Uh oh, car troubles

[disneydave2003]

my car has been making a sound when turning and sometimes when going over bumps. this is going to sound weird but it sounds like something is rusted. i've also been noticing that my tires seem to be wearing quickly on the outer edges and i have to put air in them often. i just bought new tires in the end of december and have had them checked twice. could whatever this rusty turning sound is be causing the tire problems?

my mechanic is on vaca until next week but i'm curious as to what the problem might be. i don't want to be shocked when i bring it in. any mechanics out there with an idea of what might be going on? the car is a 2002 ford escape with a little over 120k miles on it.

[disneydave2003]

any thoughts?

[Nelfamily]

From the sounds of the outter part of the tire being worn it sounds like your camber is out and you need an alignment. Have you hit a pot hole or someother road hazard hard recently? The rusty sound, could it be a grinding or popping sound? My first thought is since it happens when you turn is your rack and pinion but it might be a CV joint too. Can you look in your wheel wells and see if the CV joint, on which ever side you hear the sound coming from, and see if you may have a rubber boot torn on the CV? If you lose the grease out of your CV boot due to a tear your needle bearings can make a grinding or popping noise because they aren't getting lubed.

I'm an aircraft mechanic and pilot by trade and I don't do much work on cars so this is just a couple of thoughts on what your problem might be. Hope it helps.

[LuvOrlando]

I had something like this happen recently. There are bolts that hold the engine in place and one of them had snapped, very dangerous. I'd take it in to a shop asking them to please take a look and tell you if its safe to drive. Many places will do this with an oil change for $20.

[Trish Bessette]

Sounds like you need an alignment

[sbell111]

You definitely need an alignment. The rusty scrapy noise while turning might be a CV joint. It might also be the first sign of brake pads needing to be changed. If it is a CV joint, you will probably be able to spot a torn boot. CV joints generally don't go bad unless the boot gets torn.

If it is brake pads, you should be able to see that they are mostly worn away. Another way to know is as follows:

The brake pads will make the scrapy noise initially while making a slow tight turn. If you apply the brakes while it is making the noise and the noise immediately goes away, it's the brake pads.

During the tight turn, your brake caliper is actually twisting slightly. The noise happens because there is a thin piece of metal on the pads that cahtters when the pads become too thin and needs to be replaced. It first makes noise while turning, next it briefly 'chatters' when brakes are applied. As the pads continue to wear from this point, they will begin making a horrible grindy noise when the brakes are applied. This is because they are grinding away your rotor. Don't wait until it gets this bad.

[disneydave2003]

thanks for the replies everyone.

this isn't looking good. looks like any of these repairs are $$$$$$ to fix.

[irishbosoxfan]

Originally Posted by disneydave2003

thanks for the replies everyone.

this isn't looking good. looks like any of these repairs are $$$$$$ to fix.

I had to replace the boot on an old car I had--94 Tempo--and I went to Autozone and grabbed the kit for about $20 and it had the boot,different size clamps and grease in it. Now I will say I had to do it twice because when I put the first one on I didn't clamp it tight enough and it got twisted. But the job was easy enough and didn't take long at all.

[disneydave2003]

well I was able to get an appt. for saturday morning. wish me luck.

[Ohiodislover]

I agree with the alignment

Make sure you have enough power steering fluid. That could be the reason for the noise when turning. The fluid might be a quick fix. Then make sure you don't have a leak.

Good luck! Car repairs suck