Well, after a terrible day yesterday, getting to and from ford fair with only 3 brakes after one of the drums shit it self, decided i am putting disks on rear!
Got cossie stuff up front, so gona put on rear also, with bias valve for balance etc. Question is, ABS!!! Been advised that i should get ride of it! I know i only got one belt on there at mo. Will disks all round and no sort of ABS be a major problem?
Also, who has removed there's, and has anyone encountered any problems, while removing it? And, RS master cylinder or XR3i?

Cheers lads

 

Alright fella..

I'm in the process of removing my ABS at the mo.

Ive taken all the ABS crap out....Modulators mounted on the gearbox etc.
Got a master cylinder and reservoir from an xr3i to use but my original master cyl and servo are in much better condition..
So i've used the xr3i reservoir with the RS master cylinder, fitted straight in no probs for me.

Next is to re-plumb the brake lines..I'm keepeing the existing lines from the master cyl to bulkhead, but re-plumbing them when they reach the bulkhead mount point and plumbing the relavent lines into the T-piece's on each inner wing which split the lines diagonally front n/s, rear o/s etc.

Therefore getting rid of the ABS altogether..also if your rear load compensators are working, they will take care of the front/rear balance.. thats what ive done at least..but i'm keeping my drums on the back as they are fine..

Hope this helps mate!

 

dont take ya drums off,unless u like the back end following u everytime u brake,its a terrible thing to do

 

macrs: Thanks for the advise mate.

orion_crazy_carl: I hear what your saying mate, but my next question will be, why do so many people do the conversion if there are such big consequences? I saw a couple of RS Turbos with rear disks at ford fair hacking around the track, hard braking etc, they seemed to not have any probs!!!!

But that is why i have asked about the ABS, will removing it or keeping it make any difference to the performance of the braking, if rear disks are introduced? Those that have no problems, do they run ABS?

Its a tricky subject because so many people will give different views, which makes it harder to make the best decision.

Cheers guy's

 

project rs off here done the same thing(removed abs)and had no problems with the back end swingin round on braking,and yes i would bin the abs also its bollox.

 

removing the abs totally is one of the best things you can do to improve the brakes!! the feeling in the pedal is 110% better!
I have removed the abs,have 283mm cossie disks on the front and have also done a rear disk conversion!
I drive my car hard and do quite a few track days every year and i have NEVER had any issues with it trying to swap ends!
I left the rear load compensators on and did not use any form of bias valve!!

 

S2Dan:
No worries mate! Keep us posted on how you get on!

I'm removing the ABS as i've found it to be unreliable and dangerous on my car, pedal feels spongy and locks up usually whenever it feels like it!
I can give my daily driver (Focus diesel estate) serious abuse brake wise with no fear, but the S2's mechanical system scares the sh** out of me under heavy braking!

Did some asking around and everyone said best thing was remove ABS, fit braided hose also.

I'm putting cossie 283mm disks on with 4x4 calipers too. I'm sticking with the rear drums purely as its a matter of cost at the moment for me.

 

macrs: Thanks alot mate, thanks for your advise, will let you know my outcome on this subject.

picky775: Thanks for your advise, its much appreciated.

addiction: Its always good to hear advise from someone who has tried and tested this conversion. The set up which you are running sounds like the same as mine will be when i finally put the rear disks on.

Quick question, what master cylinder did you use? Been told the RS one is fine to use, and like macrs said above, he uses RS master cylinder on his.
Oh and lastly, am i right in saying that when removing the ABS, i should remove every component? Can you remember what components you removed from yours?

Thanks alot guys

 

keep the thread updated mate as im in the same boat as you but will be doing this mod later this year, ive removed all the abs on my car already and its much better

also list what exact parts your using for the rear disc conversion.

Good luck matey

 

yeah..

I've used the RS master cyl as it's got a larger bore then the xr3i one..and in theory more powerful?!?!? I am replacing all the seals though as I might as well while its off the car!
When you remove the ABS take all of the parts off, modulator pumps etc as if you don't it may be an MOT issue? I did some digging and found if I removed the lot it wouldn't be a prob, but if I left the bits on it would fail...due to the fact the car 'had ABS' that didn't work.

 

You can use the original RS master cylinder but need to change the fluid reservoir to one from any other mk4 Escort (got mine from a scrappy for Ł5) or you can just block off the plastic return pipes on the original reservoir!!(this looks crap tho)
Both modulators need to be removed off the gearbox and all the pipe work associated with them! You can then just re-join the brake pipes correctly underneath the car although you will need to make up one small piece of pipe!
To do the conversion you will need 2 caliper mounting brackets,2 brake calipers for solid disks,2 solid disks(i used 253mm ones from an xr4i)2 brake flexies and a handbrake cable! most people use a cable from a mk5 rs2000 but i had a cvh cable modified to do the job!
As regards to MOT's, when the tester enters the car details into the vosa computer it WILL tell the tester that the car has an ABS system and how to check it! the easiest way around this is to bridge the connectors in the engine bay and the warning lights will work as usual!

 

That is spot on mate, just two things from your points i just need you to clarify.

I understand about not needing the extra return line on RS reservoir, but what exactly do you mean about re-joining pipes correctly, and having to make up a small piece of pipe. When you mean re-join are you just referring to re-plumbing all the lines back in place? And were about’s did you need to make up a small piece of pipe?

Oh and that last bit about bridging the connections so that the warning light still works, what connections are these?

I am really glad you mentioned those points, because those are the small points which i would have easily missed.

Thanks alot mate

 

Basically when you've removed the modulators and the 4 flexis under the car you will be left with 4 pipe ends that need to be reconnected/replumbed! 2 of these will go straight together but the 2 that are then left will need a new small pipe made up because the one end is different! you can actually use 1 of the pipes that will be left over but you will have to change the one end to a bigger union joint!
In the engine bay there are 2 yellow(iirc) plugs which the abs sensors plug into! these are the connections that you need to bridge! you can do this by either using the sensors and cable tie them closed or cut off the plugs and join the wire's together!

 

Thanks for just clearing that up mate, it now makes perfect sense regards the pipe lines.

With regards the connectors, am i right in thinking that you mean cut the belt sensor plugs off, and bridge them, leaving the 2 yellow iirc plugs connected?

Cheers mate

 

yes mate

 

addiction, your a top bloke, and thank you very much for your help, i have the full picture, and fill confident i can get this done.

Will let you know my outcome.

Cheers mate

 

No problem mate! you need any other info just ask!!

 

Properly set up rear disc conversion pisses on drums mate surely

Cheap job these days as well, do it 1000%

 

I never have issues with mine wanting to swap ends!

 

another little thing you will probably use the handbrake cable of the mk5 rs2000 and you will then need to swap over the half moon piece of metal that sits under the handbrake lever from your origional cable to the new cable as the mk5 one is too big to fit in the tunnel properly and the wire sensor for the abs (yellow plug) don't cut them off just get a cable jointer (not sure on name but are normally blue and you clamp them together and a piece of metal inside grips the two wires together) this will in effect join the two wires together and lights in dash will work fine and then you've still got option of re fit in future if car moves on to someone else. as mentioned above had no problems with my rear disc conversion swapping ends but did notice the increase braking power

 

project rs: Thanks for the advise regards the little metal clip. As for the cutting of wires, i am defiantly no sparks, far from it. SO am worried about which pairs off wires to join, and to where. Went to local RS meet last night and spoke to a guy who had binned his ABS, he did not know at time which wires to join either, so he just cable tied the sensors and hide them out of the way!
I like the idea of joining up the wires, question, is there two wires leading into each sensor, if so, do you just match them up, say + to + and - to - , or something like that??

Thanks alot for your advise

 

seems to be some do some dont,but theres no little brake force going to the rear,i cant see it making much difference?i wouldnt trust it for shit,braking on a corner in the wet,i wouldnt feel safe,much happier with drums!

 

[quote=orion_crazy_carl;3479927]seems to be some do some dont,but theres no little brake force going to the rear,i cant see it making much difference?i wouldnt trust it for shit,braking on a corner in the wet,i wouldnt feel safe,much happier with drums![/quote]

trust mine 110% in the wet, dry or any conditions on the road and the track!!!
like i said earlier i have NEVER had any issues with them and my brakes were vastly improved!!!

 

this is what i'm on about think there called scotch locks

 

project rs: Thanks mate for the pic, i see what you mean now. And the blue connector.

Cheers mate

 

[quote=addiction;3480295]its each to there own bud, personally id spend the money making the fronts as good as u can and spend 3 quid on a tin of black hammerite