Unusual Tire Wear

Howdy.

As seen in the picture, I've had some cupping going on for well past too long on the inside of the front drivers side tire. They're 265/70R16, stock suspension. I've had two alignments but the wear continues to trend the way it has.

I've had it inspected by two mechanics in Omaha & Lincoln as well as the toyota dealership.

Omaha Shop told me I'm out of alignment, and my suspension could be wearing out. The truck does lean a bit to the drivers side, somewhat noticeably more in the front.

Toyota dealership tells me I'm out of alignment and that my steering knuckle is bent. quotes me $1,300 for the repair.

Lincoln Shop - gives me an alignment, checks the knuckle. Tells me its within specifications, but ran the SKU or code or whatever on my tires. They're almost 10 years old. (Bought the truck 2 years ago)

The reason I'm jabbering on is because I'll be getting some TRD wheels with 265/75/16 BFG's and getting new shocks and leaves soon but I want the problem resolved before the new stuff goes on. If anyone has some thoughts or experiences with something like this i'd love to hear it! Thanks.

 

Do you have a lift or any other aftermarket suspension parts? Can you feel any wobble, shimmy, or vibration while driving?

 

You have some worn parts if they cant get it to align properly.

 

I'm with @wilcam47

how many miles are on the truck? any maintenance records?

 

No aftermarket parts. No unusual sounds or vibrations, doesn't pull in either direction.

Bought with 76k, at 99k right now. I had the belts and water pump changed out recently but there hasn't been service for anything related.


@wilcam47 Thanks for the charts, seems to be the culprit.


Thanks for the reply fellas.

 

You might try jacking up the front and see if anything moves excessively. check the upper and lower control arm bushings

 

Also might want to check the bushings on your steering rack. If they are worn out they won't be able to properly align it.

 

for the $1300 will they guarantee that the tire wear issue will be resolved?

on a tangent... are you a heavy person? All manufactuerers have to pick a "happy medium" when making alignment decisions. Most says fuel tank should be full, that is weight that can be calculated. Driver only, again, what is the average weight of a driver... some say 150lbs, that adjustment can be compensated for in alignment specs but in situations like yours, I would put 150lbs of weight in the drivers seat. How old the vehicle is relates to how smooth does the suspension "settle", old stiff rubber sticks, shocks have "stiction" and on and on and on. My experience is/was in german and italian performance sports cars. Big dudes in small cars really skews things.

 

Might want to look in to some new struts. And check ball joints as well. Control arm bushings should be okay, mine lasted 240k. I have done three sets of ball joint replacements for the lowers.

 

Once a tire begins a wear pattern its pretty hard to make them stop the pattern even after an alignment, and that tire is toast anyway you need to replace it. Can you post up your alignment specs.

 

I had the same happen on my old tires. It only wore on the front end with cupping and inside wear on both front tires.

I replaced all tires with new ones and had alignment done. The problem ceased, and it rides well now...i have put about 1,500 miles on the new set. I probably need to replace my struts and certainly will if I see any uneven wear like i did.

 

As shown in post #'s 3 & 4 it's a camber issue. Not usually a difficult fix but it needs done when you get your new tires or they will suffer the same fate.

 

My bet is that it was out of alignment and started some cupping and wearing that couldn't be undone after the alignment. Old tires are crap after that long.

I'd replace the tires cause they're trash anyways, get one last alignment and if it doesn't go away, THEN look into replacing expensive parts.

On the other hand, Toyota dealerships have been good with me and haven't tried to sell me crap I didn't need. So maybe the knuckle is bad. But because I know a lot of shops will try to sell you unnessecary parts, I'd go with the first two steps first.

 

Alignment was way out, and even when corrected it wouldn't stay on the old tires. I think you have a valid point.

 

got pics of your LCAs from the front?

 

Not sure if you are asking me or not...but i do not have any at the moment. I'll take some in the coming days. I don't wanna hijack this thread haha.

 

that was for OP

 

I'm what some might call "average." - 5'10" 180.



I'll keep the bushings in mind. For now I'm gonna order new struts and what not, take the bad tire off and run the spare on there for a while. If its good ill put new tires on but if it persists I'll be looking into the bushings and steering knuckle. Thanks for the knowledge.

 

I'll try to get back to you tonight. Any reason why you ask?