Cause of this Sound???

[Gawa]

Hi Guys,
I have an '89 Camry which is making a strange sound and I'd love to know what is causing it It's a low pitched whine under power, it subsides when you take your foot off the gas and disappears when you turn to the right, a lot louder when turning left.

Originally thought it was the tranny until I noticed the difference when turning and am now thinking something suspension/axle/bearing related, passenger tire is also wearing more on the outside than inside. Front was balanced a little while ago and the drivers side strut replaced when I purchased the car about a year ago, was damaged, wife has been driving it since then and just turns the radio up louder to 'fix' the problem

Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem, and how they resolved it, just going back to college and don't have a lot of money to spend diagnosing the issue

Thanks for your help.

[WhippinCamry]

sounds to me like a power steering pump. or the steering rack is bad or going bad.
sorry no one got to you. i hate when people dont say anything on here.

have you checked your power steering fluid? if its kinda low. try some lucas power steering additive or something like it. might quite it down for a while.

[Gawa]

Thanks Whippin, I went ahead and replaced all the struts and strut mounts, needed changed anyway, and replaced a wheel bearing passenger side which looked very worn but alas the noise remained. After all of that had it aligned and now driving straight, steering lines up, after making a turn, either direction, the steering wheel is 'off' in whichever direction the turn was

Concluded the rack is shot and needs replaced. So that is what is on the list next.... really appreciate the reply, didn't think I was going to get one.

[Gawa]

Update :-

Just in case anyone stumbles across this post and has the same issue it seems the drivers side wheel bearing / hub was the problem.

I replaced the steering rack and the sound remained so I went ahead and changed out the Hub and bearing and the sound has gone.

Aligned and running like a dream..... just turned 180,00 miles and hopefully she'll be good for a lot more.

[white90dx]

Sorry I missed this one the first time around. From the description, it is fairly clear it was a wheel bearing.

Low power steering (and some pump problems) sounds more like a mooing cow.

-Charlie