keithw1975

I am in my 40s and for my entire life, I have been putting new tires on the front of my truck and then moving the old front tires to the rear, where they get eaten up pretty fast for some reason. My rear tires look like someone ran a cheese grater over them after a few months of driving. This has always worked well and my father always impressed upon me the importance of having good tires on the front, since it not only did most of the stopping but also the steering. I also reasoned that you would want the best tires on the front, so that when in 4wd you would be pulled rather than pushed adding to stability.

All that being said, I am seeing many people say that you would want your newest tires on the rear, meaning less traction and that when in 4wd your back end would be pushing you faster than the front slightly meaning less stability. This makes no sense to me. I would think the newest and slightly larger tires should always go on the front.

oliver foster

4x4 trucks like the same size tires front and back, unless you only use 4x4 in very low traction stuff, like ice.
It is best to buy 4 matching tires for 4x4 trucks.
You chain driven, aluminum cased transfer case will thank me.

keithw1975

I do put the same size and brand of tire, but the new ones are going to be about an inch bigger in diameter. I have over 200,000 miles on my transfer case without it ever needing service.

oliver foster

Glad it works for you.
I will continue to use matching size tires for my 4x4 trucks.

Jb75

Can someone tell me what all gaskets I'll be needing. To change tappet cover gasket on a 2002 year model?

thrashingcows

Random post of the day n the wrong section.....

I would ask over on the 2nd Gen section, but you'll have a big job ahead of you since you will have to remove everything from the LH side of the motor to get at the tappet cover.

Danderson

I too replace tires with four matching tires just like buying shoes.

NJTman

Not trying to sound negative.

Well, for future reference, if your transfer case decides to quit on you, I'm sure Oliver has a few spares on the shelf to send out to you when it happens.

Angry Johnny

Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn't mean it is correct. Things change. Years ago putting the new tires on the front was prudent. Most vehicles didn't travel more than 55 or 60 miles an hour and drum brakes were prone to locking up. These days highway speeds have increased and 80 MPH is slow on some roads so new tires on the rear is to help prevent hydroplaning on wet roads. Many vehicles have ABS and stability control these days as well so it's not as crucial to have the best tires on the front.

nonrev

Another thing no one has addressed, to me putting new tires all the way around then rotate them every 5,00 miles, rear tires straight to the front then put the fronts on the opposite sides in the rear. You don.t get a wear pattern that way and they all wear nice and even.

Angry Johnny

Yes that is a good idea. He could also have a problem in the differential that is not letting the rear wheels turn at different speeds when cornering. This would chew up the tires as well.

nonrev

We had that problem with the wife's 98.5, turns out when she had the fluids changed in the diffs and tranny, transfer, they didn't put the additive in for the posi rear so it was grabbing like a bugger.

KATOOM

I understand what you're saying and I agree that new tires belong up front rather than the back... But I also agree with others in that you should be looking at all four tires, not just two as a time. Tires age out and become hard and take a shape to the location of where they've been mounted (unless rotated often). If they havent been rotated enough then moving them will cause accelerated wear and usually balancing issues. I'm not saying dont ever buy two tires at a time but just that I only do that on cars that I'm just trying to get by on...

As for the transfer case, you have a part time 4wd system so your TC isnt subject to any differences in tire diameters while just driving around. But when in 4wd those diameter differences will cause a significant driveline speed problem which means you can ONLY run 4wd while on loose or slippery surfaces. Running on dry concrete in 4wd is never good no matter if your tires are all matched or not, but running with odd size tires will over time tear up u-joints and transfer case chain. Hope that helps you out...