For a few weeks now I'm getting a whirring noise when I go round lefthand corners. There is no noise when going straight or on right hand corners. Went to a garage they said were not sure but I know the road they use for test drives and there's no left hand corners!

I took off front right wheel yesterday and to my uneducated eye everything looked fine, nothing seemed loose and nothing was rubbing on tyre. 

Anyone any ideas, there is DEFINITELY a noise and it's getting worse, could it be the bushes? If so can a home mechanic replace these? Thanks

wheel bearing

cv joint

 

Wheel Bearing-  Garage told me if Bearing would hear sound all the time, right corners and left corners and straights etc

cv joint-  don't know what that is? I'm a home mechanic oil, filters, pads etc so no idea what a cv joint is? But I'd like to know cause with my Haynes manual I'd say I could sort it, as long as professional equipment isn't required 

You wouldn't necessarily hear the wheel bearing failing all the time. Sometimes the noise only happens when you put load on that side of the car by cornering fast.

 CV - constant velocity joint, also known as universal joints. Your socket set probably came with one to get into tight places. Basically allows your wheels to move up and down (uneven road surfaces etc.) whilst the gearbox stays in the same place. 

10 hours ago, spagball said:

few weeks now I'm getting a whirring noise when I go round lefthand corners. There is no noise when going straight or on right hand corners.

CV noise is usually worst on full lock like parking and slow maneuvering, not in normal driving

Wheel bearing noise on these cars is usually, like the garage says, almost constant. I had a droning that was very speed dependant, about 50mph regardless of gear (or out of gear), it got slowly worse over a wider range of speeds, until it finally became appreciably corner dependant, so I had some chance of guessing which side it was on.

But it depends just where the pitting or damage in the bearing is. So it is quite possible that it is a bearing, most likely driver's side but not guaranteed. There will probably be no indication at all when turning the hub by hand. It needs the right force and speed to get the noise, the roughness in the bearing is tiny. I have tested one of my failed bearings by spinning it on a lathe, and could just detect the roughness by pressing in one direction while it turned. (Both failed about 12 months apart).

The amount of damage to make it drone is minute, and develops very slowly. On my car It took about 4 months for it to develop to a stage where I, or a garage, could safely identify it. So if the noise is minor, I would monitor it and take various advice until there is a good basis to make a decision. Replacing a front bearing on a Focus is not easy or cheap!

 

 

Thanks for replys great info there, and you describe it better than me it is a 'drone' not a whirring!  I think it has to be a bearing, it is loud enough now for anyone to hear not just the daily driver (me) Again no knowledge of this but surely the longer its left and not fixed the more likelihood that it will effect stuff around it?

I've decided to go back to Garage tomorrow. Will let you know what they think. What can I expect to pay to get the Bearing sorted? I try to do stuff myself cause think local garage charges too much but I need a professional to do a Bearing Wouldn't have a clue!

1 hour ago, spagball said:

 What can I expect to pay to get the Bearing sorted? I try to do stuff myself cause think local garage charges too much but I need a professional to do a Bearing Wouldn't have a clue!

I paid between £200 & £230 per bearing, inc VAT, to a local(ish), reliable independent garage. It seemed fair to me, considering the amount of work. Also because of that work, they would not fit a cheap bearing of unknown make, but went for a mid-priced one. of a type they had used before. Ebay sell the bearing & hub assy for under £30, but these were about £80 I think.

Driveshafts were well rusted in, as were other parts. A special jig & hydraulic press is needed to remove and fit the bearing. If done wrongly, like any of the fitting force goes through the bearing races, it will be ruined for certain.  Also it is very easy to damage the ABS sensor or ring (if fitted). So the garage must be good, ideally experienced in Focus bearings. The garage I went to was not the closest, but had been recommended by a friend who had similar modern sealed unit bearings done by them. So if in any doubt, try another garage, even if it means traveling a bit.

Also by using an experienced garage, hopefully they can check and rule out the intermediate drive shaft bearing (unlikely to be this as this bearing does not see cornering forces), and driveshafts. Again, I am not aware of driveshafts droning on corners, but then I am no expert! I just know that the front wheel bearing can do exactly that.

16 hours ago, Tdci-Peter said:

I paid between £200 & £230 per bearing, inc VAT, to a local(ish), reliable independent garage. It seemed fair to me, considering the amount of work. Also because of that work, they would not fit a cheap bearing of unknown make, but went for a mid-priced one. of a type they had used before. Ebay sell the bearing & hub assy for under £30, but these were about £80 I think.

Driveshafts were well rusted in, as were other parts. A special jig & hydraulic press is needed to remove and fit the bearing. If done wrongly, like any of the fitting force goes through the bearing races, it will be ruined for certain.  Also it is very easy to damage the ABS sensor or ring (if fitted). So the garage must be good, ideally experienced in Focus bearings. The garage I went to was not the closest, but had been recommended by a friend who had similar modern sealed unit bearings done by them. So if in any doubt, try another garage, even if it means traveling a bit.

Also by using an experienced garage, hopefully they can check and rule out the intermediate drive shaft bearing (unlikely to be this as this bearing does not see cornering forces), and driveshafts. Again, I am not aware of driveshafts droning on corners, but then I am no expert! I just know that the front wheel bearing can do exactly that.

When either of the front wheel bearings on my MK2 Focus started to wear out I also got the "droning" noise and a subtle "knocking" when cornering at speed.  (They failed at different times).

19 hours ago, Tdci-Peter said:

I paid between £200 & £230 per bearing, inc VAT, to a local(ish), reliable independent garage. It seemed fair to me, considering the amount of work. Also because of that work, they would not fit a cheap bearing of unknown make, but went for a mid-priced one. of a type they had used before. Ebay sell the bearing & hub assy for under £30, but these were about £80 I think.

Driveshafts were well rusted in, as were other parts. A special jig & hydraulic press is needed to remove and fit the bearing. If done wrongly, like any of the fitting force goes through the bearing races, it will be ruined for certain.  Also it is very easy to damage the ABS sensor or ring (if fitted). So the garage must be good, ideally experienced in Focus bearings. The garage I went to was not the closest, but had been recommended by a friend who had similar modern sealed unit bearings done by them. So if in any doubt, try another garage, even if it means traveling a bit.

Also by using an experienced garage, hopefully they can check and rule out the intermediate drive shaft bearing (unlikely to be this as this bearing does not see cornering forces), and driveshafts. Again, I am not aware of driveshafts droning on corners, but then I am no expert! I just know that the front wheel bearing can do exactly that.

mine had intermediate bearing and rear wheel bearing on one side at 115k, both front wheel bearings still going at 140k

So now all sorted went to Garage told it was a bearing and would cost around £120 to fix which obviously I'm very happy about Thanks for all the helpful posts