98 corolla front end grinding - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

carlos923 · 01-20-2012, 05:09 PM

front end grinding sound when steering wheel is turned left or right. car can be parked or moving. no grinding when car is on jacks and steering wheel is turned, with or without engine running. also grinding sound seems to be coming from passenger side of engine. thanks for any help.

fishexpo101 · 01-20-2012, 05:38 PM

Does this every time you turn the wheel or only sometimes? Tried rotating the tires and see if they still do this? Could be a simple as a screw or similar stuck in the tire.

Otherwise, grinding noise under those conditions - could be anything from a loose or damage tie-rod end, play in steering rack, or loose suspension (strut assembly, rotted bushings). Because the noise is eliminated when the front end is unloaded (in the air) - I'd suspect the tie-rod ends or bad upper strut mounts. If those look out, start expanding the search outwards from those components.

carlos923 · 01-20-2012, 05:49 PM

anytime the steering wheel is turned. (only an inch or 2). checked the tires, brakes, rotors. all fine. i will check the items you have suggested.

leakyseals · 01-20-2012, 06:05 PM

Wouldnt hurt to swap the PS fluid, maybe get lucky. Its really easy to do. Also, intermediate steering shafts are an issue with other Toyota's. Listen under and around the steering wheel for squeaks or popping sounds. Could be that.

irbryanxp · 01-20-2012, 06:27 PM

I had this problem and it ended up being the rack

not a cheap repair! Check to see if your power steering level is low and then take a look to see if its leaking. If it is you may have already done damage to the rack

leakyseals · 01-20-2012, 07:33 PM

well changing the PS fluid helps the rack thats for sure, maybe you get lucky its easy to do takes 5 mins

carlos923 · 01-22-2012, 03:41 PM

had tired eyes, completely missed the problem. was the power steering pump. had no idea they could sound so bad.