2006 Chevrolet Tahoe ABS Hubs-Torque Wrench Throwing Mad



I had suspected all along that it was the ABS hubs that were causing the strange, intermittent "whiiir" like sound from in front of the driver's side dash on our 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe but I didn't know for sure. The fact that it didn't happen all the time, there was no signal or warning on the dash save for a "TRACTION ACTIVE" message that would some times, but not always, scroll on the bottom of the dash when it occurred, a dearth of information on the Internet about such things and diagnostic fees ranging from $100 to $150 at various shops in our area had us living with the problem since it really wasn't interfering with the way our Tahoe drove. Unlike on my 2002 Monte Carlo that had an "ABS" warning light telling me something was wrong, I had no way to really know what was making the sound.



Eventually, though, the sound got so bad that it was occurring just about every time we moved away from a stop. What's more, sometimes at intersections the brakes would be stuck on and we couldn't move. By chance, one day I hit the traction control button on the dash board turning the system off and it stopped not only the brakes from locking up but it got rid of the "whiiir" sound. Having changed the passenger side ABS hub on my Monte Carlo a while back, I knew that unplugging the system was quite simple so I did that as well on the driver's side ABS hub on the Tahoe and that too got rid of the sound and the locking brakes. I did the driver's side since the sound was coming from the driver's side. Just like turning the system off, though, that also meant the ABS and traction control system was turned off. The good news, though, was that I had pinpointed the problem to a problem with the ABS and traction control systems. Incidentally they're both different uses of the same system. After deducing that it was the ABS hubs I then proceeded to make a series of frustrating, time consuming mistakes.



First mistake I made was instead of replacing the wiring harness from the ABS pump to the driver's side ABS hub, like I had done with great success on my Monte Carlo a while back, I replaced the entire hub. Much to my chagrin the "whiiir" was still there.

Next mistake I made was that the next time the Tahoe needed an oil change I sprang for a diagnostic. An expense but at least a "pro" could tell me what was going on. Much to my surprise they said it was a bad driver's side ABS hub. Really? Wow. Ok, so I replaced the hub with a new one and I also replaced the wiring harness on the driver's side just to be sure. Keep in mind that it takes me more than two hours, gathering tools to putting them away, to do this swap. Time. Suck.

There were no words to tell you how upset I was when the "whiiir" sound and locking brakes were back and as bad as ever. What compounded my frustration was that the chain shop told me it was the driver's side hub that was bad. The hell, right?
 

It took me several weeks to cool off and muster the energy and resolve to replace the driver's side hub again but also the passenger side hub and pig tail. Again, at least two hours a side. I did the driver's side first, not sure why, and, god damn it to hell, the "whiiir" sound was still there. Torque wrench throwing pissed off mad, I then did the passenger side hub and pig tail and...you have got to be fucking kidding me, there was no more "whiiir" sound. And the locking up brakes were gone as well. Hallelujah.



Thing that probably upset me the most, aside from the fact that I now believe it was just a bad harness on the passenger side, was that the shop told me that it was a bad driver's side hub. It would easy to come to that conclusion on a test drive because the "whiiir" sound came from the driver's side but the fact is, that "whiiir" sound was the ABS pump itself going off after getting an erroneous signal to do so. The ABS pump is, yes, you guessed it, in front of the driver's side dash. Did they even put our Tahoe on their vaunted "scan tool"? I have to think they did not. They just heard the "whiiir" and came to the same conclusion that I did. Thanks, guys.

 



The bottom line is, and I've made this mistake before, try the easy, easier or simpler fixes first when working on a car or truck. Had I replaced the passenger side wiring harness or pigtail, chances are I would have saved my sell hours of back breaking work not to mention not have spent as much money as I did. Good news is our Tahoe has two brand new front ABS hubs and wiring harnesses. With regards to that shop, well, they're the same people who gouged me for diagnostics recently on the Monte so this is another reason not to go there any more.