Hey, I absolutely love Cartalk, and I listen to the show every week, and now I am having car issues of my own.
I have a 2000 Mustang Convertable, stick, roughly 110k miles on it. About 3 months ago, I noticed a vibration in my steering wheel when I would apply the breaks (I didn’t feel it too much in the pedal, but it was probably there too) So I thought to myself “Ok, warped rotary.”
So… I procrastinated a bit. (typical lol)
And now, I have this demonic “RRNNNNNN” sound, and it feels like the entire car is vibrating really rapidly. The sound starts off quietly, as do the vibrations, but as I increase in speed, the sound gets louder and the pitch oscillates higher, and the vibrations also get more violent. (the vibrations arn’t super bad, but think of a massage chair set to medium. About that much) The sound is VERY loud inside the cab of the car, although I’m not 100% but I think it might not be that loud outside of the car. (tested by rolling the window down and sticking my head out method)
So I recently replaced both front rotary, and the wheel twisting and turning stopped. That sound still remains.
One final thing, and this is what is kind of throwing me off. The loud RRRRNRNRNRNR as well as the vibrations completely stop if I turn my wheel to 11 o’clock and beyond. (or basically turn the wheel to the left) I don’t really notice it getting any louder or more severe in vibrations if I turn right. Going straight and turning right, i get the demonic RNRNRRN sound, left it is smooth sailing. Anyone have any ideas?
Bad front wheel bearing(s).
(Please don’t get me wrong, I am not disagreeing with you at all, but I have a general interest in how automobiles work)
Would that cause that really really bad vibration?
I mean what you say makes sense. With a warped rotary in for about 3ish months, and my tires going squirrely, then I can see that messing up the bearings.
How much are those to replace/repair? Can someone with somewhat of knowledge on how cars operate repair them (can redo brakes, minor under the hood things like an alternator) , does it require specialized tools to do? Could it be anything else as well? Just curious 
Since this is a RWD car, I am sure that NYBo is correct. If it was FWD, the CV joints would be a possibility, but your car does not have CV joints, so this symptom would certainly seem to indicate that your left front wheel bearing is bad.
Since it sounds like the bearing is very close to seizing up, I would strongly suggest that this car be driven VERY slowly to a competent mechanic for repair.
That is 2 people pretty convinced the problem sounds like a front wheel bearing so I am very much going to look into getting it repaired. Thank you guys for your help.
How much do you think something like this would cost to fix?
I had someone check out the bearings, and he said that the seal looked fine on it, and it didn’t look out of the ordinary. I am under the impression that it is also the bearings, but in case that isnt the ticket, what else could cause this?