Chrysler Repair: Brakes?, wheel bearings, cv joints

Question
Town and Country 2000
recently, a rubbing sound is coming from the area of the left front tire. It is deinitely related to revolution of the tire and seems to be louder when a turn is made or when braking. My first inclination was that the brakes needed changing, however, I would have expected more of a "squeaking" sound vs. "rubbing". I pulled the tire and nothing visibly is in the way. Also, the brake pads did not look grossly thin (although I do not regularly change brakes and would not necessarily know what to look for without removing the pad). I cannot duplicate the sound without being in motion. please let me know your opinion. thank you.  

Answer
The wearout warning "feelers" on the brake pads often make a rubbing sound rather than a squeal, and if the wheel bearings have a little play in them the sound may vary slightly when you turn the wheel.
If we set aside the brake pads as a possibility, the two remaining causes of noises related to rotation of the wheels is wheel bearings and cv-joints. And both of those will tend to be louder when turning than when going straight. The wheel bearing sound is a low pitched rumbling, while the cv is more of a grinding or clicking sound. You can pretty well eliminate the cv by checking the rubber boots that sourround the joints to keep grease in and dirt out. There are two of them per side, one inboard the other outboard. The outboard one is more likely to wear out its boot because it goes thru greater stress when turning the steering wheel. So take a look under the vehicle at the area just to the inside of the wheel housing where you will see the drive axle and the outer cv-boot. It is rubber and ribbed. See if it seems to be dry of grease and free of cracks or tears. Either of those would be a sign that the boot is torn and the grease is leaking out which leads to failure of the cv-joint if allowed to go on too long. If the boot seems ok, then wheel bearing would be the next possibility. If you jack up the car and turn the wheel by hand (trans in neutral) you may be able to hear a rumbling sound coming from the center of the wheel. Interestingly, to repair either one you need to remove the half axle nut and separate the axle from the wheel hub. Once that is done you can better assess the wheel bearing sound and also examine the cv-joint.
So there are a few ideas as how to differentiate the possibilites. It will take a little bit of effort to examine these parts but it is something you can do yourself. Repair depends upon having a set of tools and a manual to show you how to do it. Let me know of your observations and any questions that come forward.
Roland