So I was having this problem before:
the caliper was rubbing against the rotor.




and then I removed my wheel tonight and found the two screws holding the rotor to be loose so I tightened those up, but then I saw this...and was wondering if this looks normal.

this is a pic of the outboard joint connected to the knuckle (sorry for the blurryness)


What do you guys think?

 

That toothed ring spins past a wheel-speed sensor for your ABS or traction control system. I don't see how it could possibly affect your caliper mounting or brake rotor.