1994 4.0L . Today I had to swerve to avoid a coyote and somehow managed to dip my right wheel into a large drain on the side of the road. This resulted in some alignment issues which Im going to correct tomorrow morning. All of a sudden Ive noticed that my abs pump is activating with every 2 or 3 brake pedal presses. Is this something Im being hyper sensitive to? Or is it suppose to be more than that many brake pedal presses?

 

Hi Brewtech

It sounds like you've damaged a Brake Line on the Wheel that went into a drain, which is letting Air into the System, you only need to knock it slightly out of kilter to do that

 

Thanks fo the quick reply!

 

Corrected my alignment, and Im noticing that the pump is pressurizing the system every time I start up the car, if it been sitting for over 2 hours. I checked the brake lines and they look ok, so there is a chance a valve is stuck open or my accumulator went bad at moment of impact. The self check is working as it should, and there are no brake or abs lights coming on intermittently. Where should I start to figure this out?

 

The pump runs EVERYTIME you start you car if it has been sitting a while and the system has 'bled-down'.

When I worked at the dealer I noticed that the pump SHOULD run about every 6 to 7 brake applications with a NEW accumulator.

I should take about 30 brake applications to discharge the system for repair.

bob

 

The pump is running every 3 brake presses. Before the incident it would be a few more. And I do think the system is depressurizing too fast. As OB mentioned earlier, I may have damaged the brake hose going to the right front caliper. A bleeding wouldnt hurt, and new front hoses would be a good thing anyway.

 

Hi Brewtech

While the System will re-pressurize every time that you Start up, even if you've only left it for a very short while, once the System is pressurized it should stay that way for at least Six Presses of the Pedal

Three Presses could be considered nowhere near enough, as when you are driving you can't always hear the Brake Pump cutting in and because of that you could burn out the Brake Pump, which would not exactly be a cheap day out

After you've have a bit of a drive put your hand on the Brake Pump (with caution obvs) where I wouldn't mind betting it will be too Hot to touch and that being the case you are living on borrowed time before it burns out

Which could leave you Stranded in the middle of nowhere and that being the case you won't be able to get one anytime soon as they are NLA

Where my educated guess would be that the Metal Brake Pipe from the Flexy to the Caliper, is no longer seating properly after that 'Bump'

So if you get that pipe replaced, which shouldn't cost too much and Bleed the Brakes then that might fix the problem

 

Thanks for the great input guys! So heres what Ive managed to log. At a standstill, with engine running, I will get about 3-4 presses before I hear the pump running. When driving, and coming to a complete stop, which means it will be several blocks before using the brake, I will get about 6 presses before I hear the pump running, unless it runs while driving, which I doubt. I drove it for a good twenty mins this morning, pulled over and didnt feel any heat on the pump itself, which made me feel a lot better. I called my mechanic and decided to have him look at it next week. Will have the hose and hard line looked at too. Thanks!

 

I dropped off the car with my XJS this morning. They should be able to figure this out for me, once and for all. Will give an update soon

 

Got the car back this morning, and all is well again! New hoses and fully bled system, and its back to normal. Thanks for entertaining this topic!