[JeffJ]

My front tires are wearing unevenly. I purchased new tires about a year ago and my truck had an alignment at the same time. I'm noticing the same wear patterns. Should I take the truck back in to get another alignment? Also, does my truck require a 2 wheel alignment or 4 wheel alignment?

2001 Frontier Crew Cab

 

[Irongrave]

2 wheel alignment you have a solid rear axle so cant change the camber caster or tow on that

 

[Mathster]

have you changed front shocks?

you might talk to your tire place about the wear. the tech might have aligned it, but failed to mention (or failed to check) for worn components.

 

[BRUTAL]

4 wheel alignment reffers to 4 heads, 1 on each wheel. it gets a truer reading of the vehicles alignment, since tramping in the rear dramatically affects the front. Yes you can set the rear(actually you can, but not unless youre really outta wack would you consider, off set leaf pins etc, sometimes just loosening the rearend mounts and shifting the rear will correct) But you normally only set the front on a solid axle rear. what part of the tire is weating? inside or outside edge

 

[nitricacid]

Originally bf,s on truck the fronts wore uneven
Just the inside. Didn't rotate for 40k. Now I will fpr sure

 

[Irongrave]

shocks or worn parts can cause the tires to wear uneven also is your tire pressure right

 

[TwoBills]

I'll bet the insides of the front tires are wearing. I think the factory setup allows this. Too much camber.? Rotating will correct it, but you'll have to do it every 4K right from the begining or the tires will set.

 

[BRUTAL]

If You Dont Have Anything Worn Have Thew Toe In Set More Than What It Is. Also Have Them Push Out On The Inside Of The Front Tires(merecedes Alignment Pressor Bar Proceedure) To See How Much Deflection You Have In The Suspension. It Is Not Uncommong For Me To Align A Vehicle With More Toe In, Even Into The Red Out Of Spec, Because Of Suspension Deflection(how Much The Tires Will Toe Out When You Submit Them To Driving On The Road Which Forces The Tires To Toe Out) After All, No One Drives To Work On An Alignment Machine...i Am Still Amazed At The Number Of Shops/techs That Dont Check This When Theyre Done With An Alignment And Taking The Heads Off. You Dont Have To Have Wornout Parts To Have The Tires Move From An "in Spec" Alignment To Too Much Toe Out When Driving Which Is The #1,#1,#1 (did I Say It Enough???) Reason For Inside Tire Wear...

 

[JeffJ]

The outside of the tire wears on the passenger side, and the inside of the tire wears on the driver side. The shop I took it to last time charged me for a 4 wheel alignment last time. I'll probably take it in within the next two weeks.

 

[BRUTAL]

Outside Tire Wear Is From Too Much Toe In And Inside From Too Much Toe Out. You Just Need Another Alignment And Have Them Follow Recommendation On Checking Deflection On My Previous Post. Anyone That Deals With Anything Mechanical Knows There Are Acceptable Tollerances. Add Those Up And You Can Have Unacceptable Tolerances But No Problem With Any "single" Part

 

[JeffJ]

I brought my truck to a shop today. They called me and said the suspension components were fine, and I only needed an alignment. Thirty minutes later I received another call saying my camber is way off (I'm assuming positive camber). I didn't mention that I had it aligned there only a year earlier. He said he couldn't break the adjustment nut free, and I would need to have my inner and outer tie rods replaced on both sides. It went from a 60 dollar invoice to nearly 700 dollars. He said something about not having enough adjust thread left. Would new tie rods fix this? I haven't looked at the tie rods yet. I can post pictures if someone can diagnose anything by them. Are tie rods hard to replace (diy type job)? Thanks for all the help.

 

[JeffJ]

I looked at the estimate and it says toe setting is off. I swear he said camber on the phone. Here is the diagnosis:

Tie Rods Frozen- Toe setting on alignment is out very far- need to replace parts, then align the truck.


Can anyone make anything of this? Basically, he can't can't free the adjustment nut (both sides) and wants to replace inner and outer rods on both sides.

Thanks. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[JeffJ]

 

[JeffJ]

deleted

 

[JeffJ]

deleted double post

 

[JeffJ]

OK. I think I figured out what happened. I don't think the guy was intentionally trying to rip me off. I noticed that the only jam nut that appeared to have marks left by a wrench was a left hand threaded nut. It had a couple of rounded corners on it. The rounded corners were typical of someone turning it counter clockwise. Basically, the guy turned one jam nut the wrong way with a lot of force and then gave up. I guess he thought if one jam nut was stuck, they all must be frozen. Coincidently, the only nut I had trouble with was the one he overtightened. I think it would have came right off, if he turned it the right way. His laziness almost cost me $600

 

[Mathster]

Just like going to the doctor, get a second opinion... Unless you really know your doctor/mechanic.