2001 LW200 - ABS gone wild?

[PaulGraz]

I'm now over 277K miles - so yeah, there's a few things that need attention and I don't know if I want to keep putting $ into it or just do that tearful goodbye...

AT RANDOM, when braking, it seems like the ABS is kicking in. Roads are even wet. I cannot figure out a pattern of when this happens, seems totally random.

Full disclosure, there's a couple of things that I'm guessing could be related.

• I think I've got a separated belt in the right front tire
• Possible CV joint going as I hear a clicking that matches wheel rotation

This has been going on for a couple months, and I've just ignored it - but I'm concerned it may get worse. I'll be putting my winter tires on soon, so that should confirm my belief that I have a separated belt in one of the tires.

[fdryer]

At 277k miles, severe corrosion can occur to bare metal exposed to weathering and salted roads. Exposed abs toothed rings, reluctors, may give false speed signals unless they're housed internally against road debris (wet or dry). Examine them for severe rust and if one or more are cracked. Hidden wheel speed sensor and reluctor rings require measuring the sensor for values against the others. When abs activates, the recognizable foot massage is felt as physical feedback.

Worn wheel bearings have triggered abs while driving in parking lots at low speeds. I doubt tire damage or worn cv joint contributes to random abs activation but real world situations sometimes trumps expected issues. Other members may have more info.

[PaulGraz]

Thanks fdryer - yes, there's a reasonable amount of corrosion underneath this car. For the last few years it's been mostly a "winter beater"

And even though I live in South/Central New Jersey, where there isn't much snow, they do tend to panic whenever snow is forecast and drop way too much salt and brine down.

[02 LW300]

I have had a fractured tone ring give me a headache until discovered. It would spin properly sometimes and other times slip and the abs went nuts. The aluminum tone ring is pressed onto the outer cv joint and is exposed to all the salt.

[Rj 2000 LS2]

We had a problem something like that which seemed to be a tire issue. Simple check is to rotate the tires. To this day, if we put the "bad tire" on the frontend, problems return. They are not old tires. However, our factory rims need to be replaced. I don't want to say how I know this, but I do.