2nd Gen. Dodge Ram - No Drivetrain Discussion for all Dodge Rams from 1994 through 2002. Please, no engine or drivetrain discussion.

Unusual Tire Wear....

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 10-11-2005, 10:19 AM
  #1  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
durasmack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maineville, Ohio
Posts: 688
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Unusual Tire Wear....

One of my front tires is wearing unusually..... I have included some pictures with descriptions to try to show you what is going on.... Any ideas as to the cause would be appreciated because it is getting new tires tomorrow.

(I will put pictures here once an admin lets them through.)
Old 10-11-2005, 08:54 PM
  #2  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
durasmack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maineville, Ohio
Posts: 688
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Got the pictures:





Thanks.

Trey
Old 10-11-2005, 09:33 PM
  #3  
Registered User
 
newriverSpecon's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Missoula, Montana
Posts: 487
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Can you get a pic a little further away and straight on. The tire looks like it is angled (vertically) more then it should be.

Randy
Old 10-11-2005, 09:35 PM
  #4  
Registered User
 
pind's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Whitehorse, cultural hub of the universe..
Posts: 1,210
Received 31 Likes on 29 Posts
front end is slightly toed out, your shocks are probably getting weak, your track bar may need some attention, and you need to rotate your tires more often.

Not necessarily what you want or need to hear is it? I have had these same troubles with my front tires. biggest culprit to cupping and feathering like that is toe out and shocks. next comes tire rotation,then the track bar wearing will cause it on the right. Inside wear can be caused by worn ball joints, which should be looked at anyway.

I think that almost covers the road I have been down with mine, good luck with the new tires
Old 10-11-2005, 09:50 PM
  #5  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
durasmack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maineville, Ohio
Posts: 688
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
looked into ball joints.... they are fine. next will look into track bar.... shocks are not very old... weight of bumper and winch have any effect on that?

What about tire balance? could that have anything to do with it?
Old 10-11-2005, 10:01 PM
  #6  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
durasmack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maineville, Ohio
Posts: 688
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by newriverSpecon
Can you get a pic a little further away and straight on. The tire looks like it is angled (vertically) more then it should be.

Randy
I will work on that.... I think you are right.... what causes that?
Old 10-11-2005, 10:19 PM
  #7  
Registered User
 
Crimedog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: MN
Posts: 1,526
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Trey, Back in my Tires Plus days, just about every tire that came in cupped on a solid axle truck was from worn ball joints. Sometimes on the big trucks like ours you have to jack up one side of the front, put a long pipe (about 6 ft so you can get leverage) under the tire and pry up and down and side to side. Have someone watch the ball joints. They may also be towed out a bit. Get the front end in the air and give everything a vigorous shakedown, something has to be loose. Could also get a free alignment check to see how out of whack it is.
Old 10-11-2005, 11:13 PM
  #8  
Registered User
 
newriverSpecon's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Missoula, Montana
Posts: 487
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by durasmack
I will work on that.... I think you are right.... what causes that?

Ball joints are what hold the spindle on the axle. They should be tilted in at the top some (camber,caster I don't remember right now). This will create wear on the sides that will allow it to move further that way. I have less experiance with ball joints. Most of mine is kingpins. The '00 we had stolen also had massive DW. I check it like I would kingpins and thought they were good. After the third trip to the dealer I had a friend that works on (newer and 4X4) little trucks look at it and like Crimedog said pry under the tire and see how much movment you get. With our truck someone had got the frontend so out of wack trying to align it with bad ball joints it was scary. I would start there. If it is not in the balljoints it could be in the a-arms.

Randy
Old 10-12-2005, 09:41 AM
  #9  
Registered User
 
infidel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Montana
Posts: 14,672
Likes: 0
Received 9 Likes on 9 Posts
Cups or scalloped dips appearing around the edge of the tread on one side or the other, almost always indicate worn (sometimes bent) suspension parts. Adjustment of wheel alignment alone will seldom cure the problem. Any worn component that connects the wheel to the truck (ball joint, wheel bearing, shock absorber, springs, bushings, etc.) can cause this condition.
Old 10-12-2005, 10:09 AM
  #10  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
durasmack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maineville, Ohio
Posts: 688
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks Bill, Matt, and everyone else. I will continue looking into the cause of this. Re-checked ball joints using above stated method (jack up front end and attempt to get wheel to move using 7' spud bar...) got no movement using that method..... what is next easiest to check? springs? shocks? bearings?
Old 10-12-2005, 11:04 AM
  #11  
Registered User
 
Copenhagenjunkie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Saint Ignatius, MT
Posts: 1,246
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
If everything else checks out I would rotate every 5k. Those deep lug tires will cup/wear quicker than all season tires. If I go over 6k on a rotation I will start to wear like your pic show but not that extreme.
Old 10-12-2005, 11:10 AM
  #12  
Registered User
 
MKELLY's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Terryville, Ct
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I'm betting its a bad tie rod end and a sloppy trac bar.
Old 10-15-2005, 09:00 PM
  #13  
Registered User
 
OTR PU's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I ain't got no stinking Trac Bar, 2WD independant. . .what would it be in my case?

Cheers,
Steve J
Old 10-15-2005, 10:32 PM
  #14  
GSP
Registered User
 
GSP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Wildomar, Calif.
Posts: 697
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Dont forget to check your wheel bearings, maybe loose.
Old 10-19-2005, 09:07 PM
  #15  
Registered User
 
JmeHatt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lake Corpus Christi
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mine was doing the same thing. Today I got my tires(BF 35 mudders) rotated and balanced. I can already tell it tracks a lot better and I hope it will fix the problem. Will keep yall posed………Jamie


Quick Reply: Unusual Tire Wear....



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:20 AM.