I hear a "chirping"sound in the right front wheel of my '95 T/A(that goes away when I apply the brakes). I jacked up the r/f of the car and spun the tire and hear a "rubbing"sound one time per rev. Is it a caliper,bearing, or what? Thanks for any help! Larry

 

you most likely need new brakes

 

Thanks for responding to my thread Dave. However,I changed both front rotors and pads about a year ago. The light chirping sound went away for a few days and has been back ever since. Larry

 

some brakes just do that, it's the safety clip on the inside that rubs letting you know it's time for brakes, a bad alignment can sometimes set this off even if the brakes are only a few days old.

 

My first guess would be brakes as well. Even if they aren't that old, rotors can very easilly warp and be thrown slightly out of round. Enough to where that high spot can hit the pads. You are right that it could also be a bearing though. Here's what I would do. Jack the car up till the tire comes off the ground. Grab the tire and try and wobble it top and bottom or Right to left. If it's snug both ways, chances are your bearing is fine. Another test you could do would be to take the tire off, reinstall the lug nuts backwards so they clamp the rotor back to normal ride location. Now that the tire is gone, you can spin the hub and see where the noise is coming from. Or even take your brake pads out, reinstall the wheel and spin it and see if the noise is still there. Just some ideas.

Birchman also has a good point. Some brake systems are a little noisy. My old Grand Prix made some squealing noises like a safety clip whenever it was below a certain temperature, I think around 40 degrees. I thought my brakes were gone so I pulled the wheel off. Pads were fine so I had the rotors turned and it went away for about a week and then came back. The service writer for the Pontiac Dealer said that some noise is common and will not cause a problem.