I have a 94' 2wd super cab 4.0 with 10" drums. I had a near miss this past weekend (wreck) due the street being a little wet and my having to slam on my brakes to not hit the two idiots trying to dart out in front of me. I just replaced all components of my front and rear brakes excluding the drum itself, brake booster and master cylinder. The ABS light did come on due to locking up the brakes and sliding (due to the road being wet) but went off the next time I cranked up the truck. I did take my truck to a mechanic that I trust and he said everything was done correctly and the brakes felt and looked fine. My question / thought is due to the truck having a 2" rake (lower in the front) would it make sense to level the truck so that if or when I have to hammer down on the brakes again, the truck would not "nose dive" causing the rears to lock up as quickly? I can say that when I replaced my shocks a year ago the braking was better (my shocks were shot). At this point I do not want to "lift" the truck but if it will improve or minimize the rears from locking up as fast I think it would be worth it. Any helpful advice or thoughts are appreciated!

Also, if anyone has done a leveling kit, what manufacturer did you go with and how tough of a job was it? Any helpful tips or hints would also be appreciated!

Thanks folks!

 

Rear brakes on pickup trucks can still lock up even with ABS, simply because there is no weight on the rear wheels.
Pickups come with 70/30 proportioning, 70% of pedal pressure goes to front, 30% to rear
Cars and SUVs use 60/40 proporioning

Rear brakes on empty semi-trailers lock up all the time because of no weight, lol, so its just a function of the brakes being good enough to stop you when you have a full 1,000lbs load(1/2 ton rating) in the bed, vs stopping with an empty bed, it can't be setup both ways

I don't think leveling will help

You can install an adjustable proportioning valve on the rear brake line
Then go to a gravel road and practice stopping and adjusting until you are happy with results, then move on to wet pavement, i.e. hose down your street, lol, and see if you are still happy
Racing cars use these alot
You are not limiting braking, just shifting it, the pedal pressure that doesn't go to the rear goes to the front

 

I disabled my ABS in my 2004, because it was too unpredictable... I learned to drive on a vehicle predating abs by decades... in the snow. the abs in my ranger? SCARY AS ****....

I can pump brakes, I can drive in a blizzard... in the rain ABS would kick on, and leave me with NO BRAKES...

the brakes in the ranger, is an accident waiting to happen.

The last straw for ABS in the ranger was when I was driving normally, and tried to slow down, for a car entering the road way... dry payment, sunny skies...

It was more precautionary than anything... and I had my trailer with me...

immediately after I tried a panic stop, and couldnt stop. ABS denied me the use of my brakes. After that, abs, was disabled. Ill never drive my ranger with ABS enabled, too dangerous

 

Throblem with the abs system is its 3 channels.. 2 for the front, 1 for the rear...

In my experience, thats not only bad, but dangerous.

Maybe add weight so your *** end isnt to light

 

Think about where the center of mass is - it's probably about where your butt is in the seat. When you brake that mass is trying to rotate around the net suspension pivot point. You won't be able to move either of those points far enough to matter.