2001 Toyota Echo, makes a grinding/dragging noise from front left side ONLY when turning left. Am thinking bad wheel bearing, or maybe a broken brake spring? Car had new pads put on about 10K ago, and bearings were checked then & were OK. Am I on the right track with my diagnosis, any suggestions would be helpful too. If wheel bearing, what is proceedure for removing / replacing it?

Possibly a broken wheel bearing. Have a mechanic check it out.

I think you have a defective wheel bearing.

Most likely cause is a bad wheel bearing. Possibly a bad rotor, especially if you haven't serviced the brakes in a good while.
If it's the wheel bearing, have both sides checked. It's a good time to replace both sides.
Good luck.

check the front wheel bearings. jack up each tire and see if it feels loose, if it does its a bearing problem. heres how I check for a bad wheel bearing.jackup car tire off the ground, get in car put e-brake on. start car. put foot on brake. put it in gear, and let it up very slow do not touch the gas. if its a bearing you will here it in the wheels. do the same on the other side of car. a bad wheel bearing will howl or grind. when wheels are turning.

If you still think the noise is coming from the left side CV joint it would be more advisable to replace the entire axle as an assembly. For the time and effort it takes, you can usually get a rebuilt axle assembly for only a few dollars more than the CV joint and the boot required to repair one. You will need a large axle nut socket (usually 30 - 32mm) to remove the axle nut. The lower ball joint and tie rod will need to be separated along with the brake caliper and rotor, from the spindle. I would recheck the grinding noise before doing it. A lot of wheel bearings are mistakenly diagnosed to the wrong side. If the noise is loudest when turning left, most people would assume the left side wheel bearing is at fault. However if the noise is loudest turning left it indicates the right side wheel bearing is most likely at fault. Due to the weight distribution of the front end, turning left the weight all transfers to the right side, loading that bearing. Make sure thats not the case before tackling an axle.

You either have a bad wheel bearing, or a bad brake pad. Does it do this only when you apply the brakes, or making turns, or is it continues. If its only while using the brakes, most likely the brake pads are worn. If it only does this while making turns, may be wheel bearing. Remove the front driver wheel and inspect the brake pad liners. check the thickness of the pads, make sure the pads are not metal to metal. to check the wheel bearing, while wheel is still on the car, put the front of car on jack stands, while wheel is off the ground spin the wheel and listen for any noise that sounds like the sound it was making while driving. If it makes this noise, you then can take a steel tube about 3 to 5 feet long, put it under the wheel and lift up and down on the wheel, and notice if it has any movement or play as you lift it up and down, if it moves, then likely its the wheel bearing.

On my car, it was a stuck brake caliper.

Check wheel bering for play if there is no play , it doesn't mean that bearing is NOT bad its can still be dry and would be making that grinding sound you described Also check axle and see if boot is broken. That may be your problem also make sure that rotors are not gouged/scraped up and pads are good.Contact if you need more help and thanks for using FIX YA

This sounds like the anti-rattle springs where left out of the brake calipers.

sounds like c/v axles (front drive shafts) they will make a clicking sound normally when turning sharp and accell at the same time at slow speeds / look at the axle boots and look for grease on the inside of the front wheels leaking out the axle boots