I have a 1994 Chevy Lumina APV. It has a tow package on it, and we've used it to haul fairly heavy loads (2000 lbs or so). Recently the steering wheel began to shake violently when we'd be driving over 55 and put on the brakes, and there's a thudding or pounding that accompanies it coming from the front end. At about the same time, the ANTILOCK SERVICE light on the dash began coming on and staying on. Our mechanic (who is wonderful) took a look at the brakes and said they were okay - he did nothing with the rotors though. He told us to buy an antilock assembly, which we did, from a reputable local used parts dealer. We put it on, and it seemed better at first, but within a day had gone back to the violent shaking when we apply the brakes at speeds over 40 mph. Under 40 mph, there is no shaking. The thudding/pounding is back too. The ANTILOCK SERVICE light on the dash has not come back on.

When we first installed it, the cruise control worked (it's never worked since we bought the van). The cruise control assembly is part of the device. It worked for a very short period of time - a few minutes - then stopped and still doesn't work. Don't know if this has anything to do with the problem at all, but thought I'd throw it in just in case it helps anybody with a diagnosis.

Anybody have any ideas? Thanks very much. This has been a great vehicle!

 

If the brakes have been determined good, then you might want to check out your tranny. Pulling that size load with an APV is not adviseable since it will put a good strain on the powertrain. A tranny mount might have broke as well.

Take a look at that, and inspect your front end components, like your suspension, tie-rods, etc.

 

Thanks Mark!

I am going to print this out and talk top my mechanic. I will also take your advice about the weight I am hauling.

If anyon else has an idea about my problem I would appreciate it!

Thanks,

Gary

 

We still had the problem after replacing antilock assembly we still had the shaking problem, although it didn't seem as bad.

Our mechanic took another look, and decided to change the rotor (even though he said they did not look that bad, and he had seen worse and those autos' did not have that problem). He put the new rotor on, and quess what?, that fix the problem.

Gary.