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Severe Wobble While Driving & Braking

11K views 87 replies 21 participants last post by  atoman 
#1 ·
Hello, my new friends! I hope that you're all doing well and that the state of the world hasn't broken you! With that being said, I have something of an issue that I am at the point with to where I can't buy part by part hoping that each one is the issue.

I have a 2006 Town & Country with the 3.0/3.3 litre engine. This issue with the wobbling began with me mostly noticing it when I would apply the brakes and with it progressively becoming worse. I am aware of the warped rotor(s) and am sure that's at least part of the issue, but it's so bad now when I'm not braking that I can barely go upto 50mph without a severe wobble and it feels like the wheel is going to fall off.

Additionally (and I'll try to explain this the best I can), when I am slowing down the van as it is wobbling BADLY seems to tilt the front end back and forth from side to side as if the wheel is actually coming off or something like that. I'm at a loss and need to zero in on the issue, yesterweek!

Can someone please help me?
 
#5 ·
Brakes: interior rotor surface delaminating, pin/slider sticking

Tires: Broken belt, low air

Wheels: Loose lug nuts, weights missing, rust out

Wheel Bearing: Worn, loose bolts

Are brakes heating up, pulling?

Which side is acting up?
 
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#6 ·
Welcome aboard,

Sounds like it's overdue for a complete front end inspection - consider taking it some place that you trust and have them inspect and tell you what needs fixing (there could be several problems, since it sounds like you've been ignoring warped rotors for a while and that put additional wear on tie rods, bearings, etc)

If you have steel wheels, it could be a bent rim - take a close look at inner and outer rim surface on the 2 front wheels...

That said, diagnosis by blind and deaf is an exercise in frustration - we can suggest a long list of things to check but can't tell you what's actually wrong :)
 
#13 ·
It's that bad, my friend. I a m self employed and relied on funds that were gone once this COVID crap hit the fan, of which I am quite suspicious of. This is why I've has to decide between fixing th e van with the little funds I am actually making and feeding my family. Comes with not being as cash stoked as Trump.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Could be warped front rotors! As others have said this is dangerous and needs to be addressed.
Dan
 
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#9 ·
My suggestion, and it has already been implied a few times is tire separation.

With a pair of leather work gloves, feel the tread area, all the way around, of all four tires for an 'out of round' situation or any mis shaping.

After all, that is where the rubber hits the road. I am sure you have seen where on the highway, there is a long strip of truck tire that has separated and fell off the tire. This is usually proceeded by violent hopping / shaking that the driver may or may not feel 70 feet away, behind on his or her trailer.

The reason for the gloves is because of the probability of sharp edges, sharpened steel belts, or road hazard items sticking out of the tires.

OR SIMPLY bring it to the tire shop and tell them something is wrong. They will certainly find the situation AND try to sell you tires... If you are a DIY, get the estimate for the repair, tell them you will have to wait until the next stimulus check is printed, take a business card and be sure to ask for the service representatives name (so you can assure him/her that you will only deal with them)(commission based sales)

Hey, please return and let us know what you find and how you fix your violent wheel shimmy. Myself, I am sitting on the edge of my chair waiting to find out too...
Best regards, cheers.
 
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#17 ·
My suggestion, and it has already been implied a few times is tire separation.

With a pair of leather work gloves, feel the tread area, all the way around, of all four tires for an 'out of round' situation or any mis shaping.

After all, that is where the rubber hits the road. I am sure you have seen where on the highway, there is a long strip of truck tire that has separated and fell off the tire. This is usually proceeded by violent hopping / shaking that the driver may or may not feel 70 feet away, behind on his or her trailer.

The reason for the gloves is because of the probability of sharp edges, sharpened steel belts, or road hazard items sticking out of the tires.

OR SIMPLY bring it to the tire shop and tell them something is wrong. They will certainly find the situation AND try to sell you tires... If you are a DIY, get the estimate for the repair, tell them you will have to wait until the next stimulus check is printed, take a business card and be sure to ask for the service representatives name (so you can assure him/her that you will only deal with them)(commission based sales)

Hey, please return and let us know what you find and how you fix your violent wheel shimmy. Myself, I am sitting on the edge of my chair waiting to find out too...
Best regards, cheers.
Will definitely let you know what happens! Thanks for the advice! Cheers!
Bring it to a tire shop but explain that you can't afford much today.

only a few of us are as 'cash stoked' as trump.

If you are within 10 maybe 20 miles, I'd take a look at it for you.
I'm in the Bluegrass state, brother and I really appreciate the offer! It's been a long time, a very long time since I've done my own auto work when it comes to tirods and such, so I'm just not sure anymore. I have been forced to ignore it while scraping change just to permit my family to live and I am now forced to figure it out. Not too many honest shops up here either, so it's like playing the roulette wheel when choosing, lol.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Here's my guess marvinstockman.

Firstly, the vehicle has too many engines, a 3.0 and a 3.3. That can cause severe vibrations on its own.

Otherwise, a rotor is delaminating (patches missing on wear surface) likely on its inside face, causing shaking when braking. This shaking has caused the brake pins to lose lubricant/pump in moisture to the extent that one is sticking, causing some continual shake.

To the OP. Check your brakes (remove the wheels and calipers to do so), take a real good look at the rotors/sliders and report results to marvinstockman. 😁
 
#15 ·
Pretty clear you've got brake problems, so I'd suggest starting with front brakes as the highest priority to address... inspecting for other issues as you do the brake job.

If you've got the necessary tools and skills, I would highly recommend doing the brakes yourself to both save money and make sure it's done properly. Unfortunately, many shops will simply turn the rotors, put on a new set of brake pads, and then hand it back to you without addressing underlying issues such as sticking slides, rusted brake pistons, swollen slide boots, and so on. If you're going to take it to somebody else, do your best to locate a mechanic who will do the job thoroughly and thoughtfully.

For DIY, you can likely pick up a basic front brake kit with new pads, rotors, spring clips, and slide boots on Amazon for < $100, shipped. Just take your time and be thorough when doing the work. Remove both slide pins on each caliper and polish them up (likely all they need, but should be replaced if corroded) and be sure to replace both rubber slide boots. Re-assemble with liberal use of a good silicone lubricant, such as Sil-Glyde, on slide pins, inside the slide boots, and on pad surfaces where appropriate (just try to keep it off of the brake material itself and the rotor... and you should be fine). You want to make sure everything slides as cleanly and effortlessly as possible... all sliding surfaces need to be cleaned and lubricated properly. Personally, I'd toss any fancy synthetic/ceramic lube that might come with the brake kit and stick with standard silicone brake lube, but that's certainly a personal choice.

Other things to be observant of while doing the work would be how hard it is to reset the brake piston (with brake reservoir cap open, of course). An extremely hard to reset piston could be an indication of rust/corrosion/contamination build-up inside the piston/caliper, or other possible issues. You and/or another competent mechanic will have to make a judgement call on how far beyond just a typical brake job you might need to go to make things right. If you're lucky, you may just get away with a good thorough standard brake job.

If you haven't flushed out and changed your brake fluid in a few years (or more) then that would be highly recommended as well to remove accumulated water and other possible contaminants... assuring proper brake piston lubrication and minimizing potential for further rusting internal to the caliper/piston. Just take your time and try to keep air from getting down into the ABS system while doing the flushing.

Obviously, DIY can be the cheaper solution; however, if you are not confident of being able to do the work yourself, or if you don't have the necessary tools, then the next best thing is to make sure you find a reasonably priced competent and thorough mechanic. Just don't shoot yourself in the foot by automatically taking the bargain basement deal that ends up not truly addressing the underlying issues that caused your brake rotor warpage to start with.

Feel free to check back in here as well as you progress. Plenty of good folks here who would be glad to lend advice and/or even a hand, if possible.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Shops make $ off of parts as well as labor. If getting shop work done, I typically supply the parts using a local discount supplier or rockauto.com. At some shops that saves a bundle. I have even done that at Dealerships. Many Mechanics have their own hoist at home for doing repair work. There are ways to get good work at a reasonable price.
Some communities have trading of services using Facebook. Mechanics and carpenters show up there as do some medical professional types, for example. The old barter system. Get a tooth pulled for a brake job or a sack of potatoes. :)

OK FabricGATOR, I'm awaiting your response. :) No need to respond marvinstockman. :)
 
#22 ·
On an older 2nd gen Caravan, I had a similar issue. However, after all the looking around and checking things, the DW admitted she hit a curb doing 30mph. Thus, the rim was bent enough for wobble at high speeds and not at lower speeds. Everything else checked out to be OK. Got a replacement rim and tire. All was good.

There are a few good shops in Bowling Green, KY area.
 
#23 ·
Hello, my new friends! I hope that you're all doing well and that the state of the world hasn't broken you! With that being said, I have something of an issue that I am at the point with to where I can't buy part by part hoping that each one is the issue.

I have a 2006 Town & Country with the 3.0/3.3 litre engine. This issue with the wobbling began with me mostly noticing it when I would apply the brakes and with it progressively becoming worse. I am aware of the warped rotor(s) and am sure that's at least part of the issue, but it's so bad now when I'm not braking that I can barely go upto 50mph without a severe wobble and it feels like the wheel is going to fall off.

Additionally (and I'll try to explain this the best I can), when I am slowing down the van as it is wobbling BADLY seems to tilt the front end back and forth from side to side as if the wheel is actually coming off or something like that. I'm at a loss and need to zero in on the issue, yesterweek!

Can someone please help me?
Crazy as it seems, my 05 Van has what seemed like a wheel problem and it turned out to be a transmission problem that is fixed with a $9 bottle of Shudder Fixer from Auto Zone. It's happened every 4 or 5k miles and each time I pour the Shudder Fixer in and it's gone! Try it for less than $10 and I'll bet it will fix the problem.
 
#24 ·
Is that a friction modifier?

Did you try replacing your transmission filter and fluid with ATF+4 to replenish the friction modifiers?
 
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#25 ·
I bought a 2001 T and C and this happened to me when I went to pick it up.
Turned out that both front brakes were locked up. They got so hot that the drivers tire exploded.
One CV joint boot melted, and the hubcap melted right off as well.

I thought the thing was going to catch fire. Scared the crap out of me.
 
#26 ·
You didn't mention wheel bearings shooting out round balls. :)
 
#29 ·
The Jeep "death wobble", that's the problem. Sounds about as bad.

What is Death Wobble?
.
 
#30 ·
Hello, my new friends! I hope that you're all doing well and that the state of the world hasn't broken you! With that being said, I have something of an issue that I am at the point with to where I can't buy part by part hoping that each one is the issue.

I have a 2006 Town & Country with the 3.0/3.3 litre engine. This issue with the wobbling began with me mostly noticing it when I would apply the brakes and with it progressively becoming worse. I am aware of the warped rotor(s) and am sure that's at least part of the issue, but it's so bad now when I'm not braking that I can barely go upto 50mph without a severe wobble and it feels like the wheel is going to fall off.

Additionally (and I'll try to explain this the best I can), when I am slowing down the van as it is wobbling BADLY seems to tilt the front end back and forth from side to side as if the wheel is actually coming off or something like that. I'm at a loss and need to zero in on the issue, yesterweek!

Can someone please help me?
Check tires for broken steel belts , will give you one heck of wobbing
 
#31 ·
I'm very interested to hear what you find out, as I have a similar problem with my 2008 T&C. It doesn't wobble all the time, but mainly when it's hot (it was bad on a recent trip to the desert), and braking makes it worse. My front brake rotors are new, so I don't think they should be warped.
Good luck!
 
#32 · (Edited)
Check for rust build up and/or missing wear surface material (patches) that can cause vibrations, especially on the inner side.
Technically brake rotors don't "warp", other things cause the sensation.
New rotors = how old?
Also check that sliders and pins are well lubricated and not sticking.
 
#41 ·
Now I know how my 2nd gen discs got way too hot and flamed !!!!! I pulled over and the rims were literally smoking the clear coating off. Glad it didn't blow like the video showed. I wasn't sure what failed first, the brakes, calipers, hoses, or the warped discs. My answer was, REPLACE IT ALL. But my gut feeling is, the brake hose failed and everything else went downhill.
 
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