Can you help me figure out where this sound is coming from?

[Sean7]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone can listen to this here and tell me what they think is causing the sound? (almost sounds like metal rubbing or grinding?)

Sound clip here

The sound is coming from the front side of the car (to me it sounds like it's from the passenger side) and seems to only happen when I'm going above 10-15 mph and stops at much higher speeds (30+).

I haven't noticed any vibration or any change in the steering. I did have a minor leak from the steering rack which stopped after I used the stopleak.

My first guess was a loose or bent brake dust shield. I got under the car and touched it and it seems pretty solid with no movement. Should I jack up the car and take the wheel off to inspect the dust shield properly?

What do you think it may be (wheel bearing maybe?) and what tests should I perform to track down the issue?

Sorry for the long post. If it helps, this is a 2006 V8 with 168K miles on it.

 

[GreenMountainOwl]

Exhaust heat shield vibrating? To me it’s definitely a metal-on-metal sound.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Sounds rotational but you can never tell for sure. Removing the wheel and rotating the rotor should help determine if that’s the issue. If not, heat shield would be my next guess.

 

[Sean7]

Thank you both for the suggestions. Exhaust heat shield was not on my guess list but I'll definitely check it out.

I'm waiting for my new jack stands to arrive and then I'll be taking off the wheel to inspect farther as Bluesky 07 suggested.

I will update back soon