Had something kind of scary happen today. I was cruising down the highway in my 2000 F150. I lightly applied the breaks to slow down for an upcoming turn, and all hell broke loose. Lots of grinding and squealing sounds coming from the front end. So I immediately slowed down to find a good spot to pull off the road. Just as I was turning into a driveway I felt the right front of the pickup fall down on the ground. I assumed my wheel fell off. When I got out, this is what I found...
From what I can see, the lower caliper bolt fell out. I think when if fell, the wheel flipped it up and wedged it between the caliper and the wheel. The bolt acted as a pizza cutter and cut the wheel in half as it turned. I think the bolt must have initially hit with enough force to put a hole in the wheel and started a crack. I'm just glad the wheel didn't split while I was doing 60mph.