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ALB Accumulator

I managed to find one at Acura Parts Warehouse. But its very expensive. I was hoping to find one used in working order. I think a number of folks have switched to the 2000+ system. So hoping there are some accumulators out there.
 
I know you are looking just for accumulator, but I have this freshly removed

Willing to negotiate slightly
 
I managed to find one at Acura Parts Warehouse. But its very expensive. I was hoping to find one used in working order. I think a number of folks have switched to the 2000+ system. So hoping there are some accumulators out there.
Careful, AcuraPartsWarehouse (and many of the Honda/Acura OEM parts outlets) will say they have a part but they really don't. If Amayama says THEY don't have it then its unlikely anyone stateside actually has it.
 
I know you are looking just for accumulator, but I have this freshly removed

Willing to negotiate slightly
Thanks John I will let you know. I have a couple of other inquiries i am waiting for answers on
 
Legends (KA5?) have the same part and are junked regularly.

It is a pressurized part, so shipping outside of CONUS will be quite expensive.

As with anything ALB related: I recommend a graceful bypass which takes 5 minutes.
 
Legends (KA5?) have the same part and are junked regularly.

It is a pressurized part, so shipping outside of CONUS will be quite expensive.

As with anything ALB related: I recommend a graceful bypass which takes 5 minutes.
Are you referring to jumping the accumulator connector? I have done that temporarily to turn off the light and stop the pump from grinding away. Long term though I want to have the abs working.
 
>and stop the pump from grinding away.

This is a symptom of the system not getting up to pressure, generally caused by a bad pump or other internal leak.

The 120-second pump time-out is generally not a symptom of a bad accumulator. A bad accumulator is generally an immediate stop to the pumping without a functional ALB (ABS).

What was the diagnosis process/tree?
 
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>and stop the pump from grinding away.

This is a symptom of the system not getting up to pressure, generally caused by a bad pump or other internal leak.

The 120-second pump time-out is generally not a symptom of a bad accumulator. A bad accumulator is generally an immediate stop to the pumping without a functional ALB (ABS).

What was the diagnosis process/tree?
I attempted to flush the fluid. There was no pressure in the system. Then we exercised each solenoid. No foam or debris in the reservoir after exercising the solenoids. When I start the car and get up to the 10mph trigger for the pump it will run the full 120 seconds. The system is not leaking at all. I am thinking something is stuck open. I have the rebuild kit for the ALB. I want to keep the original ALB working as long as I can so, I figure having an extra accumulator is not a bad thing. For now, I have jumped the accumulator, so the pump does not come on. I am going to try cleaning and lubing the ALB modulator when I replace the O-rings from the kit. From what I have read thus far though I think the problem maybe the pump. It never gets any pressure in the system.
 
It is likely the pump, especially if the reservoir is not foaming.

The whole system can be difficult to diagnose without special tools that exceed the cost of a modern retrofit. I have the dealer SST ALB computer too; it doesn't help that the service manual states to replace the entire unit upon any fault.

I find the whole system to be mostly useless, to bypass it, and leave it for originality's sake.

The Legend KA5 ALB/ABS unit might have enough similar parts to rob for the NSX. I recommend canvassing the Legend boards to see if there are solutions. FYI, there are services that will rebuild the pump...seem to advertise on eBay.

Would be interesting to see what the JP manual states for rebuilding.
 
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If you manually activated the pump and the fluid level didn’t drop at all, you have punctured accumulator or pump issue.

With the leaky solenoid issue A, B, C as above, if your pump/accumulator were both healthy, then you should see something at the reservoir (bubble or foam) or notice the external leakage while pressuring the system.

The overhaul o-ring kit would improve for the case A & B but not for C as it’s inside the solenoid assy.

Above photos are for the early model 1st gen ABS.

Later, the 2nd gen was still using the same concept but solenoids were packaged better against leaky issue.

Still experienced the same issue though.

It was only fixed when the Bosch style one body ABS modulator was introduced much later.



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If doing the overhaul, you'll be forced to release any remaining high pressure so good time for testing the accumulator.

Get the spare o-ring for the accumulator and place narrow centre punch or allen key at the opening.

With the healthy one, you should hit the end stop close to the opening.

With this one, it was like around 25mm from the top.

If the bladder punctured, the centre punch will go all the way down and bottom out.

No nitrogen gas left creating the back pressure so no pressurised fluid left in the accumulator.

Thus, at 120sec after first exceeding 6mph, it would trigger the ABS light and disable the ABS.

This should confirm whether you can re-use the accumulator or not.



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This is the pump opening where the electrical motor with the eccentric bearing pushes the plunger pump.



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The components from left to right.
The plunger, spring, plunger pump housing with meshed filter, check-valve and the dead bolt.



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Parts alignment inside against the fluid passage.


On several pump, seen the plunger surface got rusty and stuck inside the plunger housing with the spring compressed so no pump action initiated and thus, no pressure built up.


Kaz
 
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Kaz is the pump bore as pitted as the plunger body? Does honing clean it up?

KB Link from 21 years ago
 
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If you manually activated the pump and the fluid level didn’t drop at all, you have punctured accumulator or pump issue.

With the leaky solenoid issue A, B, C as above, if your pump/accumulator were both healthy, then you should see something at the reservoir (bubble or foam) or notice the external leakage while pressuring the system.

The overhaul o-ring kit would improve for the case A & B but not for C as it’s inside the solenoid assy.

Above photos are for the early model 1st gen ABS.

Later, the 2nd gen was still using the same concept but solenoids were packaged better against leaky issue.

Still experienced the same issue though.

It was only fixed when the Bosch style one body ABS modulator was introduced much later.



AP1GczONLlz9bI1hW9Cw12BFEajyh-zPGt6S2OwIDv_4qqZreRnQ1ox0oA4zH5Bqz9oVQdUzhp94ZP0XoqPqDaFkgUSRRjQH3hJNdkVcYpen6_79kWZUfagMXxLoISBoUzVyrtCTW4MnlunvYt0SvbqHYUwvZg=w1080-h608-s-no

If doing the overhaul, you'll be forced to release any remaining high pressure so good time for testing the accumulator.

Get the spare o-ring for the accumulator and place narrow centre punch or allen key at the opening.

With the healthy one, you should hit the end stop close to the opening.

With this one, it was like around 25mm from the top.

If the bladder punctured, the centre punch will go all the way down and bottom out.

No nitrogen gas left creating the back pressure so no pressurised fluid left in the accumulator.

Thus, at 120sec after first exceeding 6mph, it would trigger the ABS light and disable the ABS.

This should confirm whether you can re-use the accumulator or not.



AP1GczNmvxFmHhiMZmoo6NiJdcEyhaIezQzY-5DGhSLBxsIWbyZDQAZW4M7dklLDK5HUVbhI9IskIYVJonL4x9IjbRYpFMxzmt8rcDyH7BYXcxyTzgu2gGz2MnjvPtJjlCbO4CdIqsFtm3O0l6sxEsv6V665jw=w1080-h608-s-no

This is the pump opening where the electrical motor with the eccentric bearing pushes the plunger pump.



AP1GczMSuO_Vib5qqKU2Lxgl1qVwgShP-54Om1_GqJFasp0eC4mhdp_Ws8eI9RNCQoiGyxYgrLoQsm_AZuenjm9Umhx83zNW22bkLWFa6NEALnESHFyUU9Tcjz8TidAzeWnpzO8RogS2hY7MF36Q8wfO4WWLtw=w1080-h608-s-no

The components from left to right.
The plunger, spring, plunger pump housing with meshed filter, check-valve and the dead bolt.



AP1GczOLwGwK_UOXwH1XnEEen9WUF99Mi0-qMnyslfMjA5d9tDFpWotW_j8Daj1CmrpCFuWg5rfaeKZTXdqEz2gIOdvBPYNMFDdG4K3rF5nzDioV6RTkFVq37s-eBpNWfvEh2nzlaWJO9aYIHHAKSYoIcsWcAQ=w1080-h608-s-no

Parts alignment inside against the fluid passage.


On several pump, seen the plunger surface got rusty and stuck inside the plunger housing with the spring compressed so no pump action initiated and thus, no pressure built up.


Kaz
Thanks for the detailed info!
 
I know you are looking just for accumulator, but I have this freshly removed

Willing to negotiate slightly
Is this still available?
 
Some notes on the 1993+ ALB and ALB rebuilding in general

The Problem:
The ALB worked just fine: the pump cycled and wheels modulated as expected. No lights, no foaming, and all was good. The fluid was clear as a bell.

The problem was that I had ZERO brake pressure at the front wheels. Zero.

All braking power was at rear wheels only. No pulling to one side to indicate a failed master cylinder. Comparison would be if there were no brakes and stopping only using the emergency brake. Scary driving.

The Long:
Just for fun: instead of replacing the master cylinder: I rebuilt it using OEM parts. Not worth the time and effort, but I wanted to see where the fault was. It appeared perfect as the cylinder bore and the existing cups were excellent.

Bench bled the master cylinder. Difficulty: the rear port is a larger size than the front. I could not find a return line fitting. Presumably, this is to prevent misassembly and cause the TCS/ALB modulation to be mismatched with the output. Needless, as master cylinder output pressure lines to the front and rear are of different lengths and cannot be swapped. I ended up just adding fluid, bleeding, and wasting brake fluid to get it all bled out.

The rebuilt master was installed and I now had ZERO pressure in the right REAR brake line, but a fair amount in the front. I disconnected the hard line to the soft line and applied maximum foot pressure on the brake pedal (in my old age I can only squat 320lb) and NOTHING. Not a drop of brake fluid came out and was 100% blocked.

I disconnected the rear right hard brake line from the ALB modulator and used compressed air to clear the line. There was no resistance inside the hard line, all the residual brake fluid came out, and no debris was observed. I did this for all four corners and there was no issues at the hard lines.

The entire ALB assembly was removed and disassembled.

Note: One can remove the entire unit WITHOUT discharging the high pressure side while inside the vehicle. Just disconnect all the low pressure lines, all the wired connectors, unbolt, and remove the entire assembly. I took the assembly outside and opened the high pressure bleeder to make the mess outside and not have to concern myself too much about getting brake fluid anywhere. It made quite the mess with a geyser of fluid, but this was outside: so don't care. The car was going to be down for an extended time as the ALB was going to replaced and I didn't want droplets of brake fluid to cause paint/plastic issues over this time. A good way to get rid of unwanted brake fluid is to flush the area with water and I wasn't going to do that inside the garage.

The inner hex bolts were highly corroded. I soaked them in white vinegar to remove the oxidation, though it also removed a lot of the cadmium coating too. These bolts aren't available as individual parts from Honda, so you will have to source these through third parties. I coated them with anti-seize and installed them.

There were 1-2mm of salt on the bottom of the plastic reservoir. All four of the passive modulators had ample salt deposits around and inside of them. On the 1993+ the solenoids are sealed and did not note any visual anomalies. The aluminum modulator body, the bores, and the passage lines were in excellent condition. I was unable to find the blockage "smoking gun". I presume the salt deposits were dislodged during the disassembly and high pressure bleeding process.

I couldn't find any O-ring kits for 1993+ Hondas that could be shipped to my location. So purchased an eBay for one of the 1991-1992 kits. The ONLY O-rings that can be used from the early kit are for the passive modulators and the spring lids. This is where most of the problems are located, so I used what I had received. I kept all my old parts marked in plastic bags. Since all the o-rings and bores were in excellent condition I reused what wasn't in the kit.

The passive modulator "shakers" have internal o-rings and parts. They are secured by a 10mm acorn nut and a large flat screwdriver slot on the bottom. I HIGHLY recommend disassembling each one and cleaning it. One of the YouTube videos I watched recommends against this and I strongly disagree. There is debris to be cleaned in there, there is no magic inside, simple, and they should be cleaned.

I also cleaned everything externally and painted the steel cradle. The use of white vinegar does shine up the aluminum and the accumulator parts nicely.

Assembled and everything works great. I am 100% blaming the salt deposits for the lack of brakes. The lack of front brakes in my situation occurred without prior warning and my braking distance was extended unexpectedly.

The Short:
Look and feel for salt inside your ALB reservoir. If you have *any*, then it is time to internally clean your ALB. From reading the tubes, salt can appear when brake fluid absorbs water and then later evaporates. If this happens enough, in my case 30 years, then salt deposits will form.

It is possible to rebuild your ALB without removing the entire assembly. The solenoids and modulators in the modulator body can be unbolted, removed from the top, cleaned, and reassembled.

If your system is constantly cycling, then consider (depressurize system first!) unbolting the spring caps, pull the modulators out, clean everything, install the modulators, and then bleed the brakes. I suspect 90% of the time with a couple of hours of labor, a dozen or so new o-rings, and your ALB will be happy. There is a Honda TSB on this exactly.

It is very difficult to determine o-ring sizes, so they have to be test fit on the modulators or the intended location. I went down a rabbit hole trying to find the proper way to size o-rings. Ended up just trial and error.

A tube of Red Rubber Grease as assembly lube is nice.

The high pressure side of the ALB does not have to purged while mounted inside the vehicle. Remove the whole assembly and deal with it outside. Keep your body away from the bleed valve/nipple as you can the fluid injected under your skin (very bad news) or a fluid blade.
 
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