Four problems related to brake antilock control unit/module have been reported for the 1998 Ford Windstar. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The brakes suddenly started failing and the brake petal would go to the floor like a defective master cylinder. The master cylinder was replaces 3 times at 2 different shops because they were sure it was the master cylinder and they thought perhaps it was a defective replacement. The defect ended up being the antilock brake system (abs) hydraulic control unit (hcu). If you do an internet search for Windstar hcu, you will find Windstar reviews rating their brakes as significant problems specifically stating "an occasional problem on this vehicle is failure of the antilock brake system (abs) hydraulic control unit (hcu). The cost to repair the abs hydraulic control unit is estimated at $975. 00 for parts, without traction control, and $1,200. 00 for parts, with traction control, and $162. 50 for labor. " this problem also affects the 1997 Windstar. . Read more...
Hydraulic control unit and electronic control unit both had to be replaced with only 40,000 miles on the vehicle. This failure occurred suddenly and caused the vehicle to have very little brakes while driving. An accident was narrowly avoided. The cost to fix this problem was in excess of $1,500.
Abs sensor failed. Yh.
Anti lock brake sensor on the drvers side cracked.