Pulled into the supermarket and heard a "ticking" like hot metal or something from the right front wheel well. Decided to investigate quickly and found the rim hot to the touch. Not so hot it'll burn you, but hotter than I imagine it should be.

Immediately checked the various parts with my index finger (yeah, I'm not too smart). Caliper and rotor were both hot as well, although they didn't seem as hot as the rim surprisingly (I only use the tip of my finger, and it's less sensitive to heat than the rest of the hand...).

I know that caliper (front passenger) is bad (doesn't clamp fully, car pulls left when breaking) and am planning to replace it next week with a remanu from fcpgroton. My questions are:

1) Is this a sticking caliper or caliper issue, or is it something in the hub assembly like a ball joint, etc.?

2) Is there a "trick" to freeing up a sticking caliper? Swift smack with a screwdriver hammer combination? Mash the pedal a few times to make it move?

3) When does a rotor warp? Is it a question of overall temperature, or is it a question of hot/cold cycles building up to warping?

The pads and rotors are all new, so I'm kinda hoping I can get to next week with minimal driving without warping my new rotor... something similar to this happened with the last rotor, and I'm going to be really pissed if I have to drive another 50k+ with a damned squeak.

Thanks in advance for any help.

-rt