Hi all,

Wondering if anyone else can help me out here. I was looking in my engine bay trying to find out why one of my thermos doesn't work when I noticed a bunch of wires running into the bumper. I had a look inside and there is a black box (same as what has been described on the forums as an ABS control module) that has two lines running from it, as well as a wiring loom. My master cylinder has three brake lines running from it but they seem to go straight to the wheels. There is no fuse for the ABS in the engine bay fuse block, or in the HEGO space...not sure what the HEGO is. Is it part of the ABS? Can anyone tell me whats going on here? To me it appears that my car is set up for ABS but someone took the fuse out as there could maybe be a problem with it? It is my understanding that Ford wouldn't have put it in there unless it works. When I plant my foot, the wheels lock up. Any help is much appreciated on this one.

IIRC you should have ABS fitted due to the V8 and LSD.
You can access the ABS module by removing the front LH wheel arch plastic cover.
You should only have two pipelines running along the firewall from the master cylinder to the LH side.
If the ALB fusible link isn't fitted, your CHECK ABS caption should remain on.
HEGO is related to the oxy sensor - nothing to do with ABS.

Sounds like from what you've described, ABS isn't fitted - the 'black box' sounds like the charcoal canister.

Disregard - double post

hmm, three lines from the cylinder, one goes down and two go to the left hand side. One of the leads from the box runs from the box along the fuel lines, and the other runs under the engine cover, so it could just be the charcoal canister, but why are there wires in there? I rang Ford to see if it came from the factory with it and they had no clue, they just said put a fuse in it and see what happens....no light comes on at startup so sadly I don't think i have it...any other way I can tell?

oh and should there be a fuse in the HEGO block?

The brakelines are the clincher.
Yep
By rights my XHI 'S' should've had ABS fitted due to the factory LSD, but wasn't fitted. There were dribs and drabs of stuff fitted - the axles has pulse rings, and some of the wiring was already there. Yours is probably a similar example.
I just got an EL setup and fitted it - works great, rears don't lockup any more under heavy braking.

edit: Mine also had the cruise control loom fitted, which made that install easier as well. You should find the servo unit plug stowed under the engine bay shelf adjacent to the master cylinder.

If you have 3 lines coming from the master cylinder, then you don't have ABS

Snap, you seem to be quite knowledgable with regards to what can and can't be done with XH's! Ok so say my car has some of it there, what do I need and how can I get it, and approx cost? What needs to be done?

Many thanks snap

oh and I have the cruise control fitted factory...

Comes with tinkering I guess . . . . .

Well this can cover a doco worth of typing, so let's cover it piece by piece, parts first:
Wiring :
-A good wiring diagram is essential - I found the gregories EL manual was good in this respect (covers XH as well).
-Front and rear wheel sensors and their electrical plugs. You'll find the RH front connector plug is already there.
-The ABS unit connector plug, along with a couple of feet of the attaching loom.
You'll be able to remanufacture the looms from these bits.

Brakelines:
- ABS unit, a late EF or EL Bosch 5.3 unit will do fine + bracket - rivets will need to drilled out. The unit has 4/5 lines into the top, and the line to the front RH side from the front - the pics in the docos are Bendix units I think.
- Brakelines to the rear past the pipe connectors below the rear of the LH strut tower are the same as non ABS, so all pipelines forward of that, including the one that goes under the radiator. Grap the plastic anchor points as well.
- If your diff is an LSD, you should find the rear axles are already fitted with pulse rings - need to remove rear wheels to see them - look like a toothed collar.
- The front steering knuckles need to be ABS type with the sensor hole and attaching bolt hole. Mine weren't, so option of fitting the correct type, or what I did was modify the existing units in situ.
- The front discs will need the tone wheels fitted (look like a wheel with slots cut out), and usually come with the disc.

Well I got my bits from a wrecker I use regularly and have a good repore with, and I also removed the system from the donor car as well, so I had control over getting all the bits. My wagon already has ABS fitted, so I did use it as a reference.
Cost for me was $175, but expect more like $400 - $500+ if it's freighted to you.

hmm, well Ill have to get a copy of the manual...Im a stingy bastard do they ever come up on Ebay?

Not really, considering where you are you are probably better off getting the whole installation shipped to you from a wrecker such as FTG (a sponsor of this forum).
But as I say, be prepared to put forward some $$$$$ . . .

are the dollars worth it?

i think so.. a few times now the ABS has saved me from hitting things like a roo that jumps out or some1 pulling out in front of me or whatever

hmm, sounds worth it I think. Can I still do burnouts? I have heard some weird things about the ABS and burnouts. I pulled my rear wheel off and didn't see a "pulse ring" or maybe I don't know what I'm looking for? What does it look like and where can I see it? I have a LSD (all XHII V8's had an LSD fitted from the factory, it was a mandatory option probably because you couldn't get any traction otherwise....