I was barrelling down the highway and had to battle with the steering wheel a bit, and figured I just needed a wheel alignment. After getting back into the city, I drove again that night and all of a sudden my drivers side front brake (I assume brake, maybe wheel bearing?)began making a hideous squeal at all times, even when brake is not applied. Do you figure the caliper is stuck? Might it be a wheel bearing too? I am a bit chapped because driving it is out of the question, and I hate how tow truck drivers treat your car, but I need to get the thing home. Right now it is parked on a main drag, so working on the drivers side while on the street is a really bad idea, heh.

Yeah, they can stick if they're not in too good of shape.

But there is only one way to find out, really, which is to pull it apart. But when you jack the thing up, you can grab the top and the bottom of the tire and try to wiggle it. If you can feel some play, the bearings are gone. If not, it's most likely a brake problem.

Yes, they just seize up.
Get it out of the road first. Get it into a parking lot.

And like Matt says, the only way to know is to yank the wheel off. If the rotor won't turn and it looks burnt or glazed, the caliper is probably the cause. Verify it by pulling the other wheel off and seeing if the rotor will spin freely or not. If it's the caliper, pull it off and use a large C-clamp to compress the caliper piston and make sure it moves. Have someone press VERY lightly and slowly on the brake pedal and watch the piston. Look at the rubber seal around it to see if it's ripped or dried out.
Calipers can be rebuilt very inexpensively.

Pop the caliper off and yank the rotor. You'll know instantly if it's a bearing if you can't get them off and they're dry. Bring some bearing grease with you, buy new bearings and replace them right there to get the car home. Hopefully the spindle surface isn't damaged.

Thanks for the quick replies. To get the thing into a parking lot, I will have to drive about 3 blocks, since it is on the side of the road on a bit of a freeway. I don't want to risk damaging the rotor anymore that it already has been, and the noise this thing makes is unbearable. It sounds like a donkey slowly getting crushed by a steam roller, so i am sure some bad stuff is happening when the wheel turns. I guess I have no real choice but to get it towed *sigh* .

This sounds more like a bearing noise, See if you can move the wheel top in and out on the ground, just my 2 cents.

Well, I got the wheel off, and bugger me if the whole noisy problem wasn't caused by a pepple that got lodged in the wheel. Man, what a relief, I need to leave town on Friday!

Ha! That's hilarious. All that trouble for a stupid rock. :D :D

Where in the wheel was it lodged?

Between the outer end of the caliper and the actual rim. It was scraping along the rim, and making the most hideous noise I have ever heard in my life, heheh. No damage, no cost to fix, so I am pleased.

ROFL!!
:D

That is funny! I can't believe a rock got caught there! Hope they weren't nice wheels and it dug a groove all the way around the rim.

I JUST LOVE A HAPPY ENDING graemlins/waving.gif