WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

The outside of the rear tires on both sides (worse on pass side) is getting much more wear than the rest of the tire, even the inside edge, so it shouldn't be an inflation issue (32lb).

Any ideas? Everything in the rear is tight. After driving for a while each day, the suspension gets stiff and it starts to sound and feel like it's dragging a rear tire (not tracking straight). I literally come home from work every day and loosen up the chassis components bith front and back to free the suspension back up so I can drive to work the next day.

I'm hoping maybe this wear pattern will give someone a clue to give me an idea what I should be looking at.

The pic isn't the best, but it tells the tale. The right side of the pic is the outside of the tire. The rear tires ARE old, and kinda hard, I just cant afford new ones at the moment.

NightmareMoose

3 things I can think of: wheel alignment, worn suspension component(s), and, to a lesser possible degree, wheel balance. I'd start with taking it to a shop for wheel alignment check (NOT Walmart!). I think my Jeep cost ~$100 for full (4 wheel) alignment at Goodyear.

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

Just got one not long ago from the dealership. I found the thrust angle a bit hard to believe. I'm definitely onboard with the worn components, but I can't tell which ones it could be. All the bushings look good, shocks are 4 yrs old but are konis and travel nice and smooth, springs are the same height. The rearend makes a little noise, but I had it apart a few weeks ago, barely anything at all on the magnet and everything looked real clean. I ran a few times w/o the sway bar and it still stiffened up, so I'm at a loss.

I almost wonder if it's not the tires themselves causing the bind.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Stop drifting in parking lots

tc3

iTrader: (2)

Looks like a **** poor alignment.. id bet they wore that way in the front and they got rotated who would let a car go with the caster split like that....?

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

I actually had to wait a week to get the spec sheet. I assumed the specs were going to be on the paperwork they gave me and didn't realize until the next day that it wasn't.

They were rotated back, and were slightly worn when they came off the front, but in the past 3 weeks or so they've gotten significantly worse. Someone mentioned a "slipped belt" or something like that. That sounds like something I'd notice.

tc3

iTrader: (2)

If a belt shifted you would know.... and that sounds like some b.s. with your alignment... regardless i wouldnt put too much thought into it until you get new tires..

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

Any thoughts on why the suspension literally locks up? It was like driving a brick home tonight and the noises were unbelievable. I got home, nothing was hot or smoking or rubbing. NOTHING. Something must be putting some sort of pressure on the rearend to make it make noise, but all 4 corners had zero travel in them; I had to take curves on the freeway at 25.

I'm about to go out now and do my daily tear down and build back up so i can drive to work tomorrow.

tc3

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like shocks... if you lift up the wheels it should fall free... if not add some force. Not the most common thing so i doubt all 4 would do that....

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

The way I "tested" the shocks was to compress them all the way and let them rebound. The action was nice and smooth on both. I've thought about putting the stock ones back in to see if there's a difference, but I think i mangled one of the posts when I took it out. The stock ones are definitely much softer than the konis.

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

I'm going to put the stock shocks back in, gotta fix the threads on one first. What's the expected lifetime of Konis on the rear of a DD? Like I said, they feel fine; but I know that's not a valid test. The stock ones do rebound a little faster.

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

So I put the old stock shocks back on the rear and drove to work this morning. The binding problem seems to be solved, which has me puzzled because the Konis seemed to be fine.

I'm not ready to point at them as the problem, maybe their additional stiffness was amplifying a problem in the suspension and causing the bind or maybe they really are the culprit and there are no other problems. I've taken a number of measurements on the chassis and everything seem to be straight.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

I'm getting confused... why do you have 3 threads open on this same subject? You should probably stick to one thread so you don't confuse anyone else.

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

I had intended to close out the original one as the wandering issues were pretty much solved with the bushings, front shocks, etc.

The sway bar thread was about the sway bar geometry and install (my bar is too wide for the mounts and when it sits "comfortably" it has a gap under the axle), which I didn't believe was related to the tire wear in this thread. There are specific questions about swaybar install there as well as a bunch of info I was hoping someone would point out if it was inaccurate.

Various posts from others caused them to morph together a bit.

1ltcap

IF YOU had the car aligned due to that tire wear, and those tires came from the front......the wear which started to the alignment problem will continue, regardless of where you mount the tires.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is normal and has happened on every set of tires I've had in the past 13 years on this car. As the tire wears evenly on the back of the car, it makes the sides (the issue was created when they were up front) look worse.

The real issue is that these are directional tires and we can't rotate them left to right. If you have them re-mounted so you can change sides, you'll get more life out of them.

1ltcap

you also have to take into account.......it takes approximatly 1,000 miles for a tire to pick up a wear pattern. once it's pikced that up, nothing you can do will change it. you can mount them on a different car, and that same pattern will continue.

WhiteStallion00

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I guess that makes sense, provided their new home doesn't have other issues.