Ok. Same deal. Different vehicle. Have 96 Olds Bravada v6 ,auto trans ,all wheel drive. This job belongs to another mech. I am trying to help him with this. Rear diff has been replaced,front driveshaft,transfer case and the darn thing keeps tryin to lock up the front wheels or pulls hard. Removed front shaft and is fine. That eliminates the wheel sensors, right? ABS light is on, but with front shaft outI kinda figure that eliminates that too. When on the rack, we removed shaft and felt like there was pressure on it.Any thoughts?
Again, same mech has spent about 3 mos working on this. Hes fairly smart, just always looking for the FLUX CAPACITOR to be wrong instead of starting small. If you know what I mean. We need this out of the way, so any insight would be greatly appreciated.
I assume everyone has looked into tire and wheel size, tire pressure, tire mis-match of any kind- tread, application, and the like. The questions that come to mind are under what condition(s) does the wheel lock-up and/or pulling occur- braking, turning, straight-ahead? Is there sudden pulling for no apparent reason, drifting to one side or the other, what kind of road conditions? Does any of this seem associated with vehicle/drive line temperature or driving distance, or sometime after a brake application? Is there a consistancy to this trouble, or does it seem random? All that kind of information is helpful. There seems to be endless debate about the effect of mixing tire sizes on an AWD vehicle, regardless of how sizes get mixed- wear, installing an unused spare, and the like. I would first make sure all tires have the same loaded radius and have the same tread style and depth. I don't see how tire size will cause lock-up, but I have seen pretty severe instability and 'twitchyness' in AWD vehicles with mis-matched tires.
Did the owner change anything or add anything to the vehicle that has gone unnoticed? I can't think of anything that a Bravada owner would add to that kind of vehicle that would change the chassis much and lead to the kind of trouble you describe, but sometimes good intentions have a way of producing unintended and unexpected consequences.
I suppose the ABS and brake system remain a suspect. Have you looked into something improperly causing or keeping residual pressure in the brake system- flex lines deteriorating or separating, and the like? Has anyone looked into the brake master cylinder for proper function? Mostly for properly relieving brake pressure after brake application. Does this vehicle pull a trailer? That might lead to something with the brake system as the cause of trouble.
I don't know if this helps any, but I can't think of a quick answer to your problem.
You said you changed the differential, are you sure the new diff is the same ratio as the old one? There was two different ratios in 97 A 7.625 ring gear and a 8.5/8 ring gear. If the ratio are different it will not match the speed sensor output with the ABS output.
I will check into all the questions you have when I get back to work. I work for a car lot and this is some of the repairs that were started prior to me. Thanks and I will get back.
The 96 had a viscous clutch in the t case . It has caused many problems read some similar complaints see if any rings a bell. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic426615.htm">http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic426615.htm</a><!-- m -->
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Come to find out there were 2 different sizes of tires on the Bravada. The mech had them changed and says it drives fine straight but when turning the wheel it pulls hard. I have yet to drive it yet. Dont want to step on his toes. It is supposedly fine without front shaft in, but I suspect he has never driven an AWD before. I will have it in my bay on Mon or Tues. Will get back with more info.
Hey driver, I have fixed a lot of the GM AWD setups with nothing more than than a t-case flush & fill. The fluid gets polluted over time, & makes the clutch hang up in turns. I E crab steer for lack of a better term. Also make sure to run only the GM Auto trak II fluid, aka smurf juice. It will fix a lot of these probs. Let us know. DD
I had suggested that to him, but he argued his point to me and claimed the smart trak didnt have clutches. I will do that when its in my bay next week. I know it has has ATF 4 in it cause he said he put it in. Which would still be the wrong fluid. Thanks for the help Dirty
UPDATE The Bravada seemed ok after putting the right tires on and reinstalling the driveshaft. But, it seemed sluggish with wheels turned going forwards or back. Seemed typical for an all wheel drive.(I thought) I drove the vehicle approx. 40 miles and the differential was sizzling and smoking when I came to a stop. As I let off the accelerator I could feel it slow down quickly until it stopped on its own without me applying the brake. It did not feel like it was in any binds while driving just had roaring noise. Any ideas before I put a 3rd differential in?
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96 Olds Bravada
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The Bravada seemed ok after putting the right tires on and reinstalling the driveshaft. But, it seemed sluggish with wheels turned going forwards or back. Seemed typical for an all wheel drive.(I thought) I drove the vehicle approx. 40 miles and the differential was sizzling and smoking when I came to a stop. As I let off the accelerator I could feel it slow down quickly until it stopped on its own without me applying the brake. It did not feel like it was in any binds while driving just had roaring noise. Any ideas before I put a 3rd differential in?