Severe steering wheel rotating back & forth - Hot Brakes

I have a 2001 1 ton Chevy Express van cutaway that has an RV mounted on it.

I have had 3 front end brake jobs trying to correct a problem. (Courtesy of Chevy....Thank you!) It seems that when I drive down long steep hills or mountains that require frequent braking my steering wheel will start to whip back and forth with the frequency and severity increasing as the brakes get hotter.

After the brakes cool down they behave normally as does the steering wheel.

I just had a front end alignment and the technician who did it said that he was very familiar with the problem.

He said the ABS sensors are causing the problem. That he frequently sees it on RV's and some trucks. he has seen it on both Fords and Chevy's.

He stated that the cure for the problem is pulling the ABS sensors out of the front wheels.... but that is illegal.

Have any of you had a similar problem? Have you found a legal fix? Is anyone aware if GM has come up with a solution to this problem?

I would like to keep the ABS Brakes

Thanks

Dunc (Who lives amongst several mountains....)

Reply to
Dunc
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Had the same problem on the front of my 95 GM Conversion. On mine the problem is the idler arm being worn. Because of the way it mounts ANY WEAR shows up when under hard braking. Cured mine by replacing the idler arm, adjusting the steering box to remove any play. and replacing all the front end bushings. No more shudder. Has nothing to do with the ABS, if you want to prove it just remove the ABS fuse to disable the system and you will find the problem is still there. Also make sure the front brake rotors are true and that the calipers are NOT loose in the slides, that can cause it as well.

Reply to
Steve W.

I had the steering wheel 'vibrating side to side' about 3/4" at

55 to 60 mph run..... Truck is a 2000 Silverado LT EXT Cab 1500

Z-71 4x4 5.3 motor at 59000 miles.....

Chev dealer used a good 'Force' Wheel balancer to balance

all 4 tires (plus a front to back rotation) to cure the

steering wheel vibs for a $30 bill... Job well done !!

Tires were Michelin LT LTX ATs put on truck new at 3800 miles.

Also had both front wheel ABS sensors replaced free by dealer

because I had no good braking at 4 mph or less.....

at 58000 miles... These were 2 unrelated problems....

Reply to
Dennis Mayer

Reply to
Robert Ball

I do not think is it the ABS and it would be easy to see if it is, just pull the fuses for it and see if it still does. This is a tuff one but I think that a few things may be happening up there. I believe that the rotors may be warping with heat at high speed starting the ocsillation in the front end and that the caster angle in the front end is not correct (even if it is to "spec") because improper caster can also cause instabilty like this on a front axle under the correct conditons and loose steering components can agreevate it but not be the cause of it. If ABS checks out, try adding another 1 to 2 degrees of negative caster and see if that helps.

Reply to
SnoMan

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