Grinding noise when turning at high speed

Cymerax · Post by **Cymerax** » 09 May 2011, 07:47

I have a 2007 S40, standard tranny w/108,000 miles, located in Iowa. I noticed a grinding noise that sounds like metal on metal (similar to what brakes sound like when the pads are gone) when I turn even the slightest bit (left or right) which is only audible at or above around 40mph, but is much more audible at 60+mph. Otherwise everything seems fine, no play or vibration in the steering and at low speeds there's no noise at all. I've owned the car since August '10 and haven't had it in for service yet, and last week a msg. appeared saying that it was time for regular maintenance.

A separate problem with the high beams has me puzzled. Although they are working now, about 5 months ago it seemed like the switch on the steering column stopped working - that is as long as you held it in you could get the brights to come on, but the switch wouldn't stay engaged on high. Then about 4 weeks later it appeared to fix itself, worked fine until about a month ago and cut out again, but this time only for about a week and now they are working again. Is there something that needs to be cleaned/adjusted or is it time to replace the switch? Thanks in advance for any help ;?D

Cymerax · Post by **Cymerax** » 10 May 2011, 10:40

Okay, I lied, lol. It is making noise at slower speeds, I just couldn't hear it when the problem started a few weeks ago, but now I can (just had to turn the radio down, lol). So basically you can hear this noise starting at speeds as low as 10 mph. Someone suggested that it might be CV joints, but I'm no mechanic so I would appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks ;?D

Post by **jblackburn** » 10 May 2011, 10:45

Sounds to me like a bad wheel bearing/hub assembly.

Cymerax · Post by **Cymerax** » 11 May 2011, 07:18

Thanks for the info jb ;?D So since I probably can't fix that myself, how much do you think that might cost to repair? Just need to figure whether or not I'll need to mortgage the house, lol. Oh yeah, also is that something that needs to be repaired ASAP or can it wait a few weeks??

Post by **jblackburn** » 11 May 2011, 07:23

Probably $250 or so. It's only listed as an hour of labor to install it; the part for my S70 ran around $120, and they will mark that price up. See if you can isolate which side of the car it is coming from; it's unusual for BOTH front wheel bearings to go bad at once.

As far as the high-beam switch, I don't know. It could be the switch or a bad headlight relay. Are you sure you've got the light switch itself in the "on" position? I've forgotten before that my running lights are always on, and have confused myself when the high beams wouldn't turn on.

The "regular maintenance" just means an oil change or a set service interval or something of the sort.

Cymerax · Post by **Cymerax** » 31 May 2011, 12:49

JB, I believe it is coming from just the left front wheel - thanks so much for the advice and I'll post the results from the repair job once it's a done deal.