Don't overlook the basics...

[Simon01]

Hey everyone. It's been awhile since I posted here. Love the site, lots of great info!

Anyway, I have been chasing a front end noise for some time now. Wound up replacing my driver's wheel bearing and changing the front diff fluid (needed to be done anyway). Still had the dumb noise- started at about 35 MPH. I was thinking my front diff was toast, but the fluid was just a little low and dark. No chunks of metal. Finally, I checked the tires again, and found the fronts were pretty badly cupped. I rotated the tires and the noise is gone!

So the moral of the story- when trying to diagnose an issue, start with the basics and don't overlook anything. I had the dumb wheel off to change the wheel bearing and I didn't notice the tire cupping!

 

[Ziggy]

Go back and look it over again, see if you can identify why the tire is cupping so badly. Could have been the bad wheel bearing, could be something else. Try to sort it before you lose two more tires.

 

[Tiggerr]

Go back and look it over again, see if you can identify why the tire is cupping so badly. Could have been the bad wheel bearing, could be something else. Try to sort it before you lose two more tires.

+1 got to be a reason they cupped out

 

[BlazingTrails]

Generally that is caused by the alignment being out, or maybe a loose ties rod.

 

[Tiggerr]

Generally that is caused by the alignment being out, or maybe a loose ties rod.

Bad bushings, struts/shocks, bj's, bearings too

 

[Ziggy]

Cupping is usually suspension wear. Struts, bearings, ball joints, tires out of balance, so on... Alignment issues usually present as uneven tread wear on the inside or outside tread blocks. That said, if your ball joints and/or struts are bad enough, they can also cause accelerated tread wear on the inside tread blocks. It would be pretty unusual for an alignment issue to be the cause of your front tires being cupped, though the alignment being out of spec may be a secondary symptom of whatever else is going on. Assuming you've not hit anything, the alignment should be exactly where it was set when all of the suspension was fresh... Vehicles go "out of alignment" due to the wear of the expendable components, and damage. If nothing is bent, steering wheel straight, not pulling, etc... and you can identify the component that is worn out of spec, you should be able to replace said component and be back on the road with minimal alignment adjustment, if any at all. Of course, if you replace the struts, it's worth having a professional alignment completed because the caster measurement on the alignment spec sheet pertains specifically to the deviation of the strut from true vertical (0*).

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

There is lots of DIY alignment info on the net if you want to check and see if you are close. Not as good as a true alignment but nice to do a few measurements and see if you are close after suspesion work.