Ford E-350 ABS nut makes contact with rotor

[The_Epsicle]

This is for my parents 1999 Ford E-350 extended length Triton 6.8 V10 XLT Super Duty with less than 100,000 miles on it, my problem is on the front passenger side brake rotor.

The van just go back from a 300 mile road trip before which it was sitting for about 6 months due to a mold infestation which we just took care of, there was a lot of rust on the brake rotors before the trip so I didn't bother inspecting them but when my parents came back from their trip I noticed a groove on the front passenger side rotor, I removed the tire so I could see and found a nut for an ABS cable mount on the line with the groove, it isn't making contact anymore but it is obvious it is the culprit. My issue is I don't think it came from the factory like this because the drivers side lacks this nut on the other side and the bolt has a smaller head size, I think one of the shops my parents took the van to might be responsible for this.

So I need to know two things:

1. Did this nut come from the factory, or is a shop or dealership responsible for this?

2. How can I replace this nut and still mount this cable correctly? I think if it didn't come from the factory that the threads are probably stripped and they were too lazy to tap new threads. zip-tie maybe? I know I'm as bad as the shop that did this.

Here are some pictures:

The groove on the rotor.

The mounting bolt and the nut responsible for the groove.

Another shot of the bolt responsible for the groove.

The drivers side ABS cable mounting bolt, you can see the absence of a nut on the other side, and the smaller head.

 

[Snoranger]

Turn the bolt around... The head looks smaller then the nut.

 

[The_Epsicle]

It is smaller but I think it would still make contact with the rotor, I would prefer to get rid of this nut completely so I don't have to worry about ruining another rotor.

 

[The_Epsicle]

I'm thinking cut the bolt short and JB weld it in place unless someone objects to that.

 

[adsm08]

It is not factory like that. I would look at re-tapping the hole, baring that zip tie. I don't like to JB weld things like that because at some point you will need to take it apart again.

 

[The_Epsicle]

It is not factory like that. I would look at re-tapping the hole, baring that zip tie. I don't like to JB weld things like that because at some point you will need to take it apart again.

You're probably right, if it was my truck I'd JB weld it and be done with it, but since it's my parent's I probably should spend the time to do the job right. I'm not good at tapping so I think I'll try out a thread insert, I'll let you know how it goes.

I found out today that there are only two places that could have done this, either a shop we go to all the time and are good friends with the mechanic, or a Ford Dealership... my money's on the dealership. It ticks my off because these rotors have barely been broken in.

 

[The_Epsicle]

I just used two zip ties, it wasn't worth the effort to tap new threads.

 

[csargents1546]

Zip tie for sure. Especially if you are uncomfortable tapping new threads.