Brakes Dust opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
The car is 1997 Taurus with a DOHC 24V V6 Duratec engine, with 108,000+
> miles. I have heard a grinding noise from what I believe is the right
> front wheel. The noise is more pronounced on right turns, but goes away
> completely on left turns and straight ahead. I believe it to be the
> wheel bearings. Took it to a shop for evaluation prior to having work
> done, only to have them call to say the problem is a disc rotor that has
> been damaged by pads left on too long, the bearings are fine and that a
> new set of disc rotors will fix the problem. A second shop said the
> problem is caused by a bad front wheel bearing. The sound is almost gone
> as speed reaches 60+ mph, there is no vibration, and the car does not
> wonder while driving or during breaking. There is no play in the hub.The
> difference between the first and second shop estimate is $470.00
> My question is, does a bad front wheel bearings sounds the same, better,
> or worse as speed increases, (I thought the sound got worse as speed
> increased.) What are the general symptoms when the front wheel bearings
> has started to go bad.
>
>
>
Brake rotor problems as you describe are USUALLY immediately evident on inspection. Bearing problems are tougher to prove.
ONE of those two shops is lying.... unless they say the bearings are bad in addition to the rotor.
Try a third.. it's hard to discern from what you can tell us.