Griding sound upon acceleration and right turn

Question

I have an '03 Ford Focus. Recently, it has started making a grinding sound whenever I accelerate from a full stop, or when I am making a right hand turn. It sounds like the noise is coming from the right side of the car. The grinding seems to subside at around 35-40 MPH. It does not do this every time I drive the car, it seems to do it mainly when I start the car up after it hasn't been driven for 4 hours. If I leave it sitting for an hour or two, or if I have been driving it for longer than approx. 10-15 minutes, it does not do it. I have already taken it to my mechanic last week, and they couldn't hear anything as it had already stopped making the noise by the time I drove it there. They also couldn't find anything wrong around the wheels/axel. It seems to be doing it more often now, and the noise seems to be getting a little louder as time has gone on (at first it sounded more like a vibration). I am taking it in again tomorrow, but I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions as to what it could possibly be. I am worried that whatever it is will cause more damage than it should by being left alone if they once again can't find anything wrong tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

could be a number of things with your suspension.

if it only grinds while turning and accelerating at the same time its probably your right cv joint.  anywhere from 200 - $800

otherwise it could be a bearing or a strut

Answer 2

check the left wheel bearing.the way to check them is turn left then right if when you turn left the noise gets louderits the right bearing.opposite thing for the other side.the reason it gets louder when you turn the opposite way is you are loading the bearing up with pressure from the car.when you turn the other way and it goes away your taking the weight off that side.

Answer 3

I had the same problem a couple of months ago. Ask the shop to look at the heat shrouds covering the exhaust. My mechanic found that the heat shroud under my car was basically shredded and loose, causing it to grind and vibrate. We just ripped it off because its not really needed. Just dont park in tall dry grass. Problem solved for me. Hope its the same for you

Answer 4

it kinda sounds like a wheel bearing,it also could be the axel even if the axel boots look ok,good luck