Ever Lost a Caliper Bolt at 50mph??

[Wallknight]

Doing 50 down the road, the "usual" noises, suddenly, a loud bang, then the front left tire froze up. From the way it sounded, I thought I'd lost a flex disc. I could go in reverse, and forward only as long as i didnt tap the brakes or hit a bump. Limped back home to find that one of my front brake caliper bolts had fallen out! This made it possible for the pads to engage and seize everything up, sort of like a drum brake. Not fun. Amazingly, I was able to go back to the scene and find the old bolt sitting there in the road.
Anyway, the moral of the story, Make Sure Your Brake Bolts are Tightened To Spec!

By the way, with them now tight, the banging under my left foot which I was sure was a track rod mount, disappeared. It also took away most of the pull to that side I'd assumed was an alignment issue.