Front end wobble/clank

A year or two ago my front end had a wobble when braking. I replaced
the rotors and all was good.

Now for a while, the front end on my 98 Grand Am has had a bit of a
wobble when just driving. My first thought was that the rotors need to
be replaced again, and I said I'd get around to it. Never did. My
second thought was that a wheel lost a weight or something.. never got
around to doing that either.

I plan to get the wheels rotated and balanced tonight, and hopefully
that will fix it, but figured I'd ask anyway. There is occasionally a
"clank" sound made when I press on the brakes, and it seems to
correspond with the "wugga wugga" wobbling sound. The "clank clank"
stops if I press harder on the brakes. It sounds as if it's coming
from the direction of the wheel well, so it might be the brakes or
something?

I'll repost if it continues after the rotation/balance, but should I
replace the rotors again? Get the brakes inspected?

wrote in news:1115388739.735887.302300
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

> A year or two ago my front end had a wobble when braking. I replaced
> the rotors and all was good.
>
> Now for a while, the front end on my 98 Grand Am has had a bit of a
> wobble when just driving. My first thought was that the rotors need to
> be replaced again, and I said I'd get around to it. Never did. My
> second thought was that a wheel lost a weight or something.. never got
> around to doing that either.
>
> I plan to get the wheels rotated and balanced tonight, and hopefully
> that will fix it, but figured I'd ask anyway. There is occasionally a
> "clank" sound made when I press on the brakes, and it seems to
> correspond with the "wugga wugga" wobbling sound. The "clank clank"
> stops if I press harder on the brakes. It sounds as if it's coming
> from the direction of the wheel well, so it might be the brakes or
> something?
>
> I'll repost if it continues after the rotation/balance, but should I
> replace the rotors again? Get the brakes inspected?
>
>

I would check the tires for a slipped belt first from the sound of it. KB

--
ThunderSnake #9 Warn once, shoot twice
460 in the pkup, 460 on the stand for another pkup
and one in the shed for a fun project to yet be decided on

A slipped belt? On a tire? What does that mean?

I would guess somthing along the lines of a worn control arm bushing. I
don't know what a slipped belt on a tire is either?!?!?!
Something to consider,
Loren Eggert

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>A year or two ago my front end had a wobble when braking. I replaced
> the rotors and all was good.
>
> Now for a while, the front end on my 98 Grand Am has had a bit of a
> wobble when just driving. My first thought was that the rotors need to
> be replaced again, and I said I'd get around to it. Never did. My
> second thought was that a wheel lost a weight or something.. never got
> around to doing that either.
>
> I plan to get the wheels rotated and balanced tonight, and hopefully
> that will fix it, but figured I'd ask anyway. There is occasionally a
> "clank" sound made when I press on the brakes, and it seems to
> correspond with the "wugga wugga" wobbling sound. The "clank clank"
> stops if I press harder on the brakes. It sounds as if it's coming
> from the direction of the wheel well, so it might be the brakes or
> something?
>
> I'll repost if it continues after the rotation/balance, but should I
> replace the rotors again? Get the brakes inspected?
>

wrote in news:1115403189.577188.124890
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

> A slipped belt? On a tire? What does that mean?
>

The modern radial tire is made up of overlaping belts and they can slip
sideways and ruin the tire usually noticeable on visual by a bump in the
tread followed by a shallow depression. can be anywhere on the tread
surface. KB

--
ThunderSnake #9 Warn once, shoot twice
460 in the pkup, 460 on the stand for another pkup
and one in the shed for a fun project to yet be decided on

Well I rotated and balanced the tires, no dice.

After reading some online and talking with my buddy who generally knows
a few things, he feels it's a warped axle or bad CV joint. So we hit
AutoZone and picked up a passenger side axle (the longer one).. will
replace it and check the bearings when we do. Hopefully that will fix
it.. if not, replace the other axle.

If that doesn't fix it, guess it's to the mechanic I go. The list of
symptoms seems to match what I have pretty well, and the $110 spent on
axles isn't a whole lot compared to what a mechanic will charge.

wrote in news:1115426590.622654.108400
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

> Well I rotated and balanced the tires, no dice.
>
> After reading some online and talking with my buddy who generally knows
> a few things, he feels it's a warped axle or bad CV joint. So we hit
> AutoZone and picked up a passenger side axle (the longer one).. will
> replace it and check the bearings when we do. Hopefully that will fix
> it.. if not, replace the other axle.
>
> If that doesn't fix it, guess it's to the mechanic I go. The list of
> symptoms seems to match what I have pretty well, and the $110 spent on
> axles isn't a whole lot compared to what a mechanic will charge.
>

rotate and bal. will do nothing for a slipped belt. KB

--
ThunderSnake #9 Warn once, shoot twice
460 in the pkup, 460 on the stand for another pkup
and one in the shed for a fun project to yet be decided on

> wrote in message
oups.com...

> I'll repost if it continues after the rotation/balance, but should I
> replace the rotors again? Get the brakes inspected?

Still could be warped rotors.
Calipers can loosen with the rotor wobble, and the brakes can cause the
occasional clank.

I bought new rotors and new axles, but we ran into a problem trying to
replace the driver's side axle. The bolt holding the lower control arm
on opens downward and there's no obvious way to pop the thing out. The
steering arm was easy with one of those little clamp jobbies. Any
suggestions on this are appreciated.

Also noticed I need new brake pads something fierce, so will replace
those at the same time as the rotors, which should be Tuesday night.

So the hangup is uncoupling the lower control arm from the
wheel/rotor/strut assembly in order to free up the axle (on the 98 2.4L
auto Grand Am).

Any tips? The service manual doesn't seem to help.

Wouldn't the tire be out of balance if it were a slipped belt?

Besides, I ruled out a slipped belt because the wobble continues to
come from the same place as before, even though the tires all moved..
and the slipped belt wouldn't make a clunk noise.