I did a search, let me see if I understand this correctly.

1999 Durango 5.9L 4wd

I just bought this D and was trying to get it on the road so I can road test the tranny. The front to rear brake line was completely rusted out. The MC was empty. I replaced everything from front to rear and went to bleed the brakes. I got fluid from each wheel cylinder, but the pedal is still very mushy and the brake light is on, but goes out briefly when I push on the pedal. I can hear a whistle? whisper? sound coming from the CAB for the ABS. If I understand correctly, there is air in the CAB which needs bleeding. I also understand this has to be bled at the dealer???

Are you kidding me? How do I get it to the dealer with a mushy pedal? Is there no other way?

 

You might need to bleed the master cylinder. There should be instructions for that somewhere in the diy section. If not just search for it.

 

it sounds to me like you got air in the ABS system, you need to have DRBIII scantool in order to cycle the ABS module. It is not strictly a dealer only item, but 99% of small shops wont spring for the tool since it costs alot of $$$

 

OK, I replaced the master cylinder this afternoon. I bench bled it and installed. Bled the brakes again and have the same problem. I called the dealership and talked to a service tech who said he had never heard of using a scan tool to bleed the brakes. He said they just bleed them. I even asked him if air in the CAB mattered and he said no. I also cracked the lines around the CAB and bled it there until clear fluid came out. Still have the same problem...mushy pedal and brake light. I swear it feels like there is air in there somewhere, but I can't find it.

About the only thing that isn't new is the CAB, and booster.

 

Find out who the tech is and never talk to him again. He is the guy sitting at the service desk computer and takes your info and types it into the computer. Walk around to the back and talk to a mechanic or just take shrpshtr325s advice. Here is a link explaining shrpshtr325s answer/rationale. http://www.aa1car.com/library/abs_bleeding.htm

 

I guess this leaves me with a problem. I live on a mountain top in the country in West Virginia. The nearest dealership is 35 miles away. So I have to pay a tow truck $150 to tow the D to the dealer and then pay the dealer some ridiculous amount of money just to get the brakes bled.
I'm half tempted to bypass the CAB, hook the brake lines from the MC directly to the proportioning valve and say screw the ABS. I drove for 30 years without ABS.
Not meaning to rant at anyone here. This just irks the crap out of me. That Amish horse and buggy thing is starting to look pretty good right about now.

 

OK, I went outside last night, sat on the ground and kicked and screamed like a spoiled 4 year old who didn't get his new toy at Wal-Mart. Went to bed and am now having coffee. I feel much better now. I apologize for my previous outburst. Besides, who am I kidding, I don't anything about horses.

So, I'm going to take some time to figure out the wiring for the ABS, and how it works (the voltages applied, type of solenoids/valves used...not how ABS works). Maybe I can find a way to cycle the CAB without a DRB.

Anyone have a pinout for the CAB connectors, or better yet a schematic?

 

This is only a theory that I have heard about: (NOT REALLY SURE THAT IT WILL WORK BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE AIR WILL GO IF THE BLEEDER SCREW IS CLOSED?)
With the rear axle on jackstands , start the car, put in gear run up to 30 mph or so and hit the brakes. This will activate the ABS and cycle the pump. Then bleed the brakes, repeat as necessary till the pedal is firm. If the brakes are firm enough to be safe, this can be done by driving the car and locking the brakes activating the ABS, then bleed and repeat.
You could also take it out on a deserted wide road/open field and do the same.

 

That's a thought, but I don't trust the transmission. It has problems all it's own. I thought if I could figure out the wiring to the CAB and how the ABS valves are operated I might be able to cycle them. It almost has to be some sort of solenoid system. But, are the solenoids strictly open/closed, PWM, or what. They must be receiving signals from the ECM via the wiring harness. If I have time today, I'm going to put a toner on each pair coming from the wheel sensors, and from the rear speed sensor. If I can identify those wires, it would narrow it down some.

 

If and when you do Monty please do a write up of everything that you've discovered. I'm very interested myself....I've also been looking through ebay and other sites, waiting for an aftermarket tool that has equivalent functions to the DRBIII, maybe a
Snapon Solus, or any brand that performs relative tasks to the dealer tool. So far I've found a few at roughly 1/4 the price of the DRB. Maybe someone here knows which brand is a good choice? pkucan's idea seems like it might work. If the air in the abs is pushed out of the CAB from repeated cycles why wouildn't we be able to bleed the entire system that way instead of the dealer nailing us for a couple hundred?

@pkucan...ARTILLARY !!!!! (I wore the Cross Cannon myself)