Front End Contact/Grinding

[voltzy]

Hey all,

New to this forum but I have ghosted on here and have seen some awesome advice posted on issues people may be having with gmt400 trucks.

So I'll give this a try. I have a 95 k1500 ext cab.

My issue is when I am turning slightly at slow speeds, left or right. I can hear something making contact in the front end. Sometimes I can feel something hitting the floor in front of my feet. Sometimes it's a lot of contact and theres banging/grinding. Other times it's not to bad but I can still hear/feel something hitting just not as hard.

This ONLY happens at slow speeds in parking lots when turning the wheel about half crank. Also when I'm braking from higher speeds I can hear and feel a clunk coming from somewhere in the front end.

Anyone have a similar issue?

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

This ONLY happens at slow speeds in parking lots when turning the wheel about half crank. Also when I'm braking from higher speeds I can hear and feel a clunk coming from somewhere in the front end.

Anyone have a similar issue?

I had a broken brake pad in one front caliper of an RX330 that acted weird like this. The pad's friction material had de-laminated from the backing plate and was just sort of riding around in there, caged by the caliper bracket fore-and-aft and the rotor & caliper side-to-side. It would shift around in its "cage", e.g., when braking while backing-up, or later while braking forward, and create odd noises and/or odd brake / suspension sensations.

 

[voltzy]

I had a broken brake pad in one front caliper of an RX330 that acted weird like this. The pad's friction material had de-laminated from the backing plate and was just sort of riding around in there, captured within the caliper bracket fore-and-aft, and the rotor & caliper side-to-side. It would shift around, e.g., when braking while backing-up, and create odd noises and brake / suspension feel.

Thanks for the reply.

That's interesting because another minor issue I'm having is my brakes. At the end of a stop they slip really bad if I ease to a stop. If its wet or raining out they slip way more severely.
This issue did start a little while after I have front end/new pads an rotors.
I will definitely take a look tomorrow when I can see better. Sounds like that may be it though.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

I will definitely take a look tomorrow when I can see better. Sounds like that may be it though.

Check everything while you're there. Look for odd, telltale marks on the rotors. Misplaced, missing or AWAL anti-rattle clips.

 

[Dariusz Salomon]

Thanks for the reply.

That's interesting because another minor issue I'm having is my brakes. At the end of a stop they slip really bad if I ease to a stop. If its wet or raining out they slip way more severely.
This issue did start a little while after I have front end/new pads an rotors.
I will definitely take a look tomorrow when I can see better. Sounds like that may be it though.

By slip do you mean truck launches forward and you gotta reaffirm your braking? Like it loses braking for a moment? And it only happens at very low speeds as you coming to a stop?

 

[Dariusz Salomon]

If that's what it is this is the reason. I replaced both sensors as everything was disassembled and I had the sensors anyway, but sometimes just good clean is enough.

Braking trouble

Coming back to subject-do you remember the fix? Did you clean the crud or replaced the sensor or both? Or maybe you replaced the whole hub? Just clean off the backing plate and sensor and the wheel on the back of the rotor real good and no more issues

www.gmt400.com

 

[voltzy]

Check everything while you're there. Look for odd, telltale marks on the rotors. Misplaced, missing or AWAL anti-rattle clips.

I'll take a look for all of that. I'll post some pics of anything I think is suspect

 

[voltzy]

By slip do you mean truck launches forward and you gotta reaffirm your braking? Like it loses braking for a moment? And it only happens at very low speeds as you coming to a stop?

When I use less pressure on the pedal itll slip at the end of the stop just a bit. If I put pressure on for a hard stop it's normal. When raining or wet out it doesnt matter how much pressure I use itll grind and take an extra second to stop.
So I dont lose them. It just sounds like the caliper is scraping on the rotor.

 

[Schurkey]

Sometimes I can feel something hitting the floor in front of my feet. Sometimes it's a lot of contact and theres banging/grinding. Other times it's not to bad but I can still hear/feel something hitting just not as hard.

This ONLY happens at slow speeds in parking lots when turning the wheel about half crank. Also when I'm braking from higher speeds I can hear and feel a clunk coming from somewhere in the front end.

Are you CERTAIN that the ABS isn't engaging due to defective sensors/wire harness getting pulled "just right" when the wheel is turned at low speed? ABS engages when sensor voltage drops (low speed) and the ABS rattle is felt and heard in the passenger compartment?

Beyond that, you need to disassemble and inspect your entire front suspension/steering/braking systems. Rubber bushings, sway bar end links, ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, Pitman arm, steering gearbox, dust shields, calipers, hubs, etc. need to be checked.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Beyond that, you need to disassemble and inspect your entire front suspension/steering/braking systems. Rubber bushings, sway bar end links, ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, Pitman arm, steering gearbox, dust shields, calipers, hubs, etc. need to be checked.

Good points here. OP, don't get overly focused on brakes on account of my post. Look them over sure, but you may have other problems.

It is an odd coincidence that you began to notice the problem after the brakes had been serviced. That may or may not be relevant.

Good luck!