96 SL1 - Front Wheel Squeel

Just got a call from my 16 year old son who told me that he is hearing a
squeal coming from the front passenger side wheel/axle on his 1996 Saturn
SL1 sedan. The vehicle has 114K (mostly highway) miles and he is the second
owner (bought from a friend who did all regular maintenance).

I asked if the sound was related to applying the brakes and the answer was
"no". This coupled with the fact that I had looked at the brake pads when
we recently rotated the tires, makes me suspect that the problem is not with
the brakes (a sticking caliper would stop squealing when the brake was
applied).

Since this is a standard front wheel drive w/transaxle, there are no wheel
bearings that can be easily replaced, correct? I suspect that other owners
with higher mileage vehicles might have seen this before and could point me
to a possible root cause and give me some idea of the corrective action
required.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Bob

 

Bob,
When you checked the pads did you notice if the squeakers were touching the
rotors? its a piece of metal attached to the brake pads that make a
"screech" noise to let you know that the pads need to be replaced soon.

 

Good thought, but there was plenty of pad left on the brake disc so this was
not the cause. Any other ideas?

Bob