I have a 97 cavalier 2.2, and whenever I apply the brake no matter how fast im going, the front end shakes and makes a thumping noise over and over untilI come to a stop. I put in brand new calipers, rotors, pads, ball joints, bled both calipers and the master cylinder, and had the car aligned. Still does it. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Could I need a new master cylinder??

 

Any pedal pulsing? Might have something to do with the ABS system. I seem to recall something about bleeding the system without disabling the ABS 1st. Do a search on ABS.

Hope this helps
Walter

 

Actually yes there is pedal pulsing. Also if i let go of the steering wheel it jerks back and forth, not alot...but i know its not suppose to do that.

 

Then it's either a stuck brake caliper or something with the ABS, sounds like a front brake issue. Make sure one of the rotors are not damaged or the air fins between the surface have not cracked / disappeared.

I would remove the front wheels 1 at a time & check for any wear (new rotors so they should all look new..... no grooves). Also, make sure the clevis pins that hold the calipers are holding firm, try to 'wiggle' the caliper itself & if it moves a lot, get new pins that hold it in place. Spin the front disk. You should have no rubbing & disks should spin free. If it rubs, then you have a warped disk.

If none of that finds the issue, then it's ABS (Where I have no knowledge). All I know about that is ABS works by regulating the pressure at each tire so nobody locks up. ABS pumps then releases pressure, making your pedal feel like someone is hitting it with a hammer.

Master cylinder would either hiss (blown vacuum gasket / booster) or just make the pedal harder to push / stop. So I don't think it's that.

Good luck, please respond with any findings
Walter

 

Well I looked at the rotors, since there brand new they look fine, and so do the calipers. I took then right out of the box last week. But I noticed that the calipers do move a little bit even though the pins are secure. I purchased aftermarket calipers so should I use the old pins from the factory ones, or simply add some washers? Also would this fix the soft pedal too?

 

Was this happening before replacing the brake components ??

 

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let youknow that I found out the problem. It was the caliper pins. They sent me the wrong pins so they wernt holding the caliper right. I purchased new OE calipers from the auto parts store and it solved the problem.

Thanks for all your help!!

 

Good to hear it was a easy fix.

Walter