Tire wear question. Rapid wear on the insides of front tires

[holeshot]

I bought a BII and put a 6" Skyjacker lift and less than 3000 miles later, the insides of the front tires are wearing pretty bad. It was professionally aligned and everything showed up in spec. When I noticed the wear, I figured something got out of alignment. So I went to a body shop that has state of the art alignment equipment and everything was still in spec.

I don't get why it could be wearing the tires so bad and it is in spec.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Steering linkage is probably out of whack. Which dropped pitman arm do you have? For 6" lift, you're going to want the FA600 arm at a minimum. If you can, post a picture of the front of your axle, showing the steering linkage. The linkage should be completely horizontal and parallel with the axle beams.

 

[holeshot]

Steering linkage is probably out of whack. Which dropped pitman arm do you have? For 6" lift, you're going to want the FA600 arm at a minimum. If you can, post a picture of the front of your axle, showing the steering linkage. The linkage should be completely horizontal and parallel with the axle beams.

I have the extreme drop pitman arm (I forget the p/n), but I'd say my linkage is at about a 10 to 15 degree angle from the axles. I will try to take a pic.

Also, not sure if this has any affect on it or not, but we had to weld in some steering stops because the tires were rubbing pretty hard on the fenders even after cutting them.

I have since changed to a smaller size tire, so I wonder if I grind off the stops. Maybe that was affecting how the tires were tracking when I had the wheel at full lock while turning on dry pavement??

Its weird since it is only on the insides like it has negative camber....but of course it says its all in spec.

 

[BlackBII]

Yeah, it has to have some negative camber.

What are the specs? Have the alignment sheet?

A picture from the front at about mid tire level from 5 feet away would help us out.

 

[holeshot]

It doesnt look like there is any negative camber when it sits on level surfaces. Unfortunately, I dont have the alignment sheet.

Here are some pics:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/31551720@N07/5100915698/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/31551720@N07/5100918908/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/31551720@N07/5100320333/

Do you think it could be coming out of spec while driving somehow??? That is the only thing I can think of. When its sitting still its fine, but maybe when its riding down the road, the suspension gets wild? Is this a common problem with suspension lifts on TTB's?? I thought I did everything right and got all the right parts.

 

[t0x1k]

Drive forward and reverse and have someone watch the tires change camber. Toe in and toe out affects the camber, toe in causes positive camber in forward, negative in reverse. Vise verse.

 

[BlackBII]

Maybe its just me, but it looks like it has too much toe out...which would cause negative camber when going forward, which would explain your tire wear.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

I agree, looks like a little toe out. However, it could just be the angle of the picture.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Usually that rapid of wear on the inner edges would indicate a toe out issue to me as well.

 

[holeshot]

I think it is the angle of the picture. If it was toed out, wouldnt both alignment shops notice that??

 

[99RangerKrazy]

You would think, unless they're crappy alignment shops. You can measure it yourself (crudely) with a tape measure. This won't be a precise measurement, but it will give you at least an idea if it is grossly out of spec.

 

[holeshot]

You would think, unless they're crappy alignment shops. You can measure it yourself (crudely) with a tape measure. This won't be a precise measurement, but it will give you at least an idea if it is grossly out of spec.

The place that aligned it was a Michel Tires Plus.

The body shop I took it to I know is top notch. They are all I-Car and ASE certified technicians and they have a state-of-the-art wheel alignment, frame rack, and Universal measuring system.

The body shop tech told me everything was in spec, so I assume he knows what he was talking about.

I am wondering if the 33's I had on there had something to do with it?

 

[ThatGuy]

Try moving your pivot bolt up to the other hole. Everyone says the Skyjacker rides better with the 6" lift in the 4" holes.

 

[4x4junkie]

Here are some pics:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/31551720@N07/5100915698/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/31551720@N07/5100918908/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/31551720@N07/5100320333/

.

That does not look like an extreme drop pitman arm (#FA600) to me...

Might want to measure it and make sure, then chastise the bonehead that sold it to you as such.

 

[holeshot]

good catch. it looks like i have the standard drop pitman arm. yeah, i was told that was the one i needed.

if i were to get the correct one, would that have anything to do with my tire wear? isnt that just a steering issue??