New front end noise, Please Help!!

I have a 2005 Toyota Tacoma regular cab. It has the 2.7L engine. It is a 4x4 as well. The problem I have been having is that their is a hum or vibration in the front passenger side wheel. I am a bit stumped as what it could be. The noise does not go away in 4wd. The noise seems to start around 45 mph as a rm rm rm rm sound then evens out to a constant rrrrrmmmmmmm. It seems that when the truck warms up it isn't as bad. It does it more on some corners. I jacked the truck up in the air and spun the wheel and it doesn't make much noise at all. There is also no free play in the wheel. Their is an uneven scrape sound though from the wheel. There also appears to be some light grooves in the rotor. I have smelled a burning brake smell randomly but it always went away in a few seconds. That is just with driving and the brakes not pushed in. Does it seem like it could be a brake rotor or wheel bearing? I am a bit stumped. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Sounds like a classic wheel bearing issue to me, if it was a sticking caliper it would probably pull to that side and the rotor would be red hot when stopped.

 

I thought it was a wheel bearing too but I noticed latley when the vibration is the worst when I step on the break it has a squeaking noise. It doesn't do it all the time though. The squeaking is only after a lot of driving. Could it still be the wheel bearing? I am just trying to get some ideas before I take it to a shop for an estimate.

 

They aren't the original brakes. They have been changed. I do know what a brake squeaker is but this is random times. When the brakes are bad I thought the squeakers were constant all the time. If the wheel bearing is bad would there be enough free play to mess with the brakes? Maybe that is where I am getting confused.

 

Ok, thanx for the help. I checked for play and there was none. And when you spin the wheel there isn't any strange noise. I will check after driving like you said.

 

What bothers me about the squeaking is that it doesn't do it all the time even with the brake pressed. Its more random then anything.

 

Is it a high pitch hum or a low pitch hum?

I am not familar with the tacomas calipers -- haven't had to mess with mine yet. I'd check to see it the metal backing plates that are attached to the actual pad material is not sticking in the caliper guide channels. One way to check this is spray down with brake cleaner and see if it stops. If it doesn't it still may be a sticking issue which would require some lubricant. Make sure you don't get any on the pads or roters. Also some brake designs have a guide pin which aligns the pads when the come together. Those too should be cleaned and lubricated with a high temp antiseize