ABS Delete

**n2nsanity** · 05-12-2013, 11:29 PM

So I did my ABS delete this weekend. Was a little harder than I expected, but manageable even with the engine still in the car. I used the STM kit to make this job easier. I had a few things I wasn't sure about and had a hard time finding the answers, so thought I'd make a thread to help people in the future. The OEM ABS delete kit is significantly cheaper, but I probably wouldn't try it with the engine still in the car. $200 for custom kit from STM, $125 for oem kit from ninjaperformance (believe this is the best price you'll find for a kit with new parts). If I had the engine out of the car, I would have most likely gone with the oem kit.

The STM kit comes with a non-abs prop valve, 4 braided ss lines and some fittings/adapters.
This kit eliminates all of the mess of hardlines under the hood except for the 2 feeds to the rear.
It also eliminates the extra segments in the wheel well. Both front calipers will be fed with a line straight from the prop valve to the caliper.

So far, I like the kit. It's simple and it works. It's not easy to get everything lined up perfectly and there's probably a little room for improvement. At first I didn't like the idea of losing junctions in the wheelwell. For one fitment is tricky and I feel like it needs to be secured better. Also if the end gets damaged at the caliper, you have to replace that whole line all the way to the prop valve. And it just doesn't have a very oem look to it. But simplicity is the real winning factor here, and I think I can live with that

Tools Needed:
10, 12mm wrenches
10, 12mm sockets and ratchet
4" extension for some of the bolts on firewall
18" or two 9" extensions for modulator
10mm flare wrench or crows foot recommended
Phillips screwdriver
Pliers
Something to cut lines with once patience is gone (bolt cutters, lineman pliers)
10, 11, 12, 13mm wrenches and or flare wrenches (for STM kit)

Other supplies:
Lubricant (I prefer acetone/atf mix)
Insulated wire clips (or reuse old ones)

New non-abs prop valve
IMG_20130511_STM_PropValve.jpg

Forgot to take pics of the lines before installing. Not sure if I'm allowed, but here's a pic from their site.

Compared to old abs-prop valve
IMG_20130511_ABS_PropValve.jpg

Clutter of lines before. You can skip the harness dissection step, lol. That's another ongoing project.
IMG_20130511_SideWallBefore.jpg

**n2nsanity** · 05-12-2013, 11:30 PM

Removed intake, throttle body and plenum (Optional, but helped me see what I was doing)
Detached heater hoses and cruise control from firewall to allow plenty of room to work in that area (also optional, but helps).
Detached fuel filter bracket from firewall. This is necessary because a couple of brake lines run behind it. I routed my new lines behind it.
Removed all the brackets on the firewall holding the lines down. 5 of them I think. The ones below the brake booster and behind the power steering line are a pain and hard to reach.
Removed cruise control box and loosened AC lines. There's another bracket behind the AC lines
IMG_20130511_PartsRemoved_1.jpg

Before touching any brake lines I sprayed my special mix (atf/acetone) on everything. Lines at Master cylinder, Calipers, Prop valve and Modulator. Be careful not to get on brake pads or rotors. This stuff ensures you won't round any bolts and just makes them SOOO much easier to remove.
That mix along with a set of these tools made removal easy.
IMG_20130511_Tool.jpg
A regular crows foot or 10mm flare wrench would probably work too, but I like my tool better.

*I guess you could also just cut the lines and yank everything out. I was trying not to break anything by yanking on stuff too much.

Remove the splashgaurds on the passenger side.

Unplug the connectors on modulator.
I think there were three 12mm bolts holding this in. I located and broke them loose to start. At least one of them required me to stack a couple of 9" extensions, lol.

Plenty of these brackets holding the lines very tightly to the firewall. You almost have to dive headfirst into the bay to reach some of them.
IMG_20130511_BrakeLineBrackets_1.jpg
IMG_20130511_BrakeLineBrackets_2.jpg

**n2nsanity** · 05-12-2013, 11:30 PM

I found it easier to install the adapters before mounting the new prop valve to the firewall.

Then installed 2 shorter lines from Master cylinder to Prop Valve. One with banjo bolt goes on the side of the master cylinder, straight line goes on top. These 2 feeds have 90* fittings on the prop valve ends and I think might have worked better with straight. Banjo bolt was a pain. I kept dropping the washers, lol.

Be careful with routing. Make sure you're able to secure it to something on the firewall so lines don't rub on anything. Power Steering pulley is pretty close.
IMG_20130512_RoutingLines_1.jpg

Installed the lines from prop valve to calipers. These were relatively easy. Only tightened on the prop valve side for now.
Left port goes straight out to passenger side, Right port goes straight out to driver side.

Reinstalled the 2 old hard lines for rear into the top ports (same as with the old prop valve)
Ran these last and routed slightly towards the engine so they sit on top of the braided lines.
Braided lines don't have that option, so I think this is the only way.
IMG_20130512_PropValveLinesInstalled.jpg

Here's how mine is connected. Pic with ports identified
IMG_20130512_PropValvePorts.jpg

I don't think anyone would try any other way, but it's important that you connect the front wheels to the port facing them.
This allows the distributed braking pressure in case one of the lines fail. Front Right and Rear Left are on half the valve. Right Front and Rear Right are on the other half.

**n2nsanity** · 05-12-2013, 11:31 PM

Finishing writeup tomorrow...

**n2nsanity** · 05-12-2013, 11:31 PM

Old lines removed.
IMG_20130512_OldBrakeLinesRemoved.jpg

Got this from another member. Though it was pretty funny.

Still need to upload more completed pics, but I'm in the middle of several projects right now.

Questions? I'll answer them here.

Q.) How do you like it compared to before with abs? I mean as far as driving experience goes.
Q.) Also curious as to the feel of the brake pedal, and stopping ability
A.) Will update when I get car back together.

Q.) How much does what you pulled out weigh?
A.) About 20 lbs. Will try to get an exact weight later.

If my instructions suck, there's also a really good video out there.