD STARTING PROBLEMS

This seems to be a common problem on the RST for some reason. Even in the dead of winter my car starts and idles first time by using the key only, although it takes a tiny bit longer to turn over. There are a few things to check, and one of them involves checking for petrol, so don’t go checking with a fag in your mouth!

The first thing to check is the cold start valve. It is located in the middle of the inlet manifold and it has a red fuel line running to it. Remove it. And put something over the end of it. Say a small plastic box or an old coffee jar. Get someone to crank the engine over from cold, and it should pass petrol out (into your container). So we know that works. The next item to check is the auxiliary air device, which is located at the back of the inlet manifold, but to test it you can leave it on the car. Start the car up and when its idling you can crimp one of the hoses and if the revs drop, its faulty. If both items work then the thermo time switch might be faulty. These are expensive items, so make sure its not the other two items, or their loom that’s at fault before you order one. The thermo time switch is located at the back of the inlet manifold towards the bottom.

Another reason why the car might not start from cold and idle is that the fuelling ECU (black box next to battery) could be damaged.

I am not going into a full explanation of how the system works here, as it’s beyond the scope of what I am writing here, plus I don’t want to bore people to death either!

SECTION 8 - ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS

I guess this will be a short section then, as I only know basic electrics and electronics, I’m not an auto electrician by trade. Right let’s get on with it…

Assuming an item isn’t working, the first thing to check is the fuse in the fuse box. If you don’t know where the fuse box is then you’re in trouble. Check the fuse is OK and is the rate rating for the circuit. If it’s blown then change it, it should be OK. If it blows again you have a problem. Here is a list of all the fuses in the fuse box, what circuit it is for, and the correct amp rating according to Ford. What you shouldn’t do though, if a fuse keeps blowing is to replace it with a higher rated fuse, as this isn’t fixing the problem, it is only hiding it. Also, put some spare fuses in the lid of your fuse box too. There should be some there already but they might have been used.

Below is a list of fuses, their correct ratings, and what circuits they are for. Assume number one is the front left one in the fuse box, and number 20 is the last one on the right hand side at the back. E.g. four rows of five fuses.

1. Hazard lights & horn, 15 Amp
2. Cigarette lighter & interior lighting, 15 Amp
3. Heated rear screen & Electric mirrors, 30 Amp
4. Headlight washers, 30 Amps (never seen these fitted on a Series 2)
5. Central locking, 15 Amp
6. Fuel injection system, 10 Amp
7. Fuel pump, 20 Amp
8. Spot lights, 15 Amp
9. Left hand high beam, 10 Amp
10. Right hand high beam, 10 Amp
11. Heater, 20 Amp
12. Radiator cooling fan, 25 Amp
13. Flashers & reverse lights, 10 Amp
14. Left hand low beam, 10 Amp
15. Right hand low beam, 10 Amp
16. Wiper motor & screen wash pump, 20 Amp
17. Stop lights & instruments, 10 Amp
18. Electric windows, 30 Amp
19. Left hand side lamps, 10 Amp
20. Right hand side lamps, 10 Amp

It is worth noting that the fuse for the fuel injection system is sometimes marked up as the fuse for the heated seats on some fuse boxes. Mine doesn’t but a lot of others do. Best to put the fuse back in the system as it’s for the fuel injection system. If it’s not in then the car won’t run properly at all.

The cars electrical system also uses some electro mechanical relays.

Here is a list of what relay goes where, the numbers on the bottom, and it’s colour, just in case you ever need to order any from Fords, as they will more than likely sell you the wrong one based on my past experience. If you are intent on buying a new one then take the old one in if you can and check the numbers on the bottom are the same.

For most relays there will be multiple numbers on them, and for some of them it can have a variable number, EG the relays has three numbers, 2 are defined numbers, the third can be any from a list of numbers.

It is also worth bearing in mind that nearly all the relays in the series 2 are the same ones that are used on other fuel injected Ford cars of that time, e.g. Orion Ghia and the Escort XR3i. So if you need to get some relays quickly they will all be the same ones used in the non RS cars.

The only relay, as far as I know, that is unique to the Series Two is the Bosch KE relay.

From late 1989 the relays had a different FINIS number on some of them, but they are the same relay internally. Their colour is slightly different as well. As long as they are the same size and have the same numbers on the bottom then they will work fine.

Here is a list of all the relays used on the car and their gate numbers that are on the bottom near the connectors.

ABS relay, numbers 1,2,3,4,5
Fuel injection relay (pink) numbers 1,15,30,31,87
Heated rear screen relay numbers 5,15,30,31,87
Heated front screen relay numbers 5,30,31,61,87
Low beam headlight (left hand) relay (white) numbers 85,86,87,30
Low beam headlight (right hand) relay (white) numbers 85,86,87,30
High beam headlight (left hand) relay (yellow) numbers 85,86,87,30
High beam headlight (right hand) relay (yellow) numbers 85,86,87,30
Ignition relay
Hazard warning light relay
KE relay (brown in fuse box) no numbers on it
Intermittent wiper relay numbers 85,86,87,30

If it isn’t the fuse that is faulty or blown it could well be the part itself. Try changing the part for another one and see if it works. If not then you will have to check the wiring to it. Normally the best thing to do is to clean the earth up for the circuit. Earth’s on Ford cars are brown. That might help things along, and it won’t do it any harm. The thing to remember is that some circuits have common earth points, so you might not find the earth straight away.

If after that I can’t sort it then it goes into the auto electricians. You could spend hours trying to find the problem and still not find out what is up, auto electricians work on cars day in, day out, so they will probably know what is up and will be able to find the fault quickly and fix it.

If your car is running a lot of extra electrical items, such as extra fans, large ICE system, and what not it might be worth buying a 90 amp alternator, available from Fords, or fit a voltmeter or an ammeter to monitor current drain.

SECTION 9 - SMOKING

Obviously not about tobacco this section. Right, when your car is warming up you will see condensation coming out of it, not a problem, all cars do this. After it has warmed up it should run fine and not smoke at all. If it does then read on…

Normally there are 3 colours of smoke the car will produce, blue, white and black.

Black means the car is over fuelling, which means the mixture is too high.

White means water is getting burned, and normally means that the head gasket is failing and is about to let go. When it does go it will in a big way too.

Blue means that oil is getting burned, which can be put down to a few things. It will probably be a combination of the following.

Valve stem oil seals have worn, £8 for a set from Fords, and you don’t have to take the head off to change these, although most garages will tell you otherwise. See another part of this guide on how to change these easily without removing the cylinder head.

Turbo oil seal has gone, time to get the turbo changed

Pistons rings, oil control ring might be failing, or the bore might be worn.

Oil in the air box, maybe from the breather system. Give the air box and the breather system a good clear out with carb cleaner.

Another reason why the car may be smoking is that the crankcase breather is full of rubbish, or the breather system can’t contain the crankcase pressure.

SECTION 10 - RUST PROOFING

Ideally you want everything cleaning and sealing with wax oil or hammerite paint to stop the rot before it starts. Prevention is better than cure. Here are the areas I would do.

Inner wings
Fuse box
Battery tray
Bulk head
Chassis arms
Floor inside car
Spare wheel well

Underside of car (after cleaning it all)

Chassis
Floor pan
Boot floor and wheel well
Fuel tank

Also think about opening the sun roof and greasing the runners, and oiling the petrol cap with 3 in 1 oil once a month as the fumes from the petrol tank can cause the cap the seize. If you have the time, remove all the body kit as well and clean behind it and rust proof as well. Remember to take your time when rust proofing and to clean off all the dirt before hand. Once done it will be worth it.

SECTION 11 - BUMPS AND VIBRATIONS

These could be anything. Try checking the following

Tyre pressure (its free)
Wheels balancing
Tracking
All suspension bushes
Engine mounts
Wheel bearings
Wheel bolts are on tight
Brake discs are not worn or warped
Brake calipers are not sticking on
Rear discs/shoes are not sticking on
Suspension springs haven’t snapped
Steering column bushes aren’t worn
Steering rack is OK
Track rod ends are OK

There’s not too much to say about this. Find out where the knocking or vibration is coming from and just listen and locate.

SECTION 12 - BOOST PROBLEMS

Right before I go into this, make sure you have the right ECU for the right car. Some tuning companies won’t touch the car if it has the wrong ECU on it, and some will. Best to check if you don’t want to be turned away.

Blue-Red-Blue = Series one cars (B, C, D)
Blue-Red-White = Early series two cars, with no knock sensor, mainly the first D plates
Blue-Red-Black = Series 2 cars with a knock sensor (E, F, G)
Hearts & Diamonds = 90 spec cars, with a knock sensor (G, H)

If you are wondering what the knock sensor is, it is a green plug that is on the right hand side of the inlet manifold.

Right to test the boost on the car, the first thing to check are the boost hoses and jubilee clips, this will cost you nothing. Moving on from there the next thing to check is the Amal valve. It is a small electric solenoid, and it is attached to the gearbox, if you look below the water thermostat housing you should see it sat there with three hoses running to it. When you switch the ignition on, it should click. If it doesn’t it might well be dead.

The easiest way to check the boost is by a boost gauge, and that’s why most people fit them to their cars. A standard RST should be boosting at 7 – 8 PSI. If not then there are a few reasons why it might not be.

First up the actuator. This might be worn, or it might be set up wrong. To adjust the boost you have alter the length of this rod. To increase the boost shorten the rod, to lower the boost lengthen the road, and don’t forget the clip for the end of it either.

Another reason the boost might be wrong are the hoses that run from the turbo to the Amal valve. Check they are OK and that they are secured tight. Another hose to check is the one that runs from the ECU itself to the inlet manifold. Don’t run a car without this hose!

Another reason why the car might not be holding the boost is that the turbo might be dead. It might have worn internally and so it can’t create any boost at all, or debris might have got inside and damaged something. But only assume it’s the turbo as a last resort, as it’s the most expensive part to replace.

SECTION 13 - MISFIRES

Not to be confused with hitting the rev limiter. Normally a misfire is down to a worn component, or a few worn components, and the first parts to check are the spark plugs. Check they are OK and not worn out, they should be a grey brown colour if all is OK, and that the gap on them is OK too. The next thing to check is the HT leads and the coil lead. In the past I have had lots of problems with number 4 lead breaking down on my car, it was always number 4 for some reason. Other items to check would be the timing, rotary arm, coil, dizzy cap and even the dizzy itself, as if the dizzy packs in the car will just fire when it feels like, which isn’t good for the engine to say the least. Another item that could be worn is the cam itself. This would cause one of the valves to not open properly.

Other items that might cause a misfire would be a wrong setting up, and over fuelling, although it won’t be a misfire as such, just unburned petrol popping as it hits a hot exhaust.

SECTION 14 - CAM FOLLOWERS

Normally the cam followers start to rattle on the CVH. This could be the followers themselves being worn, low oil pressure due to an oil leak, or worn oil pump, or the cam itself might be worn. The engine might even be low on oil or the oil could be too thin.

One way I have found to quieten then down is to remove all 8 of them and slowly squeeze them in a vice. Take note of which follower goes in which lobe, or just take them out one by one, and then slowly squeeze all the oil out of them using a vice. Move it slowly and you will see all the oil come out. Don’t squeeze them all the way otherwise they will pop and the top part that can be pushed in won’t come back up, and the lifter will be scrap. Once you have done all 8 put them back in and re assemble the rocker arms and nuts etc. Start the car up and it will sound rattly. After a while the followers should quieten down. If not then they are probably worn and need changing.

SECTION 15 - DUMP VALVES

You either love them or loathe them! I used to run one on my car but I don’t anymore when I found out what they do. Right then, they are very easy to fit on an RST, and most of them don’t require any messing about, just add it, cut into a vacuum pipe and away you go.

Normally the dump valve is added into the large hose that runs from the top of the intercooler to the cross over pipe. You can either cut into the hose and use a metal T piece, or simply buy a Samco hose that has a hole already moulded in for the dump valve. When I had mine in, I just cut the hose and added the T piece. The dump valve then joins to the T piece by using another hose. Or if you want to be flash and save your hoses, you can get a dump valve welded to your cross over pipe, it’s entirely down to you.

Then it all depends on what dump valve you are using. For all modern ones you just add the small hose from the end of the dump valve and join it to the hose running from the right hand side of the inlet manifold, the one that runs to the ECU. That should be it! Make sure all your jubilee clips are done up nice and tight and then take it for a test drive. You will know by the sound if it is working or not.

For the older types of dump valve read on. Your car might have one on it, and it might have a bleed valve with it as well. Not a problem. The installation is the same apart from you need to adjust the bleed valve and adjust the cars idling. The bleed valve goes into the hose that runs into the air flow meter, and the bleed valve goes into that hose. They can be a bit of a pain to adjust properly, that is why all the modern dump valves don’t use a bleed valve.

SECTION 16 - OVERHEATING

This shouldn’t be a problem on the RST, but if you are having problems with the car then you should sort them ASAP, a turbo charged car should run as cool as possible. The first thing to check is the cylinder head temperature sensor and loom, located (surprise surprise) at the front right of the cylinder head. If you switch the car on and gauge rises straight into the red from cold, or the gauge doesn’t move when the car is warm then it might be this.

Other things to check are that the cooling system has enough anti freeze in it, this should be diluted with water so it’s a 50 – 50 mixture. Drain it once a year and flush the radiator out, to remove any rubbish or blocks in the radiator.

Also check the water thermostat in the cylinder head. Buy a new one and change it over. But test it in a pan of hot water first to make sure it opens up when the water is hot and that it closes when the water cools down.

Another thing to check is that the header tank is OK and not cracked, and that the cap seals properly. In the past my header tank split and hot water leaked everywhere, not what you need when you are driving along. My car now has an alloy one on the car. Plastic header tanks are still available from Ford.

What I wouldn’t confuse overheating with is the car being hot after a hard run. You would expect the car to get warm after the run when you are running down or you get caught in traffic. To be honest my car never gets too hot when on a run, the needle normally sits by the O on NORM on the gauge. If you find your car is getting too hot then there is a problem somewhere. If you don’t like the idea of your car sitting in traffic and waiting for the fan to come on then do what I did. Connect the fan to a manual switch so you can control when the fan comes on and goes off, but the car can still switch it on in case you forget. Here’s how to do it.

Parts needed; 1 x toggle switch, 2 x lengths of cable, 1 x 1metre long, 1 x 20 cm long, the same gauge as the loom on the car, or thicker but NEVER thinner! 1 x junction block

Time to fit; Roughly 20 minutes depending on skill

Firstly connect your 2 wires to your switch, they might need soldering on depending on what type of switch you have bought. On my car I mounted the switch on the choke blanking plate on the car, and simply drilled through the front part and glued the switch to the front of it. The 2 wires pass neatly through the hole on the rear of it.

Connect the smaller wire to a live on the ignition barrel, I chose yellow so the fan won’t work without the keys in the car. Feed the second wire through the cars bulkhead down into the engine bay. If you look to the right hand side of the thermostat housing there is a blue connector with 2 wires on it. Cut the black/red wire in the middle and join the long wire you have fed through to one end of the wire you have cut. This part is tricky as there is very little room around this part of the car, and if it is still warm you might burn your hand on the thermostat housing, so take care.

Join both wires together by wrapping the ends together then put a small jab of solder onto them to make sure they stay joined together. Next put bother wires into one end of the junction block, and put the other end of the wire you have just cut into the other end of the junction block and tighten the screws up.

The fan should now be able to be switched on or off from your dash mounted switch, as long as the keys are in the barrel and the ignition is on (and probably with your immobiliser/alarm unarmed).

Next up start the car up and switch the fan off. Let the car warm up as normal and let it warm up of it’s own accord. Eventually the fan should come on as normal.

Why Ford never built this option as standard on the car I will never know.

SECTION 17 - WHAT PETROL?

The RST was designed to run on 4 star leaded petrol, but now its no longer available at most garages. Some companies do still sell it, but not by me, and I have been told its on sale for about £1 a litre. The first thing you should realise is that normal unleaded petrol is no good for turbo changed cars. It is has a RON rating of 95, which is too low for our cars to use. If you use it you might find the car will pink and damage your engine. So what about 4 star unleaded I here you ask? Well I have been told that the additives in the petrol can damages the blades in the turbo. I have never used it so I can’t comment on it.

The only two types of petrol I would say to use would be Super unleaded or Shell Optimax. These have a high enough RON rating for the engine.

Also you can run your car on these without having to worry about changing the cylinder head or getting an unleaded head conversion. Most car magazines and the press would have you believe that you need the cylinder head valve seats changing over to run on Super unleaded or Optimax. This is a load of rubbish!

All RST cars have toughened valve seats as standard so they will be OK to run fuel without lead in. You just need to run unleaded fuel of the right RON rating. Save your money and don’t believe the rubbish printed in car magazines is my advice. If the head ever needs re furbishing then by all means get the work done, but don’t remove the head just to get the work done. Spend your money on other things.

SECTION 18 - D.I.Y 2 STAGE BOOST

Why pay £40 for a 2 stage boost kit when you can make it yourself for under £5? All you need to do for the 2 stage boost is it interrupt the signal from the Amal valve to the ECU, and then the boost will get lowered by the ECU.

Your cars chip must support an Amal valve and all three hoses must be connected up for this to work as well. So if you are using a bleed valve it won’t work!

Here’s what’s needed and how to do it.

1 x switch, length of insulated wire, 2 x junction blocks

Cut into one of the wires that runs to the Amal valve, you decide which one and where to cut into it, it doesn’t matter.

Add the new wire to the cut you have made and join it by using the junction blocks or soldering it if you like.

Feed the wires through the bulkhead of the car.

Add the wires to your switch and position the switch where you want it in the car.

When the circuit is broken by flicking the switch, you should find that the boost level will drop. When the circuit is joined the boost should go back to its normal level. Best to check it out by using a boost gauge so you know what boost level you are running on low and high boost. I find this method is ideal for motorway cruising on long journeys or if you are driving in the wet.

SECTION 19 - FITTING A BOOST GAUGE

Ok you’ve got your boost gauge but where does it connect to? Simple! The boost level is displayed by the gauge by tapping into the right hand hose that comes off the top of the inlet manifold. This is the same hose that runs to the ECU and that the dump valve connects to.

It’s down to you were to mount the gauge in the car. Sometimes people put it in the coin holder if they don’t have a fuel computer. Or you can get pods form NOMAD that mount on the A post, or pods that replace the centre heater vents. The choice is yours.

SECTION 20 - CHIP IDENTIFICATION

The main chip for the RST lives in the silver ECU, behind the black heater box. It should have one of the four following symbols on a sticker on the front of it.

Blue-Red-Blue
Blue-Red-White
Blue-Red-Black
Hearts & Diamonds

The four symbols above are the only four ECU codes used by Ford on all the RS turbo cars. The first two do not support a knock sensor, the last two do. It is possible to swap them between all cars, regardless of knock sensor or not, but it’s best to try and get the right ECU for the right car, as some tuning companies will refuse to work on your car if it has the wrong ECU on it.

To see if the ECU has been chipped you will normally have to remove the ECU and open it up. Some tuning companies put a sticker on the back of the ECU to make it easy to identify.

If you suspect the ECU to be chipped and you have a receipt for the ECU why not phone the company up and see what they have to say. Anyway to make sure 100% you should open it up and see what’s inside it.

Remove the black shrouding for the heater motor. Behind it is the ECU itself. Remove the fixing screws and remove the hose that runs to the inlet manifold.

You should now have the ECU on it’s own. To open it up remove the screws on the back using a stubby Philips screw driver. Once open you will see the circuit board. Remove some more screws so you have got the board out of the ECU casing completely.

You should see metal shield covering one of the large chips. Remove this using a flat headed screwdriver. If the ECU has got a sticker on it, the sticker should say who programmed the chip, when and what stage it is. If not and it is just a Motorola chip the chances are it will still be the standard Ford chip.

Another way of seeing if the ECU is chipped is to try and turn the boost up. I know for a fact the hearts and diamonds ECU can run 10 PSI of boost, so try and turn the boost up to 15 PSI and see if the car will hold the boost or not. If it does then the ECU is chipped, if it doesn’t and the car shuts down when going over 10 PSI then the ECU isn’t chipped. To adjust the boost you should shorten the actuator rod, or adjust the bleed valve.

Just don’t turn the boost up and run the car with higher boost, you need to adjust the fuelling to match the boost being run!

SECTION 21 - REAR DISC CONVERSION – By StevenRW

Parts required

2 x 2WD Cosworth rear callipers
2 x 2WD Cosworth rear discs
2WD Cosworth rear pads
RS2000 MK5 handbrake cable (disc model K 1992)
Brackets
TAS Bias valve

All parts are available from Mike Rainbird at a damn good price. Mail him at mike@rjpipe.demon.co.uk

The first thing to consider is reconditioning the callipers unless you know that they are in good working order. Local motor factors supplied a kit for £12.50 per side, Fords wanted £50 but that kit contained more parts.

To fit the brackets you must first the present drum / backing plate. As you will be using a different handbrake cable you can just cut the old one off. When you are just left with the backing of the spindle you have to drill out the front two holes so they don’t have a thread so that you can attach the bracket. Take note that when you thread the bracket bolts in make sure you don’t cross thread them.

If fitting new hoses attach the hose to the pipe work on the car first and then to the caliper when the caliper is still free from its bracket. This will allow you to rotate the caliper so that the hose end can be wound in tight to both the caliper and the brake pipe on the car.

Fit the disc on and use a wheel bolt to hold the disc on. Put the caliper on, add the new pads and then attach the piston part of the caliper to the floating part. At this point you can fit the handbrake cable.

After putting the cable on, cable tie it to the rear tie bars at each side to ensure it doesn’t float free.

When fitting the wheel you will notice that there is very little lip for the wheel to rest on. I just lowered the car on the jack until the wheel lined up perfectly with the hole and saved all the effort of lifting the wheel for ages.

Now the hard bit! When it comes to adjusting the rear bias you are best to seek professional help otherwise if there is way too much bias going to the rear, the car could step its back end out when you hit the brakes, similar to pulling a handbrake turn.

So how to set the bias valve up correctly and safely? The best and easiest way to set it all up is to run new brake pipes. The master cylinder on an RST has only two outs. Take the front out which has a larger connector and run it to the T-piece which was in the standard braking system. Take two outs from the T-piece directly to the front calipers. Then take the other out from the master cylinder run it to the bias valve which I located passenger side of the handbrake for easy in-car adjustment.

This requires drilling a couple of holes for the brake pipes to enter the cabin and exit it after the bias valve. The out of the bias valve should lead to the other T-piece which was on the drivers side of the inner wing and now will be relocated under the rear floor and run the two outs of the T-piece to either rear caliper.

The rear compensator valves would be left out of the equation completely, as they are now useless and can be thrown/given away.

Follow the instructions given with the bias valve it says basically set the bias valve which has 9 turns to exactly half way to start with. Then drive gingerly to ensure you don’t go spinning out! If you are in any way worried just wind the bias valve to full front brakes to start with and work on it from there.

SECTION 22 - CLEANING AFTERMARKET AIR FILTERS CHEAPLY

This should be dead easy but according to all the manufacturers you need their kits to clean the air filter. Well part of that is true, you do need the oil to spray on afterwards, but not the cleaning solution, which is soapy water saturated to the maximum. Remember science at school?

Well in the past I bought a K&N kit for my panel filter, and it worked well, not saying it looked like new, but it did clean it well and it got all the rubbish out. Anyway a few cleans later and the cleaning solution had run out so I decided to clean it out another way.

What I did was to remove the panel from the air box and take it into the kitchen. I put the plug in the hole and then I got some washing powder and covered one side of the filter with it and run warm water through the filter and watched all the rubbish come out. Then I did the same for the other side. Then I repeated the process over until no dirt and debris was left. It all works so well as the filter is basically cotton covered in metal to keep it’s shape.

If you look in the sink you will see all the rubbish your filter has stopped from getting into the engine, not a pretty site but it proves they are there for a reason.

After letting the filter dry out naturally I then just added the oil spray and let it dry.

So why spend money on a bottle of special K&N cleaning solution when it is basically water with soap solution in it, then dyed pink? Just buy a can of re oil spray and save money.

SECTION 23 - CHANGING VALVE STEM OIL SEALS THE EASY WAY

If your stem seals are gone then the car will be smoking when you first start it up. Not a big problem, and not an expensive problem to fix either, if you know how to do them. Most garages will try and tell you that the cylinder head has to come off and charge you a fortune, but here is a trick of the trade to save you time and money.

Firstly you will need the stem seals themselves, use Fords own, they cost about £1 each and you want eight of them. Next up you need a special tool, and most decent garages will sell. The tool is commonly known as a Stem seal fitter, well where I can from it is anyway. They cost about £15 and are well worth the money.

The way to change them is to park your car up or leave it overnight until it is cold. Then remove the cross over pipe and rocker cover so you can see the head itself. Also remove all four spark plugs as well.

Decide which ones you are going to do first, and make sure you check every time you attempt to change a pair of seals otherwise you will be in trouble. The easiest way is to do numbers 1 & 3 first then numbers 2 & 4.

What you should do it turn the crank so the piston is as high up as it will travel. Look through the spark plug hole and you should see the piston crown. Then remove the rocker arm and place you tool onto it. Compress the valve spring with the tool and remove the collets. Make sure they don’t disappear down an oil way. In fact you should cover all the head with bits of cardboard or something similar to make sure that the collets don’t go down the oil ways. If they do they will end up in the sump, but you really want to keep them all.

Once the collets are removed the valve will drop down and touch the top of the piston. Remove the oil stem seal by using a flat headed screw driver and then put a new one on and press it down to its perfectly flat, a small socket is a good way of making sure it is on properly. Then pull the valve back up, add the valve spring and then the collets.

Repeat this process for all eight stem seals making sure to check the position of the piston before you let the valve fall.

SECTION 24 - ABS REMOVAL by BigP

The braking system on a S2 is very complicated and combined with the ABS makes it pretty useless when it its not working correctly. Some swear by it and others hate it saying it either doesn’t look the wheels at all or it works when you don’t want it. So inevitably when it stops working properly it is better to remove the system completely from the car.

As was mentioned above the braking system is complicated because of the way in which the lines are split. E.g. the front left disc and rear right drum share the same line and vice-versa for the other side. Diagonally split braking system. This is further complicated by the lines passing through to the ABS system. Have a look at the Haynes manual for a schematic of the system and you will see how complex this is.

The ABS system is not electronic like modern systems but completely mechanical and works through a system of valves whose operation is dictated through drive belts attached to the drive shafts. This means that its not just a case of removing the belts as some people do otherwise the ABS will try and work every time you brake which would be dangerous!. The only electrical part of the system are the reed switches that run against the belts to tell you when they are slack. This is why sometimes you will get the ABS light flickering on the dash, because either the switch is faulty or loose, or the belts are slack and need adjusting.

You can adjust the belts by loosening the bolt on the ABS Unit (modulator is the correct name) and rotating it round to tighten, similar to how you tighten the Alternator.