I'm new to the forum, just fixed my ABS problems with some tips from this great forum, giving a bit back.

I had the same typical ABS light and "Stability control" message. Randomly came up over the past couple years but got more frequent. Looked at lots of sources about the terminals in the ABS module needing re-soldering. I was skeptical that it would be such an easy fix. IT WORKED!!! I am so surprised and elated! If you have the problem, don't be too quick to discount re-soldering as a likely fix. Don't be intimidated by pulling the module out. It is easier than expected and you're not going to ruin any seals or leak any fluid. (Neither of these were clear to me after researching how to do this.) The unit just pops out. I don't know what those tubes are that stick into the module, but they are not wet with fluid.

I won't list all the steps, as they are extensively documented and available with google and youtube searches, but I'll add a couple things I did and learned.

1) Before I attempted this repair, I cleaned all the wheel sensors. Easy enough to do, and it did oddly seem to fix the problem for awhile. No idea why. Perhaps not related.

2) You only need to unbolt the 4 bolts holding the bracket to the car, and the 4 torx bolts securing the module itself. (No need to remove any other bolts or screws or the power steering reservoir, as that won't give you any more working space to remove the ABS module. I had to gently bend the metal brake lines slightly and maneuver the module quite a bit. If you're careful and diligent, it will come out.

3) To drill the hole through the housing, I opted to use a 3/4" Forstner (woodworking) bit since they have a small centering tip (unlike small hole saw bits) and they don't have any long tips that might damage components inside. I don't have a drill press, so I was worried the bit might chatter and make a messy hole if I did the hole saw method. The Forstner bit worked great. Be careful not to allow it to drop into the module when it finally goes through - there are a couple of delicate components that stick up from the computer board.

4) Something I did not see mentioned that surprised me was that there was a clear coating covering the computer board. I carefully scraped/cut that off from the area immediately around the two terminals that had to be re-soldered. It could delaminate from a much larger area if you don't cut it where you want.

5) There is a lot of delicate circuitry and components very close to the terminals, so you'll have to do your soldering very carefully, so as not to damage anything nearby. I inspected the terminals with a magnifying glass, and I could barely make out a hairline crack on the upper terminal.

6) I used a blank rubber grommet to seal the hole back up. I have seen a lot of different ways people have done this, and a rubber grommet with flanges seems the best to me. It locks into position (without needing any sealant), looks clean and should keep water out, and if you ever need to get back into the module, you won't have to cut the housing open again.

Everything went back together and it fixed the problems I had. See pics below.
Cheers!

 

Excellent work (and looks very clean in the engine area - always like to see a clean engine bay). What size grommet did you buy (the package got blurred when I zoomed in)?

 

dfbender,

Thanks for the compliment.

The grommet size says 3/4" but that means it is designed to FIT INTO a 3/4" hole, so the flanges make the total diameter of the grommet about 1 inch. Hope that makes sense. I just found them in the local autoparts store for a couple dollars, then used the appropriate sized Forstner bit once I discovered what sizes of grommets were available.

I should also note that there is a small "x" designed to pass a wire through. In very wet environments, one might want to put a dab of sealer over that, but since this car is in the extreme desert, I didn't see the need.