I just bought a 1996 Dodge Dakota, and it has a right pulling problem. I just got done jacking up the front end, and i tried rotating the tire on the passenger side. The tire would not move. Since i am going to be soon tearing this vehicle apart could the wheel bearings be siezed, or does it sound like a stuck caliper?
I would go with the brake problem first. Bang around on the caliper casting and maybe it will unseize the pads. Bearings are immersed in grease and rarely cause a problem.
The caliper pins could be seized not letting the caliper release completely.
Oh yeah! Or a stuck caliper even. There are quite a few things that would cause that, but a wheel bearing is a very real possibility
Like some of the previous posters have suggested I would guess a brake caliper problem. Pins not allowing the caliper to move freely will cause your brakes to drag are a more common problem than wheel bearings seizing. A wheel bearing would make a heck of a racket to get to the point it was hot enough to melt/seize up on a spindle.
It is likely a stuck brake caliper. You may have to knock the caliper off with a hammer after removing the bolts. Seized wheel bearings will make one h*ll of a racket. I have had wheel bearings seize before, but it locked up the front wheel while driving. I had to split the bearing race with a grinder and a chisel to get it off the spindle. It did not weld itself to the spindle however. The rollers in the bearing got wedged in the hub locking the wheel. I was able to reuse the spindle after replacing the bearings.
