The easiest way to do it is how I fixed it and it has stayed fixed for thousands of miles. I lifted the truck up at just the affected tired removed that tire before I did. Then I sanded the area where the tone ring sits normally. The reason why the tone ring snaps is because rust gets under it and the cast metal doesn't have the strength to keep together under the stress of that. I put JB weld on where the ring rides and secured the ring with a large hose clamp with the truck parked overnight in a heated garage (winter time). If it is not winter you don't need the heated garage. The JB weld needs about fifty degrees or so to set up well and you will have to be able to leave your truck overnight. This is a good fix for people without a large set of tools and should last longer than the normal fix since the JB Weld seals out the water.

 

Sounds good. Before I replaced my tone ring, I used 2 part epoxy to temporarily fix it. I had to knock off the epoxied ring, as it was still solid 6 months or so later.

 

Thanks. You guys/GreenHybrid Rock!

Speaking of rocking, RockAuto.com has this part for my '07 Escape for $4.62 each!

It's got nearly 100k miles on it, so I'll get some brake pads and change those as long as I have the wheels off.

I didn't even have to figure out how to get my laptop's OBDII software to run!

 

Even though this thread is old, since it comes up on google when people search for this problem I'm going to post some advice.

First of all, you absolutely have to have VCMII Tool from Ford and the Ford IDS software to even work on this brake system. The reason is because there are fault codes like "Brake initialization incomplete" that cannot be reset by clearing the fault codes. You have to run 2 tests, the brake bleed test, and the brake actuator test, to clear this code. So many people get tripped up on this and end up having ford replace the HCU which isn't even bad because of this fault code. I cannot stress this enough, without this tool you can't possibly reset the fault codes.

You can get a clone of this tool on ebay for around $140 shipped to your house, which comes with a cracked version of IDS. If you buy the version from ford it'll cost you $1400 - $2000 for the tool, and the IDS software is $1000 a year. You can also use this tool to replace a bad HCU with a used junkyard HCU. The process is called exhaling and breathing I believe. The IDS software can copy the VIN and relevant data from your old HCU and flash it onto a used HCU.

 

Thank you for posting this.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...+Ford&_sacat=0

 

 

Here's my story and I think it's rarely the HCU. I had "Big O" bleed my brakes for far less than Stealerships wanted, but the most wonderful thing Big O discovered was my front brake lines were collapsing and needed replaced. This resolved the entire brake problem which had been a nightmare for 7 months. My original post: 11/5/2018 After 7 months, 4 tows, 5 mechanics, 2 dealerships (two bad HCU diagnosis), 1 ABS harness line and 1 ground cleaning...it was the brake hoses collapsing. I also had the brake fluid flushed to get any sediment out of the system from the brake/rotor install earlier in the year. A retail tire chain found it in less than 15 minutes. Dealerships here said that if those codes are present, Ford says to replace the HCU 1st! Will NOT even consider venturing into anything else. It's a win-win for Ford, they know this was a bad design, too expensive to recall and I believe they want these cars off the road due to liability. If they can get you in and diagnosis your car with a bad HCU 1) They are off the hook if it's not fixed and in most cases the owner takes the car off the road. 2) VIN specific and $5900 to replace HCU. 3) The part is worth more than the car, causing most people to scrap the car and possibly buy a new Ford (Not me). Big KUDOS to the dealerships who allow critical thinking and let their mechanics be mechanics. In the Louisville area, they are ARROGANT scanner readers and liars. I asked both dealerships to check the tone rings and brake lines, which both "said" they did however, it took a brake/tire store to find the front brake lines were collapsing causing the 1478/1480/2023 codes. It's been five months now and no more ABS problems. I would be very interested to hear your follow up story, I'm betting it's the brake lines. I hope this helps!