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2006 Limited unexplainable issue. Brakes? Transmission? Wheel bearings?

2K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Masterkevj 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, please bare with me as I try to describe this issue.

I have a 2006 3.5 with the 5 speed tranny. 140k miles.

Sometimes after driving around town for a while, stop and go, highway driving, a mix of other driving situations, my car will get to the point where it seems like it doesn't want to accelerate much.

I can stomp it, engine runs and revs fine it'll somewhat take off but it feels like something is dragging.

First thought it was the brakes, put on new pads, rotors, bedded them and bled the lines. Brakes seem fine.

If I take my foot off the gas it feels as if the brakes have been lightly applied. If I continue "coasting" the car will come to a complete stop and sit there as if I was holding the brakes and will only move if I press the gas.

Driving it like this causes frequent downshifts to maintain speed. A few times the front end wobbled badly while this was happening. I mean steering wheel visibly shaking back and forth. Dealer couldn't recreate or diagnose it, they just balanced my tires which are only a year old.

If I accelerate the car will take off sluggishly. In frustration I have gotten it up to speed and didn't notice any burning smells or any hot friction smells.

I also notice a lot of creaking noises from the front end while turning when this is happening like a bad rack and pinion but my steering is good and this is the only time it makes that noise.

Let it sit overnight and everything is fine in the morning. These are the conditions where I noticed it happens, not to say that this is what causes it but just what I've noticed: warm day, a/c running, several minutes of driving in traffic. I'll be sitting at a light and let off the brake and the car doesn't move until I hit the gas. Not able to inch or ride the brake.

No engine light, I've tried putting the car in neutral, tried manual mode, trying to rule out the tranny. Turned off traction control trying to rule out the hill brake assist (not sure if that's connected with the traction control).

I hope I've provided enough info. I've searched high and low through forums, maybe I just don't have the right way to describe what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance.
 
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#5 ·
I think the trans fluid is okay, it's only been a couple years since it was pulled for the pressure plate issue.

I also replaced all the spark plugs with champion platinums last week and since that requires taking the plenum off, I cleaned the throttle body and made sure the actuator was functional and moved freely.
 
#6 ·
Sounds to me like all the symptoms of a sticky caliper. Happens from time to time and after 10 years of use I'm not surprised at all. Piston is binding and not retracting to its normal position. Our work trucks do it occasionally once the mileage gets up there.

Next time you are driving and it does it on a flat surface, roll the car up to about 40 mph let off the gas, you should feel the engine start to slow the car, push in to neutral, does it continue to slow down to a stop or does it feel like it coasts for longer than it would if left in gear?

If it keeps slowing then you have a bad caliper and I doubt it's transmission related... This doesn't sound like power not going to the ground, it sounds like restriction of power due to a friction issue.

When you say the steering wobbled badly, that sounds like rotor friction from heat after lightly applying brakes for and extended time, it can make a pretty nasty shake...

It doesn't take much binding to cause a problem...

I would take a floor jack for a ride with me, drive the car till it does it then hit a parking lot and quickly jack up a front wheel and try and spin it to see if it binds... Repeat on all wheels front and rear (in neutral for the rear) and see if you can find it.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have to agree with post #6 above.
I recently replaced the front pads and used a piston press tool to retract the pistons, which felt tight but as it was the first time i had done them simply accepted it was normal for the car.
Within 1/2 mile i had wheel judder. when i stopped the pads were badly smoking, the rotors ticking like a clock and the car didnt pull as it normally did.
The pistons had expanded with age which was the cause of the tight initial retraction and were not retracting on their own on the road.
Renewed pistons, seals, and another set of new pads and back to normal running.
 
#9 ·
So it happened again yesterday. I leaning towards the wheel hub/bearing. It was a warm day and I had been driving around for a while. Sat in a drive thru for about 20 minutes. Turned the when to pull out and there was the "creaking" sound as I turned the wheel.

Then driving on the main road, loud rumble, roaring and wheel vibrating. Only reason I'm not pursuing the brakes is because they'd probably be shot and rotors warped and glazed over by now if the calipers were sticking.

I always thought once wheel bearings went bad they'd roar all the time? Any thoughts of my theory? I'm just trying to do a little troubleshooting on my own because I have spent SO MUCH on the front end of this car over the past year trying to get all the noises fixed but it's impossible and I'm running out of money!

And now that hot weather is approaching, I've gotta fix my recirculation door that's stuck on fresh air mode! Just adding it to the list...
 
#10 ·
If it were a wheel hub it would mostly likely fall apart before you felt it slow the car down... Literally if it was that bad it would be the worst burning metal smell of your life and would have disintegrated by now would be my bet. Not saying it can't be as stranger things have happened but I'd be amazed you wouldn't be hearing it all the time and smelling some nasty smells.

Jacking up the car and spinning the wheel is free, no cost involved. You have to do something to forward your diagnosis as at the moment it's just a bunch of speculation and driving a car with a known fault hoping it stops.

If it's a bad hub or wheel bearing in the hub then jack up the car and wiggle the wheel back and forth to look for play. While you are there spin the wheel if it happens to be while the issue was happening and see if anything is binding.

The clunk could be completely unrelated, most commonly a ball joint or a tension strut, both can be intermittent. My primary concern would be why the car is slowing down on it's own and as your thought on the brakes would be cooked is only right in less than half the cases of sticky calipers then I'd check there as well... ?



Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
The car has been parked for the most part until I could get around to it. Didn't want to keep driving it like that. I decided to just take it to the shop because I just need it fixed.

Didn't get very far and car was dragging and rumbling from the front end, finally started smelling something burning. Pulled over and the passenger front wheel was burning hot. Still can't tell if it's a caliper or not but got it towed to the shop and we'll see...

Funny thing is my wife didn't know about the issue and drove the car to the store and back with no issue and she didn't notice anything.

Thanks for all the help.
 
#12 ·
No worries... hey it will be one or the other if that's going on... really could be either a hub or caliper at this point. Might want to have them check the ball joints and tension struts while it's in there pal, they wear pretty frequently and it might be best to make sure as the 'clunk' is usually one of those things...
 
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