ABS Unit - 3 amigos - can't be repaired - water ingress

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dubmuffin

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Hey, just thought I'd drop in here again. We have been investigating the three amigos ABS issue for about 2 years. It seems the problem started then as I posted on here looking for advice, but my post must have got lost. We have finally sent the unit off to ECU testing and have been told it isn't repairable as water ingress has seized the pump. If we want a new one, we don't get ours back as they keep it for "scrap". I can't really understand why a seized pump can't be repaired and it is annoying not being able to see the problem so I have that slight feeling of being taken for a ride.

We spent many hours looking around the internet for advice and never came across the suggestion that water ingress could be the problem, but the testing company say it is common.

I suppose I am just curious to find out if it is a known issue since so many people have the 3 lights problem and I never hear how they fix it

Claire
 
I had a problem with the ECU pump on my Mercedes Sprinter where it was very occasionally drawing in air. Sent it off to ECU testing. It was pronounced beyond repair. I had to ask several times for the engineer's report but finally was told that the problem was water ingress. They offered to chase up a replacement for me but failed in the end and returned my unit. I was a little anxious at one stage but once the unit was back and I had a refund I decided that they were running a fair business.
I found a recon valve block and motor on Ebay and swapped over the control module.
 
lt's not so much water ingress, the shuttle valve seizes up due to rust, as the ABS rarely kicks in on Defenders driven on the road.
lt's a good idea to get on a bit of gravel or grass and get the ABS to kick in every so often.
The unit can sometimes be repaired using parts from other units, hence their desire to keep your old one.

Ours was "seized" and my local LR specialist cleared the fault codes then took it on to a gravel road and did a few emergency stops, after that the ABS stayed working. They recommended the above, try to use the ABS every so often.
 
I wish I had read this before! However we did change the shuttle valve on a punt as it was quite cheap and just about accessible - I spent an afternoon with my hands through the inspection plate doing quarter turns on an upside down allen key - but to no avail, although maybe a reset and some emergency stops might have helped.

However, if it was just a shuttle valve, surely they would have fixed it, rather than condemned it? I understand what you mean about parts - they have a nice brand new shuttle valve to give to some more fortunate soul now.
 
lt was only 2 Amigos on my TD5 90

l imagine most garages would prefer to fit a new unit rather than mess about trying to repair the old one.
Less hassle for them "you repaired it last month and it's gone again...."
and more profit.
 
We have the refurbed one now (at twice the repair price) so will fit it, but then we have to find someone to help with the bleeding and a reset. If I was in charge I think I would have bit the bullet and given it to the nearby garage, even though the general local consensus is they are not 100% trustworthy
 
Whereabouts in the country are you located? There's a Defender specialist near us in High Peak Derbyshire that's good with that kind of thing.
 
Wallington, South London - so Derbyshire is a bit too far! We would want to use someone local so it can easily be dropped off and picked up without resorting to public transport
 
Yes you don't want to be using the virus tin, sorry the bus
l guess these Land Rovers are all well over ten years old now, sometimes over 20 years as the TD5 came out in 1999.
 
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