ABS Pressure Switch

Need some help here, need to replace my ABS Pressure switch but cannot seem to find a socket that will go on it. Any Ideas?

I did it about 3 months ago..........what a bitch. First thing to do is buy some wood shims and put about 3 or 4 of them together and tape them after you find the correct fitmet. You want to place the shims between the lower (moveable) part of the brake booster and the firewall, that way when you get a wrench on the switch it won't just move the lower section on its bushings. I used a (probably around 24" adjustable wrench to initially break it loose. However then as you probably know you have no room to move the wrench, so then go to home depot (it took a while to find the right place to get what i needed) and get a vice grip they sell. The one i found that will work has about a 2.5" hole in the jaws that clamp together (in other words its a wierd looking pair of vice grips that looks like it was made to clamp on a pipe or something, but will open enough to clamp the end of the jaws on the smooth round part between the "nut section" and the plug at the end of the sensor. I didn't want to ruin the nut section in case what i did wouldn't work. If worse comes to worse use the vice grips clamped on good, with a pipe to get leverage to loosen it. HAVE FUN i know i did. Getting pissed seemed to help but you definitely need the right tool. Channelocks were to big around the sensor. Good luck.

FYI- IT is a MILLION times easier to do this with the Master Cylinder out. It's only 4 nuts and a clip under the dash and unscrew the brake lines. You'll need to be careful as brake fluid will kill your paint if you spill and you'll need to bleed the brakes, but it allows you to change it out in about 40 minutes.

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Michael Pinto

1988 TC white/chacoal - auto, g/f's car (actually runs)
1988 TC med red/red leather, 5-Spd, moonroof, all options, 2 melted cast pistons
1987 TC Mach 1 silver/charcoal, auto, chip in #2 piston
1992 Taurus SHO dk green/silver - 5-Spd, feature car, 13.37@104, squished nose
1988.5 Escort gold/tan - auto, 3-Dr, blown trans

RIP (5 Jan 03) 1988 TC med red/charcoal - 5-Spd, moonroof, wing, McK kit, all options except leather, 15.78@88

Maybe I'll just open a junkyard and walk to work...

Bringing it back from the dead

I have been helping a group prepare a TC for racing in LeMons. They acquired a parts car and while it has an auto the body is in much better shape than my gold car so I persuaded them to trade. The car has 2 problems right now, it's an auto (it works right now and I have experience at the proper repair for an auto if it starts acting up) and the brake pedal is rock hard. I went through the troubleshooting list and tracked it down to a bad pressure switch. I had prepared for this by pulling the entire master cylinder assembly from my parts car so I had access to it for trying to pull the pressure switch out. I managed to get it out but I can't manage to budge the one in the car. I measured it and it's 36mm so I should be able to get a socket but I couldn't find one today since it has to be a thin wall to clear the pump motor.

Does anyone have a source for a thin walled 36mm socket?

steve