Strange wheel noise... HELP!

Ok so earlier this week I had a buddy riding with me and we had the windows down and he hears this scraping noise coming from the front passenger wheel well. I heard it too... Sounds like the noise is in rotation with the wheel but not in every revolution. My truck just hit 100k miles so I start examining the wheel... First thought was wheel bearings going out. So I replaced both front wheel bearings and rotors while I was at it... Didn't fix the problem. I heard the dust shield sometimes get bent checked that to no avail. Then I realize one of the pistons on the caliper is kinda sticking... Replaced the caliper... The noise is still there. The next thing I thought of was maybe the wheel got bent slightly so I rotated to the rear... Same noise from the front. I'm lost at this point... I have no clue where else to look... I'm starting to think its not the wheel... Would any suspension components make the noise I described? Anybody have any ideas? By the way it is a 2005 2wd prerunner.

 

is it a scrape or is more like a squeak? lol

The reason being if its a squeak it could be suspension components.

 

I believe it's more of a scrape... But after 4 days straight of pullin this wheel apart and reassembling my ears could be hearing things lol... I looked over all the joints in the suspension... All the boots looked good... I know that doesn't mean the parts are good but what gets me is the noise is in rotation

 

Check slave cylinder and make sure it doesn't leak or sticks.

 

Can you duplicate the sound... spinning the tire while truck is jacked up? Or does it only grind under load?

 

ill look at the slave but i dont think its leaking... the slave is attached to the tranny right?

no i cannot duplicate the noise... idk if its because i can not spin the wheel fast enough or if its only under load

 

No, break master cylinder is under the hood and there is one slave at each wheel. Slave is what pushes your break pads, if it's sticking, your break pads are not fully releasing, which would cause them to rub against the rotor and make noise when wheel is rotated.

 

subbed for results, good luck op!

 

ok gotcha.. i was thinking of the clutch slave... where is the slaves on each wheel? i did notice before i replaced the caliper the wheel with the issue smelled like i was braking real hard but i havent had time to recheck it since the replacement

 

Slave= Caliper.

 

OP has replaced the caliper

 

As Boone indicated as well, they are not called "slave cylinders" in the brake system. On a disc brake system the correct term is "caliper" and on a drum system the correct word is "wheel cylinder".

OP, since the noise seems to be a rotational one, checking all points of rotation as you have been doing is the right direction. Next time you drive it see if the noise changes based on steering angle. Also check for anything like a brake line that could be making contact with the wheel, or anything else.

 

Ok ill do that. I did notice the noise is not audible under 25 mph and i cannot hear it over 40 but that may be the road noise drowning it out... i have never realized if it does it during turns i will check that next time im in the truck. The tolerances on the truck are very tight so ive looked for anything hitting the wheel/rotor area with no luck. I do have a 1/4 inch wheel spacer so that the wheel will clear the caliper, but iver never had a problem with them before and ive had the truck since 07. could the spacer cause any issues?