Both front tires wearing on inner edge

BanditGTP

Original poster
Member
Jan 2, 2013
89
Central NJ
Hey gang. I'm trying to get some suggestions as to what might be causing my tire wear. My ride is a '03 Envoy XL with 264,700 miles. I've noticed recently a slight vibration when driving on the highway and it seems to be tied in to the front end. It's not that bad but enough that you can see the water inside a bottle of water vibrating and I can feel it in the steering wheel. The truck is still tracking nice and straight and the vibration seems to be getting worse.

I started to look into it yesterday and saw both front tires are very worn on the inner edge. They appear to be pretty evenly worn around the entire tire and both tires look to be worn about the same. I rotated the tires about 2 1/2 months ago but have also driven 5,500 miles since then. The tires previously on the fronts did not have this wear on them at all so it seems like a very recent issue. I was hoping to wait until the new year to get new tires but I'm afraid this situation is going to wear them out well before the new year. I also don't want to get new tires and have them wear out as well.

When I had the truck up yesterday, everything seems pretty solid except for 1 of the bolts for the lower control arm bushing on the driver side. I couldn't get it to tighten any more but when trying to shake the tire I could see it move (it moved maybe 1-2 mm). I was also able to move the control arm by the bolt slightly with a prybar. Does anyone think this one loose bolt would cause this sort of wear and would it cause both side or just the passenger side. I'm going to make some time over the weekend to look into it more but so far this was the only issue that stood out.
 

djthumper

Administrator
Nov 20, 2011
14,950
North Las Vegas
Check your tie rod ends for play. Or go in for an alignment and let them tell you what all needs to be fixed before they can align it.
 
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Chickenhawk

Member
Dec 6, 2011
779
I second the tie rod ends. Hold the tie rod end at the ball joint end and have someone turn the steering wheel slightly left and right. You will feel the play instantly if they are bad.

You can replace them yourself. It's an easy job, and you can even do an alignment in your driveway if you know what you are doing, because all you are adjusting is your toe setting. However, in your case, I suspect the toe setting is way out based on other problems besides just the tie rod ends, so it might be an idea to get a professional alignment done. So, check your tie rod ends for wear. If worn, replace them. Then get an alignment, and maybe report back with the specs.

But if you want to just check the toe settings yourself and are handy with a tape measure, jack up the front and use two lengths of aluminum U-channel or square tubing tied to the tire and wheel with bungee cords. Make sure they are level and on the same spot on both tires. Now run a tape from the back of one tire to the back of the other side, and compare that to the measurement from the front of one tire to the front of the other. The back measurement should be about 1/2" more than the front measurement.

I did a write-up about this driveway toe alignment, and it will give you just as precise a result as the latest computerized alignment machine (and maybe even better, depending on the skill of the operator.) It is lots of adjust-and-measure, but if the only alignment you need is toe adjustment, it is very exact.

We used to use flat aluminum plates called toe plates when we were running our endurance road race car because we would adjust toe depending on the track, and this is just a more precise version of those toe plates.
 

BanditGTP

Original poster
Member
Jan 2, 2013
89
Central NJ
I had a little time last night so I decided to see what the story was. I jacked the entire front end up to if there was any play with the tie rods. Everything seems pretty snug. I even went so far as to disconnect both outer tie rods so I could easily tell if there was any play on the inner tie rods. The outer tie rods were both solid. The inner tie rods weren't solid enough to hold their own weight but I didn't feel any play or knocking when I was trying to push or pull on them. I was definitely thinking that was going to be the culprit but to no avail. Both ball joints also appear to be solid.

I tried to tighten the bolt/nut that appeared loose by the bushing on the lower control arm but had no luck. When turning the bolt, the nut would also spin. I put 2 wrenches on (1 on the nut and 1 on the bolt) and still couldn't get it to tighten any more. This time I also was not able to find any play in the lower control arm like I saw the other day. I tried both with the the entire front end hanging and then again with a jack under it to support the weight.

Since I had the front end already up in the air, I jacked up the rear and rotated the tires so I can gain a little more time to look into what's going on before the tires wear through to the threads.


I did a write-up about this driveway toe alignment, and it will give you just as precise a result as the latest computerized alignment machine (and maybe even better, depending on the skill of the operator.) It is lots of adjust-and-measure, but if the only alignment you need is toe adjustment, it is very exact.

I'll have to look into your write up to see if it will help me figure this out.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
Generally inner tire wear is caused by negative camber which is an indicator of a bad alignment (or shot joints, as was my case with my pickup truck).

If the edge is rough/feathered then that is an indicator of scrubbing caused by toe being out of whack.
 

Chickenhawk

Member
Dec 6, 2011
779
Ask and ye shall receive:
https://gmtnation.com/forums/threads/tie-rod-ends-and-alignment.16016/
Complete with photo. Jack up the entire front end. Bungee a long piece of square tubing or aluminum channel across each tire and eyeball against the fender line. With the steering wheel dead straight, both pieces should be the same alignment with the fender line. (The fender line is not exactly dead straight but you are only using it to get both wheels the same.) Now, with the steering wheel dead straight and both wheels exactly the same when eyeballed to the fender line, run a tape measure across the back and then across the front. The back should be about 1/8" to 1/4" greater than the front.

If it is out, the driveway method takes LOTS of crawling underneath to get it perfect, but with two tape measures, $8 in aluminum tubing and two bungee cords, you can get it as exact as a computerized alignment machine if all you need to adjust is toe alignment.
 

dna59

Member
Nov 20, 2015
327
Belize
I'm having this same problem. I have aligned my vehicle twice and both times they passed inspection of the suspension before alignment. I feel no play in my steering or suspension and have even had a mechanic recently describe it as "tight" lol. I guess I might just replace the tie rods and see.
 

Chickenhawk

Member
Dec 6, 2011
779
If the alignment is good and there is no play in the front end components, then I would suspect the tires. What are the makes and models of your tires? There have been some cheap offshore-made brands that wear unduly and unevenly. They are all made in China and feature names that sound American, but ultimately are all the same low-grade tires, just branded differently.
 

sunliner

Member
Mar 25, 2012
365
I had the same problem. Turns out alignment was way off....needed both lower ball joints and tie rods. Tires were so bad they had to be replaced...down to the belts before I caught it. Thing drove well until about 3 days before I took it in...will now watch alignments much more closely.
 

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