When the ABS light is on, the brakes work fine. When the light goes off, if I brake hard it sounds like metal to metal. It's almost like things are fine if the ABS light is on indicating to me that ABS isn't working?
Do you mean the ABS is activating? I could see people reporting ABS, particularly those old systems, as sounding "metal to metal".
Does it stop the vehicle okay when it's making this 'metal to metal' sound?
Or is it also not stopping the vehicle?
Correct - the ABS light indicates something isn't working right and the ABS computer (and therefore it's components) is not in use and you're just using normal brakes. So that makes sense that it works fine.
Pull the ABS fuse and disable it if it's not working well.
Without ABS, the brakes in that vehicle work like normal non-ABS equipped brakes. So if you pull the fuse to disable the ABS it'll be a perfectly happy daily driver.
If you absolutey have to get the ABS working right:
1. when the light comes on read the ABS codes (it can be done in 5 minutes via the connector above the gas pedal - ground one pin).
2. Usually it's just a wheel speed sensor - pull it and clean it or replace it, even with a used one. They fail so rarely that used is fine. They're super easy - 1 or 2 bolts and that's it....unless it's all rusty.
3. you could have a damaged tone ring as well:
does this car have any recent repair or accident history - particularly front wheel bearings or front axles?
That era has relay issues - if it's noisy when you're not on the brakes, after you turn the car off, etc - the relay needs replaced. If yours is only making noise when you press the brake pedals then I don't think it's the relay though.
