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Rear hub ABS error

4K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  Mickeyluv 
#1 ·
I was getting an intermittent error on my rear right ABS sensor and investigation shows the reluctor ring (or seating on the hub) has corroded and rubbing on the sensor. So, the choice is either a new hub assembly, or replace the reluctor ring. The car is high mileage and the bearing spins without play or roughness. I'm at the stage of thinking it through and welcome any advice - in particular, is it wasted effort just to replace the ring?

I'm also having difficulty in finding the XZN 18mm bit in the UK. Plenty of Euro-suppliers masquerading as UK companies, but I don't want to get stung with additional fees for an imported part. Is there a UK supplier that has one at reasonable cost? I was expecting these to be 3/4" drive but they all seem to be 1/2".
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks - I'd got fixed on searching for XZN and this had limited the results. That's not a bad price for Snap On. A VAG bit is £56.

Edit: I decided to go with replacing the hub assembly rather than just the ring. Does anyone have experience of NAPA hubs? Or should I stick to SKF/Febi etc?
 
#4 ·
Personally would go for SKF over just about anybody else when it comes to bearings.
Timken and NSK also have admirable reputations, but being non-European they may not offer as broad a range when it comes to European cars.

Never used NAPA parts. They are fairly new to the UK market. I suspect they use the same factories to manufacture their parts as do a lot of mid-range brands.
I have no evidence to back that up, it's just my impression of the brand in the UK.

Regarding tools, I have some "Expert by Facom" for larger sizes of triple square sockets (XZN), and Halfords Advanced for smaller sizes (up to M14). Never had any breakages with either of those brands.

Facom's "Expert" brand is used for their more wallet-friendly tools, similar to Snap-On's "Blue Point" range.
If I were a professional mechanic, I might splash out on proper Facom or Snap-On kit, but just being a keen DIYer it's hard to justify the expense.
I'm also a fan of Bahco tools, but they didn't make any XZN sockets last time I looked.

As long as you avoid the unbranded (or dubiously-branded) tat on eBay or Amazon, you should be alright.
Some of the cheaper stuff might be OK, but I wouldn't take the chance myself, especially if you have a two-day wait for for a replacement to turn up when it breaks.

Decent quality 1/2" drive stuff takes an incredible amount of torque, usually more than enough for use on cars.
My trusty 1/2" breaker bar has never failed me yet, even with a 6-foot pipe slid over it. I think it's a Sealey or Draper, bought from Machine Mart many years ago.
 
#5 ·
I also can't find anything in the UK for NAPA parts. They're inexpensive, but I don't want to do a job twice if they don't last. There are a lot of fake SKF products around, but at least they have their own authentication app. To confuse things, SKF also has Chinese production facilities, though I haven't yet had any genuine Chinese SKF bearings. My inclination is to go with SKF from a reputable supplier and install the app just to be sure.

When it comes to tools, I'm reminded of what someone told me in a tool shop in 1978 as I handed over the cash for my Taiwanese Hilka 1/2" drive socket set; he said in passing "that won't last 5 minutes". He was right, as 43 years later, more than 70 vehicles, plus numerous machinery rebuilds, mates cars and bikes and loads of abuse it's still going, apart from a cracked 17mm socket which got replaced. I was thinking though it would be nice excuse to get a long 3/4" drive breaker, as decent used ones turn up fairly cheaply at our local car boot, it being an agricultural town.

My 70s 'Halfords' branded slim ring spanners were also much derided at the time by my Britool-owning mates, but were actually made by Gordon in Sheffield. In fact, all of my tools have stood up remarkably well, given the price paid and budget branding. I have another Hilka 1/4" set bought at the same time that has also taken unbelievable force. Maybe I've just been lucky, but pretty much all of my basic tools were bought in the 70s with my paltry apprentice wage, with just odd tools bought over the years for specific jobs. All supplemented with some decent older British/German/American tools that I've collected from shows and car boots over the years.
 
#7 ·
When this happened on my 3 series BMW I got some very thin tiny copper washers and placed 1 under the sensor to lift it away slightly so the sensor didn't rub on the reluctor ring it works some times, easy to try, what I did was remove sensor rub some tipex on the tip replace and spin the wheel, if it rubs the tipex on sensor place washer to space in away, put some more tipex on and spin again. The problem with the reluctor ring, is it gets rusty and swells making contact with the sensor causing it to fail.
 
#9 ·
It can last quite a while and it's quicker than changing the reluctor ring, but it all depends on how miss shaped it is, the tipex correction fluid works great to find out if it's touching, that's what I did. Lifting the sensor too far away from the reluctor ring won't give a reading but a bit of fine tuning works, unless the ring has swollen too much with rust, it's a lot of work to change a £3 metal ring if you have to go down that route.
 
#11 ·
I have rolls of brass shim in different sizes. I did some checks and the ring is slightly mis-shapen, having a bulge in one place. It needed 0.005" to clear. I cut a shim in the form of a gasket rather than a washer, so that the sensor beds evenly all round. I didn't get chance to check it today, but I'm out on a good run tomorrow to see how it goes. Anyhow, I've cleared the faults and will see how it goes, but it looks like there may be a developing problem, especially if the hub continues to corrode.
 
#14 ·
It has improved things, but hasn't cured the fault. The car now drives a lot further before giving an error. I think this would have worked if the ring had not been so distorted. The wear groove in the end of the sensor is considerable (about 1/16" deep) and quite likely the ring is too far gone on this particular car. I would certainly give this a try another time.
 
#15 ·
It may have damaged the sensor, you could try putting a new sensor in, but be careful, it might cure it, that's why I paint the sensor tip with Tipex correction fluid replace sensor then spin the wheel, remove senor and look to see if any tipex has been rubbed off which shows it's touching. I've also in the past placed a flat ended punch in where the sensor fits and turned the wheel to see if it lifts at all, if it does on the highpoint tap it down gently cause we are only taking about thickness of a good quality paper. In the end it is a put me on until you can get the time to replace the reluctor ring, which is time consuming for such a cheap small part, cause if that's rusted and swelled everything else is so be prepared to loose the skin off your knuckles.When you said it drives much further before showing a fault did you put any tipex or anything on the tip and spin the wheel, any rubbing would need spacing further away.
 
#16 ·
I marked the end as you suggested and before shimming the sensor I could hear it rubbing against the ring when the hub was rotated. With piece of dowel in the hole it rises and falls and I think the groove worn in the sensor tip is excessive, though not enough to show any component exposure (yet).
 
#17 ·
Here's an update;

I decided to replace the hub while the weather is holding out and I can now see why trying to fix my particular problem was futile. With my Yeti the rear disks can be removed without detaching the brake carrier so replacement is a quick job. The stub axle is in excellent uncorroded condition and the centre bolt easier to undo than I was expecting. Some cleaning up of the spacer ring that fits behind the hub, and while accessible I gave the sensor hole a really thorough clean. Two difficulties; getting the hub bolt to 1/2 turn. That took some doing. And frustratingly, getting the hub cap on to finish the job. That took a lot of fiddling and tapping.

My suggestion is if you're getting errors on the rear wheels, take off the caliper, remove the disk and then you can have clear sight to inspect the ring. You can then decide if its too far gone. This would have saved me a lot of time. Total time for the replacement, including getting my tools out and cleaning up/lubricating etc (all the stuff a garage doesn't do) then putting everything away was 1 hour 20 minutes.


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