Tires: Tires, front brake caliper, ford f150 supercrew

Question
I have a 2001 Ford F150 Supercrew with 35,000 miles. It is a four wheel drive with the original Goodyear RTS tires on it. The right front brake caliper bolt disappeared while my wife was driving it and the caliper would pivot up and rub on the inside of the wheel when ever she applied the brakes. By the time she got home the caliper had rubbed all the way through the wheel. The tire went flat. I replaced the caliper and the wheel. Now I have a vibration, it sounds like the tire may have a flat spot in the tread. Is this possible? Is there a good way to check for this? Thanks.

Answer
Dan,

First, you probably should have scrapped the tire, too.  At the very least it was run underinflated, and perhaps runflat as well.

It is possible you now have a separation, and that is what is causing the vibration.

It is also possible that the high spot of the wheel and the high spot of the tire are now matched up.

And yes, you could have a flat spot in the tire.

Frankly, given all the possibilities, and some of them are really bad, I'd replace the tire.

Hope this helps.