93 Accord EX - Screeching

The car in question is a 1993 Accord EX with 160K. Today while driving
home I started to hear a very loud metal-on-metal type screeching.
This did not start until I was out of the parking lot and had gone a
hundred yards or so. When I pulled over it stopped completely.

I turned onto a side street (screeching while I went) and walked around
the car to see if anything was dragging, but nothing was. I turned the
car around and drove home (less than a mile on a 30 mph road) with no
further screeching.

I read old posts about the distributor making a noise like that, but
this seemed like it came from one of the bottom wheel areas, and it
stopped when I stopped moving. Somebody mentioned a rock getting
caught up in the brake pad, which would make sense as after I turned
the car around it might have dislodged.

I have to get it inspected soon anyway, but is there anything serious I
should be worried about? I will probably have to drive ~20 miles on
Saturday before I'll have a chance to go to a garage, unless it's very
serious.

Thanks...

 

could be a slipping belt, too.

 

The metal on metal sound suggests to me a worn wheel bearing.

 

The squeakers are telling you that you need front brake pads, ignore it
for awhile and you can throw in rotors.

 

I should have added that 20 miles should be no problem, usually you can
do a few hundred - the squeaker is a warning to take care of it soon.