Death Wobble 2006 Chevy Malibu?????????

[ktmoutfront]

I can not figure this one out. We bought an 06 Malibu with 50K on it in August. From 45 to 60 MPH, when we get on the brakes, the steering wheel has death wobble. Turn the traction control off and it is almost not drivable.

Here is what has been done.
New rotors and pads on the front. No change.
Turned rear rotors, new pads on rear. No change.
Rotated wheels and tires. No change.
Replaced one tie rod end that had a tiny amount of slop. No change.
Alignment rack shows dead center of spec.

Hung the GoPro on the fender. Can not see the tire moving.

It is barely noticeable until the brakes get up to operating temps.

Could this be an anti lock issue?

Searched the net and found nothing.

 

[Fordum]

What do you feel in the brake pedal? Antilock will pulse the pedal pretty hard, and you should hear a noise under the hood as solenoids fire and/or a pump motor runs. There is usually a fuse for the antilock that you can pull to kill it temporarily.

Also look really hard at all the rotors. Just because they are new or turned, does not mean they are not warped or are warping when warm.

If they are warped, you will usually see marks where the pads are gripping and releasing due to the warpage.

Its not unusual for rotors to warp when the wheels are put on and the lugs are torqued down.

 

[ktmoutfront]

It's not warping. Have had it apart looking for it on the new stuff. Don't feel the pulse in the pedal. Yet it sounds like the anti lock.

A friend asked if an anti lock sensor is bad. I thought those would show up as a code. None shows.

 

[Fordum]

They will usually set a code. Some of the most common problems with those sensors is rust or dirt on them or on the ring they read.
Like I said, see if you can't pop out the antilock fuse and see if that fixes it.

Plus there is always the friend solution. Have a friend stationed down the road watching as you drive toward them and hit the brakes.
They might not see anything, but even nothing visual is a clue. Camcorder helps.

Even if the GoPro did not see anything, it might be the other side that is doing it, or it might only be visible from the front.

 

[ktmoutfront]

I had the gopro on both sides. Then under pointed back at the rack and arms. Nothing noticeable.

I will try the fuse when we get back tonight.

 

[jekquistk5]

On my grand am it was the bushings in the lower control arms. Replaced those problem solved. I replaced a wheel bearing right before because I thought it may be it, but it ended up being those bushings.

 

[dhcomp]

AFter all you've done, i'd yank the power plug from the anti-lock box. This will throw an antilock code and light, but will disable the system.

See if it still does it. If not, you've got you culprit.

When i did this on my 94 blazer, and plugged it back in, it left an antilock code, and kept it deactivated. Which, in my case, was better. Cause that system was scary.

 

[ktmoutfront]

Just drove it without the fuse. Drives fine. So now to start going through the sensors.

 

[dhcomp]

Just drove it without the fuse. Drives fine. So now to start going through the sensors.

And by go through the sensors, you mean abandon the system?

There is a way to pull codes on the ABS system. On the old RWAL systems on our truck, it even stores codes.

Figure out if you need a good scanner to do it or not. Reading codes is your friend in these systems.

 

[ktmoutfront]

I have a quality scanner. No codes. By going through I mean, pulling and checking each one and cleaning the ring.

 

[63chevyll]

Does your scanner have the ability to read data when driving?

 

[sweetk30]

if so you need to read the info as someone is driving to see what sensor is cutting out and making the system activate.

 

[ktmoutfront]

Its not that good.

 

[ktmoutfront]

Finally messed with this some more. After compressing the coil to take all load off of the arms. Nothing was warn out or moved.

Stood around scratching my head for a bit.

Took the brand new rotors down to the local shop. These were put on initially to fix the pulsing problem. One was out so much that I could see it on the machine when spinning it by hand. Had to take it to minimum to get it straight. Was bad from the factory.

At least it is fixed. But I spent a lot of money and time trying to fix something twice, because of crappy parts again.