I noticed there was a tear in the tread of my front driver's side tire. Thinking I shouldn't drive on it, I went to put the spare on so I could get a new tire. That's when I noticed that the steel belt was showing in a complete line around the inside of my tire. I looked up into the tire well and saw a thick piece of metal wire hanging down that I think is tearing my tire. I compared it to the other side and there was a bolt on top of it. Can anyone tell me (bearing in mind that I am not automotive-competent at all) what the metal is hanging down and what I need to do (or have done) to prevent the new tire from getting shredded in the same way? I attached a picture of the wheel with the wire hanging down above it.

 

hard to tell by picture but that looks like a cotter pin hanging down was your ball joint recently replaced, its ok to try and bend it up with a pair of pliers be careful they break ,or if you have one take out and replace