intermittent shudder during right turns?

**heftylefty58** · 12-26-2007, 01:12 AM

Greetings, and Happy Holidays all. I could have sworn that I read another posting about a problem similar to mine, but I couldn't find it tonight. So I'll just do my best to describe it in my own posting:

I'm experiencing an EXTREMELY intermittent shudder that seems to only occur while I'm either braking or coasting during a right turn. (I've never noticed the shudder while making a left turn.)

It almost seems as if the anti-lock brakes needlessly kick in on one or 2 wheels, but it's really hard to tell since it's over within a fraction of a second. I take my right turns very slowly, so it seems odd that the anti-lock brakes would activate at all. (FYI, all of these "shudder" instances occurred when the weather was dry: no rain, no snow, nothing....)

Just so you know, I also experience a very subtle clunk under my dash every now and then, but I'm 99.999% sure this is because my intermediate steering shaft needs to be lubed. Also, this clunk is a gazillion-fold more subtle than the my so-called "right-turn-shudder." So, I'd be very surprised if they're actually related.

But then again, I'm just a noob, so what do I know. That's why I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts regarding what could explain my right-turn-issue, and how I can further troubleshoot my problem.

Thanks in advance.

**altazo** · 05-17-2009, 04:42 PM

Have you had any luck diagnosing this problem? I seem to have the same symptoms in my '98 Tahoe. Any clues would be very helpful...

**vncj96** · 05-17-2009, 04:59 PM

Is your Denali one that is full time AWD of does it have a 2 or 4WD selector.

**heftylefty58** · 05-17-2009, 05:30 PM

I'm pretty sure it's the ABS kicking in at the wrong time, but I never got around to doing anything about it. Interestingly, for some reason, I haven't experienced this issue in the past year or so. I guess this is a good thing, but like I said, I never figured out the root cause. I seem to remember that this typically only occurred during the colder months of the year, so I don't anticipate that I'll experience the shudder again for another 6 months or so.

vncj96--My Denali is full time AWD.

**vncj96** · 05-17-2009, 05:38 PM

What you are explaining by only durng breaking or right turns, is just like a what a front driver does when a cv axle is going out and being the yours is AWD it is more likely to go out quicker then a standard 4WD truck, if it was ABS, then I would think you would be seeing the brake light come on in the dash board.

**heftylefty58** · 05-17-2009, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by vncj96

What you are explaining by only durng breaking or right turns, is just like a what a front driver does when a cv axle is going out and being the yours is AWD it is more likely to go out quicker then a standard 4WD truck, if it was ABS, then I would think you would be seeing the brake light come on in the dash board.

Thanks for the quick response. You're right, I don't see the brake light come on in the dashboard at any point (ie, not during, before, or after the shudder). However, I guess the biggest reason I do suspect it's the ABS is b/c I feel the usual split-second ABS pulsations on my brake pedal while the shuddering is taking place. Regardless, thanks for the tips re the CV axle. The next chance I get, I'll definitely pop my head underneath the car to see if the CV boot is worn. Thanks again, vncj96!

**vncj96** · 05-17-2009, 06:04 PM

I would also get ahold of the boot itself and try and move it around, I actually broke the joint inside mine four wheelin and by looking at I would have never known

**altazo** · 05-18-2009, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by vncj96

What you are explaining by only durng breaking or right turns, is just like a what a front driver does when a cv axle is going out and being the yours is AWD it is more likely to go out quicker then a standard 4WD truck, if it was ABS, then I would think you would be seeing the brake light come on in the dash board.

Thanks for the clue. my cv boot doesn't appear to be damaged, but I was able to grab a hold of the joint/axle assembly to the inside of the boot. I was able to shake it and get it to make the noise I think I've been hearing. I did the same thing to the drivers side but there was less play and no noise. Is it more common for the passenger side to go out first because perhaps it's further from the front diff and has a longer cv axle? Thanks again...