front wheel strange, loud sound

Wheel bearings or loose brake caliper

CV joints begin with a gentle click when the steering wheel is turned full lock, such as during a U-turn, or after pulling out of a parking space.

Growling starts out when the bearing gets warm, as in after a few miles. As it gets worse, it'll growl all of the time. In any case, it sounds like you have a clue what is wrong, so you need to get the car to a mechanic, or buy a friend that knows cars well a 6-pack of his favorite beer, and have him (or her) take a look at the car.

The good news is that the suspected bearing and the CV joint are near each other, and the labor difference isn't huge.

What Ray said.

There is, however, a pretty big difference in the price of a set of wheel bearings and a CV joint. Wheel bearings are a lot less.

That's certainly true.

I don't think he is hearing the CV joint though, and if he is then he's way past the gentle clicking when the steering wheel is turned full lock. He never mentioned the clicking, so my guess is the wheel bearings. The labor rate is about the same, no matter which he needs, so the price difference is Parts.

Thanks for your help. Do you think a mechanically inclined person could replace the wheel bearings? Also, are these the parts you are talking about:

Thanks

Thanks for your help. Sounds like the ball joint to me. Do you think I, as a mechanically-inclined-but-not-so-much-in-car-repair person could replace this? Also, is this the part you are talking about:

This is a picture of a ball joint. Someone with automotive knowledge should be able to replace the wheel bearings.

Ball joints are not hard to replace but some models may need an alignment after replacement.

Yes, a mechanically inclined person can easily replace the wheel bearings. My guess is that youare not mechanically inclined, you posted ball joints, which have nothing to do with your problem. You might need ball joints, don't get me wrong. But, you did not describe a ball joint problem, and ball joints will not cause the problem you described.

As for the ball joints them selves, often, only one of them needs to be replaced because it is a load bearing part, the other one simply holds the other axis in line. Which needs to be replaced can be determined by the structure of the suspension.

Sorry, I meant wheel bearings, not ball joints. Thanks for all your help. I'll try to figure out if I can do (believe it or not I am mechanically inclined) or pay for it to be done.

Without doing any research as to whether they are the correct ones or not, yes, this link shows bearings.

If you are mechanically inclined and have access to a repair manual and tools, you can change the bearings.

Thanks again, you guys are great.

Independent Toyota dealer looked at it and said I need a hub and bearings. $386 estimate. Sound right?

Depending on what prevailing labor rates are where you are, yes.