My wife has a 1995 (M reg) Disco 300tdi auto with an ABS problem. It appears that the brake fluid distribution unit on the near side which has 7 pipes into it has a fault or blockage inside the unit that prevents fluid going to or from the off side front wheel. All other lines jet fluid when the brake is pressed to the floor to bleed air but this one union dribbles fluid and the brake remains hard. As I've been quoted £2,370 for a new Wabco unit we are considering doing away with the ABS. Has anyone done this? Also does anyone have a diagramme of a non-ABS 300TDI. If it's any help the unit in question is Wabco 003 94-23 0239 below which is 478 407 000 0 below which is ANR 2901 0 MCR.

Any help will be most welcome.

The disco kid said:

My wife has a 1995 (M reg) Disco 300tdi auto with an ABS problem. It appears that the brake fluid distribution unit on the near side which has 7 pipes into it has a fault or blockage inside the unit that prevents fluid going to or from the off side front wheel. All other lines jet fluid when the brake is pressed to the floor to bleed air but this one union dribbles fluid and the brake remains hard. As I've been quoted £2,370 for a new Wabco unit we are considering doing away with the ABS. Has anyone done this? Also does anyone have a diagramme of a non-ABS 300TDI. If it's any help the unit in question is Wabco 003 94-23 0239 below which is 478 407 000 0 below which is ANR 2901 0 MCR.

Any help will be most welcome.

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Check with the MOT people first, I guess it should be possible, but should you not be trying to source one from a breakers yard or sumit first, sounds like a **** load of sore head material. Can't you strip it down, it's amazing how unsealed a unit is when you attack it wif a drill.

Used to be that if you removed the belt from a power steering pump you never tested it, the last time I checked you had to remove all components to prevent it being used again, the mot charts indicate this vehicle should have an abs system and the tester would be looking for a light, he might not be, and probably won't be conversant with your abs system, so he may suspect you're takin the **** when you say you have removed it completly.

I wanted to convert a vehicle to van status but removing the rear seatbelts and seats was not enough for the bastid, and they said that I had to make it so that it could not be easily converted back, perhaps the git hated me, but check this out wif them first.

Let us know what they say.

As David says, before you commit to irrevocably changing the vehicle try a few different sources for the part and also take the Wabco unit out and see if it can be attacked/serviced to make it work again.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll have a word with my regular MOT tester.

I've been trying to obtain a replacement Wabco ABS unit but so far nothing doing especially as not all 300tdi discos were fitted with ABS. Ebay hasn't produced anything nor have my local breakers, I'm reluctant to go fiddling about in the existing unit until (a) I'm certain that is where the fault is and (b) I have an alternative to keep the vehicle on the road, which is why I'm looking at removing the ABS until a replacement can be located.

With regard to David 451's comment about converting to a van, there was an article in LRM in January 2008 (page 135) about converting a disco with a rotted-out boot to a van, this passed the MOT with a plywood floor! the only proviso being an advisory note that no rear seats were fitted. My wife's 300tdi has had a new boot floor and crossmembers fitted but we have taken out the rear cross seat and it now sports a 6ft X 4ft folding bed for occasional overnight stops - more comfortable than camping. Because we've designed it to fold we can still use the two inward facing rear seats and the front seats can be adjusted as before, so it's still a 4 seater and as the design utilises only existing fixing points the whole unit can be unbolted and the original cross seat re-fitted in about half an hour. Our insurance company is quite happy with the setup because it's a bolt-in unit. Now we just need the brakes to work!

somone on here yesterday had a spare one, i think - found it in motor. - do a search.

Wot, this: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/whats-55830.html

yup tha

The Mad Hat Man said:

yup tha

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Got yerr finger on the pulse there mad man, might be fooked tho, nobods in his area wif a vehicle for a swappin sesion, I like swapin sesoons.

david451 said:

Got yerr finger on the pulse there mad man,

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We int entirely sure he has a pulse.

but then Grippa is in to Necrophilia.

You two worry me

the feeling is mutual.

ffs Daft
this geezers got a problem with his valve block, so how's the other geezer's spare CU gonna elp im?

The following is direct from VOSA

With regard to the impact on the MOT test The Car & Light Goods Vehicle Inspection Manual limits the ABS test to the warning lamp sequence of operation with a note in the information column: "Missing components Where a vehicle is presented for test with an ABS component obviously missing but, follows the correct sequence of operation, the defect must be brought to the attention of the presenter."

If a vehicle is presented for an MOT test and all or part of a ABS system is fitted the operation of the warning lamp must be checked.

If however all components of the system have been removed there is no requirement to test the operation of the warning lamp.

Some manufacturers will fit sensor rings to parts such as drive-shafts or wheel hubs which may also be component parts of vehicles supplied without ABS so it would be unreasonable to expect a tester to know if ABS had been removed.

PLEASE NOTE:

Whilst this is how the vehicle is dealt with for MOT purposes it does not mean it meets all aspects of the Construction and Use Regulations. If the vehicle was fitted with ABS as standard it will no longer be compliant with its European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) and the characteristics of the vehicle's stability under braking may be affected.

Thought it might be useful from the 'horse's mouth'.
New ABS modulator from Land Rover £2,370 guaranteed replacement from Equicar Ltd £129:84 inc. next day delivery so as I'm now going to be away for probably a couple of weeks it should be fitted as soon as I get back. I didn't fancy stripping the old one until a guaranteed replacement is fitted - I don't know enough to fiddle about with brakes but I'll have a look inside once it's been replaced.