MarVelo

I just finished fixing my front driver ABS tone ring on a 1999 Legacy Outback Wagon. I hit the ring with a hammer while doing a wheel bearing replacement (after the new one was in so I would have to replace seals again if I took it back out). A 2 inch section of the ring broke free. I tried to JB weld it back in place which worked for about 100 miles. The broken section flew out on the road and was lost so no chance to weld. My solution was to cut the good ring on my scrap hub in half with a 1/8 cutoff wheel on an angle grinder. I cut in the recessed portions of the ring pattern so as to not affect the sensor readings. When held up next to each other the missing section from the 2 cuts was very small. One of my cut sections has three (3) bolt holes and the other has two (2). I removed the broken ring from my hub by slicing it with the same cuttoff wheel after unbolting. Next I bolted up the replacement sections. Final step was disconnecting the battery for a few minutes to clear the ABS codes. I went for a long drive and not only did the ABS light stay off, I noticed a significant improvement in shift performance and drive-ability. ABS really improves the brake power! I want to dispel some myths I have seen around the internet for people that are researching to fix this problem on their own. 1. Disabling ABS either through the broken tone ring or sensor (or unplugging a sensor) does NOT only disable the anti lock brake system. The system also acts as a wheel speed sensor. When disabled, the transmission will shift strangely and at times slam HARD into gear when accelerating from a stop or slow speed. 2. The sensor is counting magnetic impulses from the raised pattern on ring. As long as your repair does not interfere with the raised sections of the pattern there will be no problem. Be it a gap from cutting or a tack weld, it should not interfere as long as there is no raised material.

I just finished fixing my front driver ABS tone ring on a 1999 Legacy Outback Wagon. I hit the ring with a hammer while doing a wheel bearing replacement (after the new one was in so I would have to replace seals again if I took it back out). A 2 inch section of the ring broke free. I tried to JB weld it back in place which worked for about 100 miles. The broken section flew out on the road and was lost so no chance to weld. My solution was to cut the good ring on my scrap hub in half with a 1/8 cutoff wheel on an angle grinder. I cut in the recessed portions of the ring pattern so as to not affect the sensor readings. When held up next to each other the missing section from the 2 cuts was very small. One of my cut sections has three (3) bolt holes and the other has two (2). I removed the broken ring from my hub by slicing it with the same cuttoff wheel after unbolting. Next I bolted up the replacement sections. Final step was disconnecting the battery for a few minutes to clear the ABS codes. I went for a long drive and not only did the ABS light stay off, I noticed a significant improvement in shift performance and drive-ability. ABS really improves the brake power! I want to dispel some myths I have seen around the internet for people that are researching to fix this problem on their own. 1. Disabling ABS either through the broken tone ring or sensor (or unplugging a sensor) does NOT only disable the anti lock brake system. The system also acts as a wheel speed sensor. When disabled, the transmission will shift strangely and at times slam HARD into gear when accelerating from a stop or slow speed. 2. The sensor is counting magnetic impulses from the raised pattern on ring. As long as your repair does not interfere with the raised sections of the pattern there will be no problem. Be it a gap from cutting or a tack weld, it should not interfere as long as there is no raised material.