Driver side front end noise

Asked by Guru9DFH4S Nov 17, 2020 at 09:47 AM about the 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt 2LT Sedan FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Checking a friend's 2010 Cobalt for what he said was wheel shimmy when
braking. Took for a test drive and confirmed the shimmy but there's also
clunking sound and noticeable wheel jerk when applying brakes at low
speed or inching up in traffic. Pulled the wheel and looked at the brakes
which seem to be fairly new but did notice the driver side rotor was loose.
Removed the brakes to check function and reinstalled and test drove with
little to no resolution. Brought it back to house and stood and watched as the
driver slowly moved up the driveway while braking then releasing about 5 or
six times and each time the brakes were applied we can see the entire wheel
move maybe a couple of inches. Any idea on what this could be ?
Maybe wheel bearing, CV axle or something greater?? Thanks for reading!

3 Answers

3,230

Wheel bearing and cv axles are good ideas as they can cause the issue to, but might also check out the ball joints. Particularly for the tie rod ends....although it wouldn't hurt to check control arm ball joints also

2 people found this helpful.
18,235

Its most likely the rear bushings on the lower control arm. That's about the only thing that would allow the wheel to visibly move back and forth like that. Jack the car up and use a big pry bar between the control arm and the frame to check for movement. I'm guessing there will be some. You can buy complete control arms with the new bushings already installed for not much more than buying the bushings alonw. Getting the bushings in and out is not that easy. I had all your symptoms with mine and they all went away when I replaced those bushings. Very common problem on these cars.

1 people found this helpful.
3,230

Considering it's when braking might check the front lower control arm bushing also....front of tire turns in I'm guessing?

1 people found this helpful.

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