98 Cavalier brake probelm...help!

[Shelli]

I have had an ongoing problem with my 98 cavalier for about 6 months now. The brake pulsates bad at times. It is at random. The rotors and brakes have been looked at by three different shops including the dealership and nothing can be found wrong with it. I know the ABS system tends to do this but the service manager at the dealership had told me that it is unusual to feel the pulsations that often. It is very noticable when riding the brake to slowly pull into a parking place. Also, three different times I have had it skid on me and the car starts shaking violently and makes a roaring sound and then it is fine again. Could it be a problem with an ABS sensor? It is not making any weird noises and no indicator lights have come on. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated...Thanks!!!

[richtazz]

I had a similar problem with a 91 cavalier and it ended up being a hub bearing. It had 4 mechanics, myself and 2 of my friends baffled. It would normally only do it at low speed with the wheels turned, and occasionally I'd hear a clunk and the wheel would jerk. I ended up figuring it out after I took the hub off the car and turned it back and forth by hand. It would turn fine, then suddenly you'd feel a clunk, and the bearing would be loose, but if you kept messing with it, it would clunk again and feel fine, with no looseness. I had to show the bearing to my mechanic buddies for them to believe what it was doing, and none of them would have believed it if they wouldn't have seen it with their own eyes. I changed the hub and all was good.

[cavispeedracer]

i think i have that same problem too. The brakes dont really pulsate, however; even when im not braking and am turning the wheel, I hear an annoying squeaking coming from my front left wheel. My friend said it was probably either the brakes scraping (they're in bad condition) or the hub bearing. How much does it cost to replace a hub bearing? like parts and labor?

[richtazz]

the part is about $60 retail, and if you can change brakes, you can change a hub. get a repair manual and follow the instructions. You'll need two specialty tools, a 30mm hub nut socket and a t-55 torx bit to remove the hub. If you don't want to tackle it yourself, labor should be less than $100

[Shelli]

Thanks for the info. I will look into this!

[cavispeedracer]

thanks.... ill have to get one of those haynes manuals, im sure it'll help a lot and save some cash