Front Alignment and Tires

  • Thread starter Thread starter drkknight196
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drkknight196

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At 14.5K miles, the insides of both of my front tires are all but gone. Dealership has checked and/or adjusted alignment several times since new. Checked on Friday, but noted they were using the 2002 Grand Marquis specs. Found the 2003 MM specs for them (in their library!) and they will realign correctly Monday and replace both tires; however, the specs aren't significantly different from the requirements for the GM. Anyone else having issues with premature tire wear due to alignment?

Also, center of rears almost gone at 14.5K. Looked like overinflation, but that's never happened. BF Goodrich agreed to pay half for new tires and I've had new ones installed; however, I don't want to be in this position at 29K! Suggestions and insights welcome!:confused:
 
That seems like unusual wear for that mileage. BFGoodrich, or Ford under the bumper to bumper warranty, should be covering that I'd think
 
Ford's picking up the cost of the fronts; BF Goodrich paid half for the rears. I'm looking for causes and fixes.
 
TIRE WEAR

Usually, wierd tire wear indicates a front end, ball joint, or maybe bent rims.......check it out

mungce
Ft.Worth,Tx
 
Odd tire wear. Hum! I've jsut past 22.5k on my tires. They have been rotated (side-to0side) every 5K since I bought the car. My tires appear to be wearing as they should, nothign unusual that I can see. Alignment hasn't been touched since new as I haven't felt any need to have it checked. Steering is still on center, and as I stated, I don't see any odd wear pattern.
 

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Mine tracks like an arrow and like I said, alignment has been checked/corrected twice since last September. All front end suspension parts are good to go ............. ??????????????
 
I have beeen unfortunate and had to get three wheels replaced ( the pats guy tells me that thse MM wheels,and parts in general were the higest in his insurance book) and had to get a front end alignment with less than 8K on the car.....but she still tracks great....especially at speed....80+////// I just love my Marauder......

mungce
Ft.Worth, Tx
 
AM I correct in the dealer is totally responsable ( warrenty ) for a front end alignment if the car is under 12K, as I was told by the Ford Body Shop Manager at Texas Ford Moters, in Ft.Worth, Tx ????

mungcFt.Worth, Tx
 
Odd tire wear. Hum! I've jsut past 22.5k on my tires. They have been rotated (side-to0side) every 5K since I bought the car...

I don't know if you really want to do this. When you rotate the tires from side-to-side, you end up reversing the rotation. And what is the benifit?

Mitch
 
Hey 03Marauder.....you say you rotate side to side ??? We know that the 50s on front and 55s on back was a Mercury managmanet decision for the extra bucks......... I am also pissed that they were so damn chep they ( Mercury ) didn't even polish the spare rim !!! And I bought mine sight unseen, in advance..( didn't even test drive it )......

mungce
Ft.Worth,Tx
 
mungce said:
AM I correct in the dealer is totally responsable ( warrenty ) for a front end alignment if the car is under 12K, as I was told by the Ford Body Shop Manager at Texas Ford Moters, in Ft.Worth, Tx ????

mungcFt.Worth, Tx
Click to expand...

According to the warranty as I read it, that's correct
 
I must have lucked out after all ......... my spare wheel is just as shiny as the ones on the car. Side to side rotation provides more even tread wear, though I'd prefer a four wheel rotation as I believe that would have minimized my wear problems. But that can't be done without putting the same size all around.
 
MM has neg 3/4 deg camber, at this I would expect some inner tread wear. I would recommend having camber set at neg 1/4 if dealer/shop will do. Some won't because it out of manf's 'specs'. I have modified several rwd full frame cars and set camber at neg 1 deg, tire's inner tread get chewed to hell in 15k, but handles better, and on a toy car this is tolerable, your MM as daily driver- this is likely not tolerable.
 
drkknight196: as far as your rear tires go what pressure are you running at? You did not state that? Just a thought.
 
Drkknight,

is there anyone else using your car?

My LS does that to the rear tires as well. Other LS owners have seen the same, and some have not. My theory was that it was due to under-inflation. The way that I see it, and this could be all hogwash, (but it's due to something, we would all agree) it is that the pressure inside the rear tires is not sufficient at holding the shape of the tire at higher speeds, and actually allows the tire's contact patch to shrink at those speeds that are above the posted limits, leaving the center of the tire to do most of the work. Since the rear tires are the driven tires, the job of keeping the car at those speeds is being done by the center of the rear tire tread only, thus the extra wear. My experiment involves the tires on the LS to be inflated to around 38 psi, to help hold the sidewalls out, instead of allowing them to flex to a thinner cross-sectional width. One note of data is that the tires, mounted on their rims and inflated, will actually allow light to pass under the center of the tread, when unmounted from the car and standing on a flat surface. How in the world would that be possible, if it isn't from what my theory describes? The LS uses 235-50/17 V-rated Firestone Firehawks. The LS also is frequently cruising at or above 80 MPH, and sees the occaional fun run up to triple digits and beyond. Does your Marauder see those types of speeds by any of its drivers?

Mike
 
I have the same problem with uneven tire wear. My rear tires are almost done in the middle of the tread. I have 13,000 miles. I'll call the dealer and see what they say.
 
mtnh:
Interesting theory and might explain the problem. Yes, I cruise at speeds of 84-88 mph and into triple digits whenever it's safe to do so. So you're recommending a tire pressure of 38psi?
 
Thx for the 'heads up' on this alinement issue...just from eyeballing the front camber, it would appear that I might also be in line for wearing the inside area more...but with 2K miles to date, its not evident yet on tire wear. Something else to watch for.
 
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I have the same inside wear on the front and the center of the rears are about gone, after only 10,000 smiles, yes I meant smiles.
 
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