So randomly, one day, I go to drive the wagon and then I brake coming up to a stoplight, and the front passenger wheel is making a grinding noise as the wheel turns it get stronger almost like there's a high spot on the rotor, then it locks up here and there, but the rotors and pads are new - less than 250 miles on them - and brakes have been bled

Your wheel bearings are shot, the hub nut (big 36mm hopefully with a cotter pin) is loose, or both. Jack up the wheel, release the e-brake, grab the wheel top and bottom, and wiggle. If the whole axle wiggles, including the cv joint cup, your wheel bearings are bad. If just the drive flange wiggles on the axle, your hub nut is loose. Remove cotter pin, put tranny in 1st, tighten until engine starts to turn, put e-brake on, tighten until e-brake slips, lower down, tighten really bloody tight (150ftlbs), keep tightening until cotter pin goes back in. This multi-step tightening process is to make sure the drive flange ends up centered on the shaft and bearings - if you just crank it down with weight on the wheel, I've had them end up crooked. Edit: Another thing I've seen is your caliper has come loose (bottom bolt backed out) and is rubbing on the wheel, but that usually causes loud clunks and occasional lockups, not grinding and occasional lockups.

Edited 22 hours ago22 hr by bushytails

16 hours ago, bushytails said:

Your wheel bearings are shot, the hub nut (big 36mm hopefully with a cotter pin) is loose, or both. Jack up the wheel, release the e-brake, grab the wheel top and bottom, and wiggle. If the whole axle wiggles, including the cv joint cup, your wheel bearings are bad. If just the drive flange wiggles on the axle, your hub nut is loose. Remove cotter pin, put tranny in 1st, tighten until engine starts to turn, put e-brake on, tighten until e-brake slips, lower down, tighten really bloody tight (150ftlbs), keep tightening until cotter pin goes back in. This multi-step tightening process is to make sure the drive flange ends up centered on the shaft and bearings - if you just crank it down with weight on the wheel, I've had them end up crooked. Edit: Another thing I've seen is your caliper has come loose (bottom bolt backed out) and is rubbing on the wheel, but that usually causes loud clunks and occasional lockups, not grinding and occasional lockups.

I Put a feeler gauge in the conical washer, there is an uneven gap. Fixed it. Checked the bolt holding the caliper on the bottom, the bolt was half sheared which kept the caliper at halfway open but not fully loose

And did it fix the problem?

1 hour ago, bushytails said:

And did it fix the problem?

It has, still a light grinding sound, definitely from the 230k mile old wheel bearings, but no locking up

yay! :)