ABS Judder at very low speed braking

mike65

Got my front shocks replaced today, the car has started juddering at VERY LOW speed braking. its the abs system (I can feel the pulse and hear the clack-clack-clack sound), the system still works fine but its clearly an annoyence. Is it a dirty brake sensor?

Mike.

Captain Slow IRL

what exactly do you mean by low braking speed? - abs will stop working below 7mph, so if it's lower than this you got another problem on your hands.

a dirty sensor would be more likely to bring on the abs light - has this happened before you changed the shocks? (who changed them?)

mike65

Rather hard to judge the exact speed, speedos are hopless at very low and very high speeds. It cuts in for about two seconds then off again just before actually stopping. The job was done by a local country garage. The ABS light did'nt come on but then again it might not be working!

Mike.

Captain Slow IRL

Turn the ignition on - the abs light should illuminate for a few seconds and then extinguish; if it's not coming on, it's either blown or being removed.

Check your front tyres as well, if they are bald or close to it, you will find the abs kicking in. Badly worn brake pads (down to metal) can cause the brakes to bind and will activate the abs - also, if you're braking hard on gravel or loose ground you will feel the pedal thumping.

If this problem did not occur before the shocks were replaced, something might not be fully tightened or just damaged from work done to it - bring it back to the garage and tell them what's going on.

Anan1

mike65 wrote:

The ABS light did'nt come on but then again it might not be working!

Mike.

If the light is working then it will come on briefly at start-up and then go off.

mike65

Good point! Its working then.

Mike.

SouperComputer

could be contaminated linings too. Perhaps during the swap

You arefeeling this vibration trough the brake pedal, correct?

mike65

Yep.

Mike.