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Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes


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Guest
Anonymous Poster
Libra1891@aol.com

Jun 12, 2008, 2:11 PM

Post #1 of 7 (1715 views)
Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes Sign In

I have a 2004 Chevy Classic with 60,000 miles on it. For the past 2-3 months when I break, especially above 30mph, my steering wheel shakes, and I can feel the break pedal shake as well. RECENT repairs: New tires and allignment in 2/16/08; "suspension work"-cost me $600 whatever it was in 2/20/8; And on 2/12/08 I had an ignitions switch replacement/ fuel cap replacement, mulipoint vehical inspection and a 60,000 mile service. So, since feb I have put about 1800 in this car. Dad thinks it could be tie rods or front brake rotor issues? Where do I go? Who do i turn to help!Unsure I am in pdx oregon, i need a new mechanic!


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Jun 12, 2008, 2:51 PM

Post #2 of 7 (1710 views)
Re: Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes Sign In

Don't be putting yourself down like that! Of all your repairs you didn't mention brake work. Rotors can warp over time and look ok still and is a likely source of your complaint. PDX - OR - could be rust on brake rotors is an issue as well as other brake parts even before normal wear out,

T



Guest
Anonymous Poster

Jun 17, 2008, 9:09 AM

Post #3 of 7 (1689 views)
Re: Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes Sign In

Thanks for your reply! I had my dad drive the car and he thinks its the rotors too. I did have my front break pads replaced a couple years ago, but thats all. Now its just a matter of taking it to a mechanic somewhere!


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Jun 17, 2008, 9:20 AM

Post #4 of 7 (1688 views)
Re: Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes Sign In

That would explain it. Most vehicles don't come with tons of extra metal to machine down rotors so new is the real fix. Just putting pads in is really a patch job and if you got two years out of that then it owes you nothing.

Even machining them (turning) now isn't likely to last too long as the thinner rotor if it has enough at all to do that will be much faster to warp again,

T



chewysdad
New User

Jun 25, 2008, 4:42 PM

Post #5 of 7 (1663 views)
Re: Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes Sign In

I've had a 1995 Olds Ciera for 6 years and have struggled with the same issue of pulsating brakes and shaking steering wheel. I've had the rotors turned and have bought new rotors. The culprit was the rear brakes. One of the wheel cylinders was leaking very slightly. This would cause the rear brake to grab intermittently. This causes the brake fluid to pulsate and eventually causes a variation in thickness of the front rotors causing the shaking. While the rear brake shoe was gooey, a front brake job would last about six months and the shaking would be back. New rear wheel cylinders, new rear brake shoes and drums, and turned rotors and new front pads solved it. There isn't much difference in the price beween new rotors and drums and having them turned, if you get them from somebody like NAPA-on-line, Rock Auto, or Auto Zone rather than getting them from the repair shop. Buy all of your parts and take them to Les Schwab and have them do a four wheel brake job. They like to sell you all of the parts, but if you take all of the parts in they will still do the job for labor only. "Of course we can't guarantee the job if you supply the parts". If you want the guarantee, buy a four wheel brake job from them. Since I do my own brakes, I redid those front brakes a number of times, including buying new rotors, before a co-worker suggested checking the rear shoes for brake fluid.


Sweptwing57Dodge
Anonymous Poster
gatekeeper336@hotmail.com

Jul 1, 2008, 7:09 PM

Post #6 of 7 (1644 views)
post icon Re: Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes Sign In

I happened across this post and wanted to put in my two cents>
It sounds like a problem I had with my dodge pickup. Although the two vehicles are different, the problem could be very much the same.
Problem: Dirt, grease, metal shavings etc... filling in the little gaps in the clock pulse wheel on the brake rotor. This wheel usually looks like a piece of aluminum with slots cut around the outside and is located in the back side of the rotor. It is slightly larger than the hole in the rotor and is oriented around this hole. the vehicle anti-lock system counts the gaps as the wheel turns, and as long as the counts are equal the braking is normal but if your tire skids it releases pressure on the wheel that is skidding to prevent loss of control. Now! When this clock wheel gets dirty, the count is not the same on each side and as you appply the brakes you get a side to side shift in pressure as the vehicle tries to compensate for the "Skid" that doesn't exist.

My Wheel seals leaked bearing grease on mine "clock wheel" and i thought it was going to shake me to death. I took the rotors off and cleaned the clock wheels, put it new seals and repacked the bearings >>> RESULTS)))GOOD AS NEW ! ! ! It is a cheap repair! I hope you find this to be the problem! Wink


Guest
Anonymous Poster

Jul 2, 2008, 4:23 AM

Post #7 of 7 (1639 views)
Re: Dumb girl with shaking steering wheel/brakes Sign In

Hello,

Sounds to me if whenever you brake, the steering shakes back an forth an the brake pedal pulses up an down, that this a sign of your font brake rotors being out of round (Think of it as worn). You most likely will not be able to machine the rotors, and would need to replace them. Replace the bake pads as well.. Hope this helps...






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