Help - '90 Eldorado Teves ABS troubles

[RyanSnellen]

Through much research and reading of multiple discussion threads, it is universally accepted that these Teves ABS unit are total gremlins. 

 

I hoping a savvy fella out there can help diagnose my ABS problem and where to get the proper replacement part. 

 

My parents bought the Eldorado of the showroom floor in 1990. Not that it is worth anything special, just noting that I have seen this car from day one. 

 

The problem I'm having with the ABS is this: When I apply braking at normal rate, I have braking power. If I need to brake immediately, the pedal locks up and kicks back as if the ABS is activating but there is no braking pressure applied to the wheels themselves.  It seems common knowledge that these will malfunction overtime or fail due to neglect in how one changes the brake pads. I've learned the calibers should be bleed, not simply taking a C-clamp and pushing all the brake fluid back into the unit itself.

 

Anyhow, can anyone help diagnose and identify the proper replacement part or specialist to rebuild this (if the extensive). Threads I have read keep pointing to the ball accumulator but I'm not finding the original purpose of the thread to determine the appropriate context.  Thanks y'all!

[Roger Zimmermann]

Unfortunately for you, I will not be able to help. At that time, I was a GM Service District manager in Switzerland and yes, this system was not quite reliable even when new (is that German engineering?). I remember that the accumulator got bad too often as well as pressure sensors. We were really happy when GM came later with a more reliable set-up. I hope that you will get here some positive answers.

[MCHinson]

Welcome to the AACA Discussion Forum. I am not an expert on that system but unless I am mistaken, this is the same brake system used on the Buick Reatta. If you scroll down to the Buick Section of the Forum and do some searching in the Reatta Forum, or else post a question there, I think you will find some folks who can give you plenty of help on that system. 

[keiser31]

Our 1989 Buick Skylark has the same problem except when it happens the brakes sound and act as if there are rocks between the pads and rotor. only happens on occasion. Nobody ever did find the problem. The REALLY weird thing is that when the ABS light is on, the brakes work fine. When the light is off, the problem is there.

Edited January 14, 2019 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[RyanSnellen]

Thanks for everyone chipping in. 

What I have not seen is if the Buick Reatta had the same mounting as the Cadillacs. I saw somewhere that they would not cross over... though it has been maybe a year since I tried researching this the first time. From what I can recall, Cadillac, Buick & Olds used this Teves but they may not all be eligible for crossover.

[misterc9]

When the ABS light is on it means the system is shut down. It is shut down because the system has detected a fault and put the light on.  The light is to alert the operator that the system has gone to non antilock brakes. 

[ramair]

In 1988 I ordered a new Oldsmobile toronado Trofeo with JL9 Teves antilock brack system. It was a $800 dollar option.  The car was tested at stopping from 60 mph in less than 140 feet with eagle GT +4 tires.  It always worried me that who ever was driving behind me could stop that fast!  That car is gone ow but I have replaced it with a Cadillac Allante which used the same system up until 1992.  I would suggest contacting Tom Rhonert of Toms Allante in San Diego, he restores, reproduces and keeps a inventory of parts.  I believe that all Allante came with this system and he has seen almost every issue that can come up.  By the way once you get it fixed save $$$$$$$$$$$$ , change and flush your brake fluid every couple of years!

[RyanSnellen]

Thank you for the referral Ramair.  This past week I was able to make connection with Jim Finn from the Buick Reatta forum. He has been a HUGE help with diagnosis and parts availability. For my application/problem, I will be needing a new accumulator which he has one for my needs. I hope this forum may help another garage car get back safely on the roads.

[misterc9]

Were you able to get any codes out of it with a scanner? Some of the old systems only remember the antilock codes until the car is turned off. You might need to drive the car to generate codes and scan it before turning it off. I'm not sure if you can get live data while you drive but maybe  with an OBD 1scanner.

[ramair]

Not sure about latter units, but my Allante and my old Trofeo gave brake codes through the HVAC digital display by pressing and holding fan and temp control key in turn it would give codes with a letter and two or three digits of course without a shop manual they are meaningless.  I believe that the most information available is on the Teves is going to be on the internet and all you need to do is type in Allante brake problem.  You might say, they only made 20,000 cars total in 8 years, but for the first seven years Teves came standard and since they were expensive cars when new owners wanted them fixed, plus they were collectible early on, just my opinion,

[jpage]

Most of the times when I had trouble with my ABS brakes, I simply pulled the ABS fuse and disabled them. I don't like ABS brakes anyway as I think that the system can cause loss of control more often than not especially on ice. That's just my opinion.

[Roger Zimmermann]

If I'm not completely next to my shoes, this system must be functioning to have some braking power as it's a combined assembly. On vehicles with the ABS as a separate module, yes, you can disable it.