Hey guys,

I got a 97 Saturn SL1 4DR Sedan. I keep her running good and do all the maintenance myself. But I must confess that I do not hold the knowledge to troubleshoot or make a call on this issue. When I apply pressure to the brakes at any speed over 30mph (especially down hill) I get erratic steering and the car shakes.

So i've got my head burried in my Haynes manual and the troubleshooting tree gives me these four possibilities....

1. Front hub bearings worn
2. Broken or sagging springs
3. Leaking wheel cylinder or caliper
4. Warped discs or drums

I have enough knowledge to know that theres no leak coming from the calipers but the other 3 I am unsure of. I can handle working on the brakes myself but springs and hubs??? Anyone got any info or has anyone heard of this problem. Anyway to pinpoint or isolate one of these problems??? Thanks guys! Hope someone can help.

John Signorelli

 

If you feel the shimmy through the steering wheel when braking, it is most likely that one or both front rotors are warped. Check for runout on front rotors.

By the way, stop triple posting unless you want the mod to ban you.

 

I gotta agree with Derf on this one.

Broken springs are gonna give you problems while you travel on down the road regardless of whether you are under power, or applying brakes. Worn hub bearings could be the cause, but they will normally announce their failure through other humming, squeeling and grinding noises. Since you already said there's no leakage from the wheel cylinders, the possibility of warped rotors seems the top of the list.