[net.auto] 4X4 FRONT ENDS

hebert@r2me2.DEC (Water, water everywhere,) (04/17/85)

>>I have noticed the front tires on my 1983 full sized Bronco wearing more
>>on the outside (of the vehicle) than the inside. This was after 15,000


My '82 Bronco (I'm the original owner) now has about 60k miles on it. The
front tires DO wear more on the outside, particularly the right side. Of
course, this could be due partially to my (a) driving habits and (b) my
particular commuting area. The dealer verified the alignment on the 
machine, as in your case. This is my second Ford truck, having put 90k
miles on my first one. I'm convinced that nothing can be done to
change the idiosyncrasies of Ford truck front ends. They have enough
other redeeming qualities to make up for this.

I shift my own tires front to back (notice, not x-rotate!). I got 38k
miles on the factory P225-15's, after shifting them around 24k. Last
weekend I shifted the P235's that are on there now, so this is around
22k - a little sooner, but then the original shocks were still on. I
took this opportunity to install Monroes all around. I'm not a super
wrench, all my tools fit in a shoe box. The job took an hour with one
indolent teenager and a nutcracker helping.

Conclusion: It's not worth paying a highschool dropout one step above
gas pumper to "align" your front end. You won't notice a difference, and
it won't be cost effective. You can reasonably expect to get 40k miles
on your tires with normal driving, more if you're an 'easy' driver.

Art Hebert

hsu@cvl.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (04/20/85)

> 
> >>I have noticed the front tires on my 1983 full sized Bronco wearing more
> >>on the outside (of the vehicle) than the inside. This was after 15,000
> 
> 
> My '82 Bronco (I'm the original owner) now has about 60k miles on it. The
> front tires DO wear more on the outside, particularly the right side. Of
> course, this could be due partially to my (a) driving habits and (b) my
> particular commuting area. The dealer verified the alignment on the 
> machine, as in your case. This is my second Ford truck, having put 90k
> miles on my first one. I'm convinced that nothing can be done to
> change the idiosyncrasies of Ford truck front ends. They have enough
> other redeeming qualities to make up for this.

Bad news guys....Bronco owners aren't alone.  The same problem plagued my
'79 Club Wagon, and the only solution was to have the twin-I beams modified
by a reputable shop.  Voila...no wear problems since.  But it was
mysterious for a while...the Ford dealer couldn't cure it when HE tried to
modify it.

(go on, blame it on the engineers)

-dave