mhuppertz

I just had my tires rotated and balanced today because I had an obvious out of balance in the front. The front left tire was worn down on the inside big time, but OK on the rest of the tread.
Could this be failing ball joints? I can't see any obvious camber on the wheel.... it's not pulling or anything. Could it be a bad tire?

MikeThomas

If you had ball joints, yes, but you have king and link pins. Possible the lower king pin is worn out, or the toe is set to far out.

mhuppertz

I though the 4x4's had ball joints. That's what I get for thinking...

MikeThomas

Ford started using ball joints in the 90's on the dana 60's, Dodge didnt start using them until 94', all is good man.

rbrettctd

Thats firstgenhood for ya...constant front end work. Ahh it aint too bad...just $1600 and counting for me. lol

jjdiesel1990

almost every front end part on mine is new and wears the tires the same since the firsrt day i bought it brand new in 1990 - uneven and crappy

mhuppertz

I'm ready to weld everything solid and use big spongy tires for suspension.

BearKiller

I see all kinds of weird tire wear, at the tire shop, every day.

The absolute worst tire eaters on the road are 4x4 Dodge trucks 1994 and later.

Next worse are those old weird Ford front 4x4 axles that were limber in the middle, TTB or somesuch.

If the truck drives good, with no obvious worn/dangerous parts, just live with the odd tire wear; as, it's a lot cheaper to buy a tire once in a while, than to chase mysterious front-end problems with a hand-full of money.

Any old cheap tire will wear even, providing the vehicle is in perfect condition.

The problem is that even brand new vehicles have alignment issues.

mhuppertz

I did wait WAY too long to rotate. I had the alignment checked a few years ago and it was fine, and if I jack the tire a little off the ground and pry up on the tire from the floor everything seems pretty tight. It goes straight down the road and doesn't track funny in ruts or anything.....

woodrat

Have the same left front tire issues as you, also haven't rotated often enough, but I also have a bad steering shaft, and had warped rotors for way too long....Hopefully will have enough dough left over this month to get a new steering shaft and new master cylinder.

the things we put up with rather than fix...