'07 Grand Caravan howling in a turn

Our Caravan is making a loud howling noise when turning. This seems to happen only when making a moderately tight turn at 25 to 35 mph. The noise is most often heard when turning left. It does not make this noise at any other time. The thing really screams when we are in a traffic circle.

Have you checked to make sure the power steering fluid is filled to the proper level? If not, only add the exact type of fluid the owner’s manual specifies.

I have not checked the fluid. Never thought of that. It sounds so much like a wheel/strut/mechanical harmonic that I did not think the fluid would be an issue. I will check it this evening.

I finally checked the PS fluid. It is fine.

Did you inspect the wheel wells for something like a loose splash shield? Look in there and at the inside of the tire for signs of rubbing.

If you find no evidence of that I’d suspect a bad passenger side wheel bearing.

I checked inside the wheel wells last night. In fact I took the tires off and looked around. I suspected that it might be the strut supports that come off of the wheel, but I could not find anything obvious. I thought about the wheel bearing but did not have time to take it apart and look at it.

Could the Wheel bearings make such a high piched noise? This thing hums like someone rubbing thier finger around the lip of a crystal glass. I would expect more of a grinding, scratching or shrill metal sound with bearings.

I also checked the rear wheels and did not see anything.

Don’t take the bearings apart to inspect them - you probably can’t anyway as these are probably sealed in the hub units. Jack it up/support it properly; grasp the wheel at the edges and jiggle it back & forth. There should be no play at all. (If there is then you also need to look at tie rods and ball joints). Put it in neutral and spin the wheels while you listen - there should be no rough or grinding sound. Also spin the wheel while you hold on to the spring and feel for vibration. Even that might not identify a bad wheel bearing.

Of course, I don’t think that a high pitched sound such as you describe is the most common kind of noise for a bad bearing. But other than interference in the wheel well that’s still my best guess.