2003 pontiac grand am gt 3.4 auto 66,500 miles had a front wheel hop passenger side when under a load like braking- seemed to start about a year ago/ vary slight/ on a factory gm set of steel wheels with new good years- used in winter. as the time passed we put the factory pontiac aluminum rims back on with new bfg g-force sport 225/50 r 16, still had the same hop in the front right/vary slight. i replaced the pads and rotors and over tourged the wheels by 10 ft lbs and the hop lessened, but came back. steel wheels went back on in the fall and the hop was still present, then in the spring the hop had gotten progressivly worse, it was time for the aluminum wheels to go back on, still had a hop. i went ahead and put new front struts in, big help and the front passenger strut was SHOT TO HELL. still had a slight hop and a little cv noise, so i put a cv and axle assembly in. it might have improved it slightly. then i thought maybe if i lower the air presser a few lbs and put that wheel in the back on the passenger side, it might get to be less noticable. well this might have helped a little. so then i put in new rear struts and that got it down to only freeway braking at speed it hops. so im lost 2 sets of wheels in like new condition, new front brakes, all new struts, new cv/axle shaft passenger side.
I’m not sure I understand your symptom. When you apply the brakes there is a “hop” in the right front suspension as a result of the force of braking?
If this is close to the symptom you describe then something in the right front suspension is moving when the brake slows the wheel’s speed. If the strut helped then it is not a steering component (tie rod end) but rather part of the wheels suspension. Something in there is loose, missing a bushing, or simply broken.
This is assuming that the caliper is firmly attached to the axle and isn’t moving with the brake is applied. A good front end shop should be able to figure this out for you.
im sorry the story got so long that i wasnt clear, the hop has stayed with the aluminum wheel that WAS on the front passenger and now IS on the rear passenger. i obviously think tire issue. i had it rebalanced, and it was close didnt take an unusual amount of weight or move the weight location much at all. i also havent tried the steel wheels on the car since the struts and axle were replaced.
Sometimes the brakes fool you and it’s the rear one instead of the front. So you have to look at all of the brake pads. If one set is more worn out than the ones on the other side, those pads could be telling you something. If one rotor is chewed up worse than the others; same thing.
If the brake pedal goes up and down while you are holding it down, it’s almost a guaranty that the problem is up front. If there is no pedal movement, the problem is a little more likely to be in the rear.
This is really one that I would have to drive and see for myself.
This complaint is a bit fuzzy to me.
Is the nose of the car bouncing up and down?
Brake pedal pulsing?
Feel a lurching in the car?
Ball joints been checked?
wheel hop, like a basket ball… only under heavy or at high speed braking. and it has to be a wheel issue be cause the front pass wheel is where it started and after allthe repairs thewheel was put on the rear pass and the hop went with it
the aluminum wheel … i had it rebalanced,
Aluminum (alloy?) wheels can be bent surprisingly easily. Also tyres can be damaged just hitting a curb and both of those can cause the kind of problems you are having.
Did you get a dynamic balance or static. Static can miss errors. Of course bad struts or mounts of all kinds of suspension problems can show up as well.
I have to admit that the above may not apply to you since I am a bit confused about exactly what has happened. I would suggest fining a Local Independent suspension shop and hopefully they can find the problem(s)