I have a pulsating grinding type sound that i can feel in the steering wheel and gas pedal when i turn left at 45mph+ i thought it was the right front wheel bearing so i put a new one on today. i noticed that the one on there looked like it wasn't that old so im guessing it had already been replaced not too long ago. my next guess would be the cv axle. i figured id ask for opinions though before i go and buy that and replace it. car is a 2001 sunfire sedan with a 2200, 4speed auto.

i posted this in the wrong forum. i meant to put it in maintenance. can it be moved if possible please?

have you checked the power steering fluid, my car did it turning hard to the left, and it was just low.

03 Sunfire - Sold.

yeah I've checked the power steering. and the right front is the one i replaced. it really seemed like that was what the problem was, but its doing the exact same thing with the new bearing so its got to be something else. maybe ill try putting the other bearing on the left side just for the heck of it. The bearing on the left looks older and i can tell the one i just replaced wasn't really that old. I'm probably going to go ahead and change the cv axle anyway. if thats not it i guess ill just live with it. its not a huge problem its just kind of annoying. I hate that feeling of knowing something isn't right but i cant figure it out.

How are your tires wearing? your front end alignment could be off.

Also check and make sure nothing could be rubbing the tire and the weight of the car shifts.

That odd... I would emediatley think wheel bearing too.

well i've only had the car a few weeks and the front tires were new when i got it. so i can't really tell yet on that. I have a clunking in the steering sometimes at low speed also if that may be related to this. I figured it was something else though from what i had read. There was also a some type of seal or something (sorry i don't know exactly what it was or what its called) that came with the new bearing, but when i took the old one off there wasn't one on so i didn't put it on anywhere. Could that be the cause of this? and where does that piece go?

If i over tightened the axle nut could it cause the sound i'm describing? i just used a breaker bar to take it off and put it back on as i don't have a torque wrench or know anyone with one.

Try this test. Find a vacant parking lot with a bit of maneuvering room. Start the car and crank the wheel completely over to the left. Now drive in a slow circle. Do you hear any popping or grinding noises? When you get back to the position that you started from (minus the location change from the understeer inherent in j-bodies), turn the wheel all the way to the right. Repeat exercise. Again, any noises?

If you hear popping noises, you need to replace the CV Axles on that side. Grinding noises typically indicate wheel bearings need to be replaced, the ball joints could need replaced, or a damaged steering tie rod ball joint.

Hope that helps.