Front brakes needed replacing, rotors were iffy, so I got new pads, rotors, bearings and seals.

Get it all apart, bearings and seals in new rotors... when I notice there is no ABS tone ring on the rotor. Parts store didn't have a different choice, so I assume I need to pull them off and press them on new rotors.

Do that, they get a little bent, but I hammer them back into shape and press them on. Button the truck back up, take it for a test drive... and the pedal is all wrong, it's pulling to one side, etc.

I've looked up new tone rings: I can't find them!

What have I done and what do I need to do? I'm fixing this truck up to sell and need the money.

Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to the forum

Need the year of the Ranger and engine size, also 2WD or 4x4


Also something else is wrong, ABS can't cause "pulling" to one side, ABS can't apply pressure to the brakes, it can only lessen brake pressure slightly too prevent a wheel from locking up.
And you feel a pulsing in the brake pedal when ABS does that, no mistaking it

 

2005 Ranger XLT 2WD 2.3

Yes, the pedal is pulsing, and I assume lessening brake pressure on one side, hence the pulling.

Note: I drove it without the ABS rings and it's fine, but the ABS light comes on. I wouldn't mind, but whoever buys it probably will.

 

Do the rotors and tone wheels look like this?
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/ke...4_043749_1.jpg

The new rotors needed to come with tone wheel, "they" sold you the wrong rotors

The tone wheels are not swapable with any reliability, which you have found out

The distance between sensor and tone wheel needs to stay within 1/16" or sensor loses pulse so ABS thinks wheel has locked up.

You can redo the tone wheels to make them as flat as possible, but bent is bent

The ABS sensors are Variable reluctance(VR) sensors, so you can test if they are working after wheel is on by spinning the wheel.
VR sensors generate their own power, AC Voltage.
Set volt meter to AC Volts and hook it up to the two sensor wires, unplugged from truck harness.

Spin the rotor/wheel and you should see AC Voltage, under 1 volt, but as steady as the wheels spin, if it is jumping/dropping then one area of the tone wheel is rubbing sensor or is too far away from sensor, so warped not flat

 

That's them; and all 2005 Rangers have ABS, so that part literally is not correct for this vehicle, right?

Well, that should at least let me get it swapped out without too much of a hassle, but this will be the 5th time I've broken the whole thing down ;(

I'm sure not going to try to match up a bent ring to 1/16"!

Thanks for the help.

 

Yes, last time I checked, Ford didn't even have a step by step in shop manual to change tone wheel on these.
Just swap the whole rotor is the fix listed.

I think people did do this at first, knocked out the wheel lug studs bit by bit pushing the old tone wheel off , you could heat the tone wheel a bit as well so it expanded

Then put tone wheel in the oven and get it nice and hot, to put on the new rotor