New Hope for ABS Sensors???

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

After seeing Daves89 hijacking post in another thread' I did some checking and found there is a Wells / Airtex ABS sensor being touted as a possibility for use in our cars.

There are differences noted in the photos of these sensors from OEM, however they look like they might well work.

Some of the grommets along the cable look different, and there is a metal projection from the non metal can end of the hub mounting barrel that ours don't have, but they are listed as fitting Reattas, Rivieras, and Caddies of our Teves generation.

They are even listed on RockAuto as for the rear of 88 - 90 Reattas, but looking at the photo, they are definitely fronts.

More Information for AIRTEX / WELLS 5S8325

Price and availability look good if they will work.

Does anyone have any hands on experience with these?

[Ronnie]

...Does anyone have any hands on experience with these?...

No experience with pumpkins with pirates hats but I did use to carve a few for my daughter before she went off to college.

[DAVES89]

Mc Thanks for your help on this. To give you a reply I have not researched ot tried any replacement for two reasons. I have replaced like new ABS leads front and back on both my Reattas. I also have in backstock 6 front and 6 rear leads in like new shape. I do go on ebay to see if I can pick up a set cheap, as well as watch cars in the right area of the country being parted out to try and get some. I also have been known to call a salvage yard or two to try a get some.

But I only do this every so often to prove to myself that it still pays to be resourceful...

[Jim]

The '91 sensors have a plastic body instead of the metal body and have a small projection sticking out of the center instead of being flat. The opposite end of the wire, on a '91 sensor, also has a different connector.

I am guessing you are looking at a /91 sensor.

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

The '91 sensors have a plastic body instead of the metal body and have a small projection sticking out of the center instead of being flat. The opposite end of the wire, on a '91 sensor, also has a different connector.

I am guessing you are looking at a /91 sensor.

Could be as have no experience with a 91, but they are tagged for a 88-90:

[KDirk]

Well well-

That picture is of an 88-90 Teves design sensor. Even has the strange AMP connector, though this is the first time I have seen "natural color" instead of black or grey. These may be worth looking at after all.

KDirk

[Jim]

Kevin,

I have to disagree. The sensor pictured is not a '88-90 but a '91. The '91 sensors had a tan connector and the earlier ones black. The are completely different and the connector on the car of an earlier car will not plug into the '91 sensor.

I am including pictures.

Another factor to consider is the early cars used the Teves system and the '91s used the Bosch. The Teves sensors had a single wire from the magnetic pickup in the sensor and this wire was shielded with a braid. The '91 Bosch sensors have two wires non sheilded.

Jim

Edited October 10, 2012 by Jim (see edit history)

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

Jim, have you ever measured the resistance of the two different sensors and compared them?

Looks like the sensor end of the 91 would fit physically into an 88-90 hub. Do you find the barrel to be the same diameter and length between the two.

The non metal barrel of the 91 would see to be an improvement over the earlier model as it won't corrode in place.

Now I'm getting curious if the 91 might perform electrically close enough to work with a Teves computer. If I remember correctly the resistance of the early one is 1100 to 1600 ohms and puts out around .45 to .55 volts AC when it gets up over 10 mph or so. Don't have any idea what a 91 is supposed to do in comparison. The frequency of that AC voltage which is the critical value that allows the systems to gauge each wheel's speed is set by the reluctor ring on the axle so that would not be an issue.

The fact that the underhood connector is different is not at all a difficult obstetrical to overcome if that's the only difference that would prevent a 91 from being installed in an earlier car.

Do the 91 sensors hold up better than our earlier ones especially in the hot southern zones where the insulation breaks down and lets corrosive elements get at the braid and destroy the sensor. That two wire design of the 91 might prove to be longer lasting cable.

What do the 91 owners have to say?

[KDirk]

Ok,

I will defer to Jim's expertise, as he is the de-facto parts guru. Oddly though, the picture posted sure looked to me like the round AMP style connector of the 88-90 variety sensors. By my recollection, the 91 had an elliptical/oval shaped weather-pack type connector (typical of GM applications, unlike the earlier AMP connectors that were used by Teves, as this was not a type of connector GM would have spec'd). These weather pack connectors also had blade type pins, not round ones like the AMP enviro-seal connectors of the earlier [Teves] type.

I also find it curious that these sensors currently under discussion are available as separate parts. I replaced front hubs on my 91 and they came with new sensors pre-installed. I was of the understanding the sensor was part of the hub assembly, and was not individually serviceable. Admittedly, I hadn't checked before but I wasn't aware the sensors could be purchased apart from a complete hub/bearing unit.

The possibility of using these as substitutes for the 88-90 models is intriguing if they are both electrically compatible and the physical fitment is correct (depth, diameter, etc.) and has been suggested here before but nothing ever came of that in past discussions to my knowledge.

KDirk