even though i changed bearings in the rear, im still hearing a grinding from the rear wheels like the brakes is applied, maybe this could be my infamous missing 3mpgs?

 

Did you check your brake pads and rotors to see if they are worn out?

 

Jack the back of the car up and put it in neutral park brake off. (a) Can you turn the tire by hand? Have a friend stomp the brake so you cannot turn the tire. Have your friend release the brake. (b)Can you turn the tire by hand? If both answers are No You could have a caliper or park brake issue. If your answer is (a)yes (b)no then you caliper is hanging up. If both answers are Yes you most likely do not have a caliper hanging up.
Can you turn the tire by hand would mean a average guy not straining can turn it but there is resistance. Now if you are grunting and getting welts on your hands but it turns, that would count as “Not Turning”.
If it’s a wheel bearing you should heard the sound change as you weave the car while driving. Wheel bearing will get much louder as the car leans more weight on it and much quieter as the weight leans off the bad bearing.

 

new pads and rotors and bearings... will try that test in the morning

 

Have you checked your slide pins?

 

yep i put extra grease back on them when i was putting back on the brakes.

I spun the wheels- driver side as soon as i let go it stops, passenger side when i spin and let go, it goes about one rotation by it self, no friends around to do the other test yet , but its looking like one side it biting so far

 

Calipers, by design, do not completely release. The fact one tire is a little more "free" then the other one is not, by itself, enough to be sure a calper is not releasing.

The other thing I fail to tell you is that a growling noise is not a normal syptom of a frozen caliper. Lightly apply your brakes, That is what a frozen caliper sounds like. Most of the time when a frozen caliper shows up at the shop its because it wore the brake pad out on one side or the customer complains about the car pulling.

If the noise does not chance when you weave the car you should play with the park brake and see if you can change it. Does it change with brakeing at all? If it has anything to do with the brakes I would think the noise would change alot when the brakes are applied. If it does not it is starting to sound like a differential or pinion bearing. Is there anything you can do that will change the noise?

 

if a caliper isnt releasing enough and the pads are dragging on the rotor that wheel will be a lot warmer after a drive around town

 

not really, the noise seems to be consistent wether or not im on the brake pedal. if it has any relevance, when i first got the car the pads were low to the point that you couldnt tell the part that makes contact and the part that sits in the pad housing/ bracket. the caliper piston was pretty much all the way. i do hear a very light brushing sound when the right wheel spins between the rotor and pad.

 

Sounds normal to me. If a piston extends too far it will pop out of its ring and drain your whole system of fliud. Anything less than that will not hurt it. If your rotor was damaged the new pad would make a growling noise as it wore into the shape of the rotor but that would not last long and it would get much louder when you hit the brakes.