Car whirs/whines after hard acceleration on left turn

[Itchrelief]

Car: 2007 Ford Focus Sedan 2.0L

Problem is in the title. Most of the time, the car drives fine.

If I accelerate hard while making a left turn, however, the car tends to go into some sort of screwed up state where it makes a whine/whirring sound when moving (not while stopped).

It sounds somewhat like the noise cars make when in reverse gear, although I think I can feel a slight roughness/vibration in the steering wheel as it makes the noise (but I could be imagining).

The car stops making the sound after a while (usually after it's been parked for a few hours).

Only thing I can think of that may have caused this is I once went up on a curb with the front right wheel at a McDonald's drive-thru lane 2 years ago or so.

Any idea what this could be?

Thanks folks

Oh yeah, I know I probably should have taken this to a mechanic, but I don't like to make lefts unless there is a green arrow at the intersection, so the problem wasn't that big a deal to me most of the time. That plus I'm lazy.

 

[KIAman]

Sounds like your PS pump is staying engaged and the pressure has no where to go when you are going strait.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Car: 2007 Ford Focus Sedan 2.0L

Problem is in the title. Most of the time, the car drives fine.

If I accelerate hard while making a left turn, however, the car tends to go into some sort of screwed up state where it makes a whine/whirring sound when moving (not while stopped).

It sounds somewhat like the noise cars make when in reverse gear, although I think I can feel a slight roughness/vibration in the steering wheel as it makes the noise (but I could be imagining).

The car stops making the sound after a while (usually after it's been parked for a few hours).

Only thing I can think of that may have caused this is I once went up on a curb with the front right wheel at a McDonald's drive-thru lane 2 years ago or so.

Any idea what this could be?

Thanks folks

Oh yeah, I know I probably should have taken this to a mechanic, but I don't like to make lefts unless there is a green arrow at the intersection, so the problem wasn't that big a deal to me most of the time. That plus I'm lazy.

Perhaps one of your tires is rubbing the wheel well, or there is some other kind of interference around the wheel.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Perhaps one of your tires is rubbing the wheel well, or there is some other kind of interference around the wheel.

did you even read the post??

The car stops making the sound after a while(usually after it's been parked for a few hours).

How does the car perform after this starts happening?
Noticable power difference?
Steering stiffness?

 

[kornphlake]

It could be a CV joint or wheel bearing but that's usually more of a clicking or grinding noise, a problem with the power steering seems more likely. It looks like there could be a known problem with the focus and power steering. Have you checked the P/S fluid recently?

http://www.fordforums.com/f166/focus-power-steering-pump-problems-161498/

 

[Itchrelief]

How does the car perform after this starts happening?
Noticable power difference?
Steering stiffness?

I don't notice a huge power difference. If there's a power difference, it isn't of any greater magnitude than having the parking brake on a few clicks.

I don't notice much of a difference in the steering other than it seems to have a slight vibration when moving, like the engine is running slightly rough.

I am mostly preoccupied by the noise so I may not notice other things going on.

Power steering fluid is the color of maple syrup. I do not remember the original color but there don't seem to be particulates in it at least.

PS fluid level was half a centimeter low, which does not seem that far off, but then the reservoir doesn't seem very large, either.

Everyone thinks power steering, and it sounds a lot like that, perhaps a tad lower pitched at times (maybe almost a growling when going <5mph, but usually a whir at normal speeds), but roughly the same.

The noise doesn't happen when stopped, however, only when moving, which is why I'm confused. Power steering usually makes the noise when the wheel is turned regardless of vehicle movement, right? But I'm no gearhead by any stretch.

Thanks for the input guys, and also for the reminder to check the PS fluid level.

 

[kornphlake]

The power steering pump is driven by the fan belt, if it's a problem with the pump the noise may go away when the vehicle is stopped because the engine is at idle. Try shifting into neutral and rev the engine to see if the noise comes back, or when you hear the noise try shifting into neutral while rolling and rev the engine to see if the noise changes pitch with the engine's RPM.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Low PS fluid.