Tires: Tire wear on right front - Dodge Ram, dodge ram 4x4, rf drive

Question
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Followup To
Question -
Barry,

I have a '96 Dodge Ram 4x4 that is prematurely wearing the outer edge of the right front tire. The left front looks good. The wear is worst on the outer edges of the individual treads and is very course. It looks like tiny chuncks are being torn off the tire rather than a smooth wear. I just bought new tires and had the alignment and front end parts checked (twice) but everything looks good. The tire wear looks like a result of the right front tire over-steering when I turn sharp to the left but the steering stops both hit at the same time when turning either direction. Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

Mike
Answer -
Mike,

A couple of thoughts occur to me:

1)  Is it possible that the RF tire is dropping off the pavement or being driven on the berm where that is gravel?

2)  It might be that the RF drive mechanism is being engaged, or the hub on that side is locking.

3)  Is it possible that the vehicle is being driven harder on left hand turns than right hand turns?


Barry,

Thanks for your quick reply. Answering your questions in order: #1 isn't an issue.  I live in Florida so I don't ever encounter gravel (all sand).  #2 is possible although there isn't anything to indicate that it's happening. Turning and steering is very smooth, quiet, and predictable.  #3 is one idea that I've suspected because I noticed that I almost always U-turn to the left however I've had the truck for about 5 years and the problem just showed itself in the past year or so.   

What is the likelyhood of an oversteer problem when turning left? One more point is that both RF and LF tires appear to lean out slightly when turned to the left or right limits. Is that normal?

Thanks again,

Mike

Answer
Mike,

I am going to disagree with you on your answer to question #1.  Florida is known for using "new limestone" in its paving and that contains crushed sea shells that will have their edges exposed, which can be very abrasive, and quite possibly the source of the chunking.  This would be more true for new pavement, especially concrete.

The fact that the problem didn't appear until recently might be because of wear in the suspension components - not enough to be visible on inspection, but enough that a U turn might cause the RF tire to tuck under more.

Tires leaning more when they are turned is called "camber gain" and it is caused by caster.  It is normal, but it is controlled by the suspension, which has to be adjusted within the alignment limits set by the manufacturer.