Pontiac Repair: Pontiac Van Jerking When Braking & Riding Rough at Higher Speeds, pontiac montana, brake calipers

Question
I recently had the head gasket in my 2002 Pontiac Montana Van replaced; the mechanic also replaced front brakes.  After picking up the van, I feel a lot of jerking when braking, this is especially felt when coming off the interstate onto an off ramp and coming to a stop; but, I do notice it in town as well...just not has pronounced.

A second thing I'm noticing is a high-pitched chirping sound when I'm driving, but when I step on the brake, the chirping sound stops; as soon as I let off the brake, the sound returns...almost like it's keeping time with the rotation of the tires.

A final issue I'm noticing is that when I hit about 70 mph and higher, the van seems to vibrate, or ride rougher.  I've never had a problem with this prior to this last visit to the mechanic.

Any advice you can give me is very much appreciated!

Enjoy the day!

Answer
Hi Lynn:

I thionk a couple of these issues are related. The brake noise and jerking when applying the brakes are more than likely the same thing. On of the brake calipers may be hanging up "dragging" and that is causing the noise and the jerking feel whan you apply the brakes the noise is gone because the pads are being pressed onto the rotors harder . As for the vibration it could be a lot of things from a tire out of balance to  the engine not running right and it has a slight misfire. do you feel it in the steering wheel or do you feelit it in the seat when your driving?