Tire wear!!

Fitting oversize tires, raising and lowering, suspension modifications...

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bradjh
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Tire wear!!

Post by bradjh »

I was checking out my truck today and noticed the passangers front tire is wearing on the side farthest from the truck. i believe it is called cupping.. last year i had an alignment and ball joints before i got my new tires.. any suggestions?
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Re: Tire wear!!

Post by F9K9 »

bradjh wrote:I was checking out my truck today and noticed the passangers front tire is wearing on the side farthest from the truck. i believe it is called cupping.. last year i had an alignment and ball joints before i got my new tires.. any suggestions?
You live in the pothole capital of the world. One good pothole will knock it out of alignment. Have you rotated your tires every 3K miles?
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Post by bradjh »

having alignment checked tomorrow.. i am thinking lower ball joints though... yes have hit pot holes... getting ready to rotate.... how do i know if ball joints are bad?
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Post by 04crewvt »

Lower Ball Joints!! There is a procedure for testing about halfway down the page put up by Brule, good luck.
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Post by bradjh »

well ball joints are fine! Not out of alignment either!! dont know what is causing it.. the only thing i can think of is that my buddy lives on a cul de sac street and i always go down to the end and turn my wheel all the way to the left to make the turn i wonder if that could be putting the stress on my passanger side front tire????
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Post by 04crewvt »

Check your tire pressure, you might be running them at a non optimal setting there is a thread around here on testing using chalk to see if the tread is in full contact with the pavement. Also that wear pattern can develop if you do a lot of hard cornering at speed. Another thing to check if they didn't at the alignment shop would be play in the idler arm. A steering stabilizer shock may also help.
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Post by bradjh »

how do i check the idler arm? how hard would it be to put a steering stabilizer shock on?
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Post by 04crewvt »

Steering shock is easy. The mount for the driver's side is welded to the frame cross member (on most of our trucks) and the other end just bolts to the steering linkage on the other side with a u-bolt, all of 20 minutes tops. The setup I used was from Rancho I picked it up from JC Whitney. I will see if I can come up with photos when I am not at work. Idler arm play should show up if you jack up the front and to to turn the wheel by hand if there is slop before the wheel starts to turn the idler arm is probably bad.
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Post by 04crewvt »

Sorry no photos of mine installed but here is the link to JC Whitney where I got mine. It has a photo there of the setup off the vehicle but rest assured if you take the time to read the directions on installing you will have no problems installing it. Heck if you threw them away it might only take you an extra 10 minutes to install.
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Post by bradjh »

so my truck should alradey have the mont for the steering stabilzer on it? does the kit come with the shock as well? did you notice a difference? THanks for all the help.. I had the tires replaced under warranty 12 bucks for 2 brand new bfg all terains! not bad
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Post by 04crewvt »

Yes the kit comes with the Rancho RS5000 shock and all the mounting hardware including the frame mount if for some reason it's missing on your vehicle. If you look at the cross member just behind the drivers side tire you should see a square shaped bracket welded to the cross member , it will look exactly like the one that comes in the kit only painted black. If it's not there you need to drill the cross member and install the bracket. Use a sharp bit and it's easy. One end of the shock mounts to this bracket and the other clamps to the steering linkage on the other side ,since there is some guessing were to mount you mount loosely then make sure your steering doesn't bind in either direction, once it's good tighten everything up. This adds a smoothness to the steering since you are now turning the wheel using the shock as a damper, also if you hit ruts or potholes the wheel will have less likelihood of jerking out of your hand. It helps with keeping tire wear to a minimum.
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Post by bradjh »

04crewvt, I have not done allot of work under my truck.. what exactly is the cross member i dont see a bracket but it might be there i may be looking in the wrong spot..could you please describe the location better.. is it near front drive shaft etc... also does the stabilizer just go on the drivers side or do i need another kit for passanger side? thanks for all the help..
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Post by 04crewvt »

Just one kit is needed,the bracket is close to the frame rail it should look like two triangles welded together and welded to the frame with a hole in the top and bottom. If you can't find it I will try to get a photo of mine either after work or tomorrow for you as well as pics of the mounting point on the other side.
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Post by HenryJ »


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Post by 04crewvt »

I thought there was a photo around I just couldn't search for it while at work. Thanks for the link Brule.
In case it's not clear Bradjh follow the shock to the lower left side of the photo the small tab you see is the frame mounted bracket
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Post by F9K9 »

A steering dampener only masks a problem in most situations and doesn't make it go away. Too many heepers have upgraded their dampeners to mask a "death wobble" (aka DW) problem. Something is still amiss in the front of the vehicle to create the DW. If, you do not know what a DW is then be grateful. There is slack somewhere. Have someone turn your steering in both directions while the engine is off. Watch for movement of one particular component before others begin to move. If, one moves before others then that is where you should begin diagnoses. Post up a pic of what moves first and we should be able to go from there.
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Post by HenryJ »

If everything is right you should have even wear. There are just too many things to tell you what is wrong.
Ball joints, wheel bearings, brakes, tires, wheels, air pressure, idler arm, pitman arm, tie rods, alignment, thrust, where do you stop.

Find a good shop that will look for the cause if you can not find it.

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Post by bradjh »

ok guys i feel like a retard a cannot find the bracket welded on that should already be welded on the frame so that i can install the steering stabilizer.. should i be looking on the drivers side? where abouts? near the drive shaft? will the stabilizer run front to back or side to side? thanks
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Post by 04crewvt »

Yes it's on the drivers side (if it's there) and the shock installs across to the passenger side.
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Post by bradjh »

ok should i look infront of or behind the front tire? near the oil pan at all? its killing me to find this..
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Post by 04crewvt »

It's right behind where the plastic shield sits If you have the metal ones on it will be harder to see. I can't get a shot of mine right now, I have to put it on ramps to get under there.
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Post by F9K9 »

bradjh wrote:ok should i look infront of or behind the front tire? near the oil pan at all? its killing me to find this..
Drive south on I-75 for 2 hours and I will paint it hunter orange for you.

I had trouble finding it too.....BTW :wink:
[size=75][b]"For those who have fought for it, [i][color=red]FR[/color][color=white]EE[/color][color=blue]DOM[/color][/i] has a taste that the protected will never know."
[url=http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73349]GUIDE TO SEARCHING. [i] (Some of the forum software is different but, it has helped me a lot.)[/i][/url][/b]
[b]"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." Edmund Burke[/b][/size]