chopped GoodYears Thumping and Driving me Nuts!!

[Curtis]

I have a 96 2wd, 4.0. I had a thumping noise in the front this time last year and Ford said it was my tires chopping. Because they wheels were out of alignment. I got an alignment and spent almost $500 on 4 GoodYear RT/S tires.

A month later I got the same noise! Another Anignment, and a rotation and balance... smooth again. After another month again, the same noise is back. I have had the alignment checked and its ok. Whats goin on? The thumping is driving me crazy.

I thought about getting the tires trued. Any one had any experience with this? How much tread to they take off? The tires only have about 8000 miles on them. Believe it or not the inside edge of my tires is actually heart shapped. Worn in the middle on top and pointed on bottom. what a crappy ride.

Would I be better off getting a street tire instead of an aggressive tread?

any thoughts?

[CADDYBILL]

Goto a different shop and let them look. Either you have an allignment problem or you over/underinflate your tires.

[Alec]

Yup, either the tires aren't inflated correctly, or your alignment shop sucks.

In my experience, 2 Ford dealers and a Goodyear shop all messed up my alignment, it never lasted more than 4-6 months. Now I go to a small, private service center for most of my stuff, and the alignment stays true.

[Curtis]

Thanks for the update guys, but I after I had Ford do the anignment I asked for a print out. I then drove right to a Big10 tire store and had it checked. We compared printouts and they were very very close. Both places said my alignment was in spec.

I guess I dont check tire pressure as often as I should But I do every time I change the oil.

Has anyone ever had thier tires Trued? its $25 a tire! Its worth it to me if it makes my ride smooth.

Cheers

[RangerX]

I had my Coyote's trued when I first got them. They took about 1/8" off on the 'high spots". Mine were 37" and an off brand, smaller Goodyears should not need trueing, but anything's possible. I would look elsewhere, though. Do you have a lift, or anything nonstock in the front suspension?

[Curtis]

My suspension is totally stock. 2wd. Up until now I had never heard of truing. There is alot of tread on the tires, I would be ok with loosing 1/8 on the highspots if it meant this problem would go away. Every time I drive I feel like going to the nears dealer and trading it in. Im willing to try anything. I almost bought 4 new cheap tires yesterday just to get a smooth ride.

Cheers

[Bored_2wd]

Wheels are balanced on a machine and it tells the operator where to stick the wheel weights. If they aren't stuck on properly, they can be slung off. This causes the wheel to become out of balance, and could cause a thump. It's just an idea, but before you have them cut the tires, have someone balance the wheels for you. I've never experienced it myself, but I've heard of others who have, so its just an idea. good luck!
--Bob

[Rob Slade]

Perhaps you have one or two of your suspension components going bad, causing the tires to wear oddly. Even if you get it aligned and the parts are worn, it would still wear the wrong way. I know from experience that the RT/S tires do get out of round after time (I had them on my car first), but it didn't happen until way into the latter part of their tread life.

[Curtis]

I thought too about suspension components. I had sway bar links replaced, lower ball joints, upper baljoints and upper control arms (the upper balljoints are in the upper control arms and must be replaced the same time). I even spend the extra money for the alignment kit required to adjust the wheels on fords. Still hasnt resolved my problem.