Odd rear tire wear

[flyerjmr33]

The last vehicle we had, A 2008 Ford Sport Trac, at about 20,000 miles had started to chop the tires pretty bad and couldn't handle the speed rollers in our neighborhood with out he front and rear slamming loudly on the suspension rebound. No aftermarket company currently makes a replacement shock/strut for the 3rd genetration Sport Trac so that is othe only reason I took it back to Ford. As expected Ford found no issues, so myself along with the service manager drove a new one off of the lot which behaved very differently than mine under the same circumstances...they tried to tell me that mine was broken in is all. Like I said before people don't realize the slow degradation of the suspension because they get used to it and I don't mean to imply that all shocks/struts need replacing at 20,000 ish miles but no vehicle built will perform suspension wise at 80,000 miles like it did when new.

 

I am an ASE master technician of 22 years now and believe me when I tell you that I am fully aware of how suspensions are supposed to react and what problems arise from worn suspension parts, i also am very well informed on the parts situation but let me just say this. If you are buying parts for your vehicle that have a lifetime warranty then you are making a huge mistake. Only parts companies who make cheap products and sell them for a premium price warranty their products for life against all problems. Sure every company backs their product against flaws in workmanship but a shock or strut wearing out is not a flaw in workmanship it's a natural occurance that is going to happen and there is nothing you can do to change that. BTW Bilstein is not the company it once was

 

http://www.a-1shocks.com/warranty/index.cfm

I guess Monroe is also building el-cheapos as you state, huh---

 

At 28,000 miles on my Edge, today I crossed a really lumpy railroad track that I thought was going to provide me with some flight time--- I was wrong, my shocks kept the wheels on the ground! According to you, I should have been airborne----

[L1TECH]

Don't even get me started on Monore products. I refuse to install Monroe products at my shop. One of my parts reps came in one day and inquired as to why I didn't use him for shocks/struts, I told him simply because he only carries Monroe. He only uses Monroe Reflexes on his personal truck. Eventually I talked him into a set of KYB MonoMaxes and he was simply amazed at the difference the KYB product made in his ride and handling verses the 3 month old Monroes he had on there, which by the way he had to change about once a year. We all have products we like and being that I rely on my customers happiness to provide for my family I only install what I believe in and what has proven to work for me.

 

Congrats on not going airborne....I'm happy for you

[igcitng]

Tire cupping is caused by 2 things.1) out of balance tires, just because they felt fine on the front deosn't mean that they should be fine on the rear. 2) Weak shocks/struts. I don't know how many miles you have on yoru Edge but the factory shocks/struts are junk after about 20-25k miles, you just don't realize it because you have become used to the slow degradation over time. Rotating the tires should be done every oil change and on my personal vehicle that includes balancing. I just had to change my oil for the first time last week, 4900 miles, at that time I rotated and balanced the tires and 3 of the 4 tires were out of balance although the ride was still smooth. Alignment should be checked but if you have true cupping it is not due to alignment,. tire cupping is caused by the tires bouncing uncontrolled on the road surtface due to worn shocks/struts or out of balance, an alignment issue will not cause the tire to bounce. I have been an ASE master tech for 22 years now and trust me there is no other reason for tire cupping than what I have explained to you.

 

Time for a dumb question. Why would tires go out of balance that fast? Unless the weights fall off what else causes that? Curious because I thought rotating was all I needed to have done. I do that with each oil change. Don't think they rebalance them.

[L1TECH]

As tires wear there is less material on the tire itself so basically as the tires wear the tire becomes lighter, with that in mind it is only logicial that tires need a rebalance every now and then.

[flyerjmr33]

Don't even get me started on Monore products. I refuse to install Monroe products at my shop. One of my parts reps came in one day and inquired as to why I didn't use him for shocks/struts, I told him simply because he only carries Monroe. He only uses Monroe Reflexes on his personal truck. Eventually I talked him into a set of KYB MonoMaxes and he was simply amazed at the difference the KYB product made in his ride and handling verses the 3 month old Monroes he had on there, which by the way he had to change about once a year. We all have products we like and being that I rely on my customers happiness to provide for my family I only install what I believe in and what has proven to work for me.

 

Congrats on not going airborne....I'm happy for you

 

I certainly happy that you at least have one favorite aftermarket product---- KYB has a lifetime warranty also, and they recommend replacement after 50,000 miles. You can get all that information from their web site.

Edited August 18, 2010 by flyerjmr33

[L1TECH]

I think the key term there is that they recommend replacement and just like everyone else they have a waranty against manufacturing defects, they don't try to tell you that their product will last forever and if it doesn't they will replace it free of charge. I will admit that 20,0000 miles or so is a little soon to have shocks/struts replaced when the average is about 35,000 miles when they seriously start to decline in performance. ANd for some reason American car mfgs suspension seem to wear out faster than imports...go figure.

[flyerjmr33]

I think the key term there is that they recommend replacement and just like everyone else they have a waranty against manufacturing defects, they don't try to tell you that their product will last forever and if it doesn't they will replace it free of charge. I will admit that 20,0000 miles or so is a little soon to have shocks/struts replaced when the average is about 35,000 miles when they seriously start to decline in performance. ANd for some reason American car mfgs suspension seem to wear out faster than imports...go figure.

 

Looks like we have finally come to terms with each other! :happy feet:

[igcitng]

As tires wear there is less material on the tire itself so basically as the tires wear the tire becomes lighter, with that in mind it is only logicial that tires need a rebalance every now and then.

 

 

That makes sense. Thank you.

[L1TECH]

I do what I can

[07_edge_sel]

I have a question. I bought my '07 Edge AWD in Feb. and it has approx. 57,000 miles on it. The car has had a loud roar ever since I've owned it. At first I thought it was the tires but after reading this post along with others about the rear wheel bearings/hub assy's, I think I have a larger issue. I too have the "scalloped" or "cupped" tire wear on the inside of the rear tires. My question is, would bad shocks/struts cause the loud roar? Or, do you guys think I have bad shocks/struts along with a bad wheel bearing? I took off the rear wheels/tires last night to see if there was any play in the wheel bearings, but I couldn't move the rotors in any way. The tires will need to be replaced no matter what, but I don't think replacing them will address the roar and wierd tire wear issue. Thanks for the help.

[akirby]

I have a question. I bought my '07 Edge AWD in Feb. and it has approx. 57,000 miles on it. The car has had a loud roar ever since I've owned it. At first I thought it was the tires but after reading this post along with others about the rear wheel bearings/hub assy's, I think I have a larger issue. I too have the "scalloped" or "cupped" tire wear on the inside of the rear tires. My question is, would bad shocks/struts cause the loud roar? Or, do you guys think I have bad shocks/struts along with a bad wheel bearing? I took off the rear wheels/tires last night to see if there was any play in the wheel bearings, but I couldn't move the rotors in any way. The tires will need to be replaced no matter what, but I don't think replacing them will address the roar and wierd tire wear issue. Thanks for the help.

 

Shocks won't cause a roaring noise - that's from the rotating mass - either the tire or a wheel bearing most likely. I would replace the tires and the rear shocks and see if the problem is still there. If it is then check the wheel bearings.