Will awd work if abs fuse is pulled. 2002 astro.

[Tileguy 1000]

Hi guys, This is my first post on this great board.
I did a search for a 2009 thread but it wont come up with this new
account. Anyway there were no conclusions drawn about this question.
Im fine with not having ABS which is groaning and pulling the van to the right when I hit the brakes. But I definitely do want AWD. So after reading a few threads about this issue, some seem to think that the AWD will work with the ABS not working. Others say that the AWD must have the ABS working because that system provides information to the AWD for the 2002 stock Astro.
Im guessing at this point that I do have to repair the ABS for the AWD to operate. Correct? Thanks.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

The AWD should work fine with the ABS fuse pulled. The t-case in the 1999 - 2005 AWD's uses a sensor at each driveshaft and a control module to control engagement.

[Tileguy 1000]

Thanks Lifted. Very much appreciated. This makes my day!
I read the discussions from 2009 but the opinions on that were mixed.
The ABS has been annoying so I cleaned off what little rust there was
at the passenger side sensor. But the problem worsened. The
front brakes failed at low speed, but the rear brakes worked. So I
dont know what I did there but maybe I destroyed the sensor when
I cleaned it. So then I just pulled the 60 amp ABS fuse and the brakes worked fine except that they pulled slightly to the passenger side.
If there was snow on the ground, Id go out at do some donuts
to see if the AWD would kick in. Whats a good way to test it
in the summer without snow?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

It's hard to test in the summer. Try to find a loose gravel or sandy area where you can hammer it to see if the front grabs.

[Tileguy 1000]

Sand or gravel. Nice! I hadnt thought of that. Millions of acres of
corn around here but theres corn on all of them. Maybe a quarry.
Quarries we gots! Lots of quarries around here.
I was thinking maybe Id put the van up on blocks and start it up
and grab a back wheel. But I could imagine looking like Harpo Marx
spinning around and loosing an arm in the process. So no. Not that.
Thanks Lifted. Im going to peruse the other forums too so see
what else I can learn. Im also going to put the Innova scanner on it
today to see if the ABS function works. Maybe itll show me whats
going on with the 2 sensors.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

If it's the front 2 sensors that are faulting out, it usually means the hub bearings are going. You can test them by jacking up the front end, removing the wheels, calipers and rotors and carefully spin the hub over while checking for noise, roughness and any play. If there is any roughness or play the bearings are shot and need replacing soon.

[Tileguy 1000]

I did check for front end play and it feels very tight. Friday I did
get a co265 reading. So I just pulled the fuse again and cleared the
memory.Im happy with the ABS out of the system. I may even put
in a switch to disable the AWD because even in winter here, the roads are kept well cleared.
However as you say the front bearings deserve a good checking
which I didnt do. Ive had front bearings go on cross country trips
in my younger days so thats one thing I worry about. The front
and rear gear oil too is going to be changed this summer too. This
van has around 230K on it.