Drivers Side Front Tire Wear on Inside

[XBurningInMyEye]

Ok so I just put new brake pads on, changed my oil, and rotated my tires.

It seems to me my Driver Side Front Inside always wears down first. The last time my vehicle was checked for alignment was last September.

I took it in then for the same reason. Driver Side Front Inside wear. They told me it was a little off alignment and everything would be fine afterwards. I went to Sears for this.

My vehicle doesnt seem to pull to the sides.

Any Ideas here?

 

[Crankcase]

Stand back, and look at the front from a distance. Do the tires bow outwards at the bottom?

 

[DC Larson]

Hey!

My Merc is at the tire shop as we speak. The inside of the front drivers side tire has little cupping or dish like wear on it.

The reason I am getting tires is that I hear a loud rythmic groan from the front end. Sometimes you can feel it on your feet...after driving a while. Thot is was in the drivetrain, front diff or transfer case being that it's an AWD. Took it to the dealer and they said my tires look bad. And they do...less than a 1/4" tread left on old Cooper 4 plys plus uneven wear on the left front. But the dealership wanted me to get new tires to see if that cures the problem. Then go from there.

By the way, I'm getting LT 235 x 15', Wild Country XTX's installed. I got the 17's on my pickup and I like them so well I'm putting then on the Merc.

Just interesting that you have the same wear as I do on my tire.

If you have any clue to my groaning noise....please tell.

 

[Derek]

I have some good news, I had the same problem my tires were wearing on the inside and cupping (uneven bumps around tire) and i got them during the tire recal so they were almost new. But here is the bad news I bought 4 new tires and i went with michelin which is a MUCH better and smoother drive than the goodyears i had on there before. I also put in new shocks which is most likely the reason for the wear because as Crankcase said if the tires bow or seperate its most likely the shocks causing that (Crankcase correct me if im wrong or if you had something else in mind causing it).

 

[XBurningInMyEye]

nope, it seems to tilt to the left a little bit. My ride seems smooth and all, but damn if you say it's my shocks. that goinna be expensive...

 

[Black Magic]

Am I missing something? If I am, just slap me. But why don't you take it back to where you had the alignment in Sept and have them realign it?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Both of my front tires were like what you have described. When I steped back about five feet I could ses the tires leaning in at the top. The only way to correct it was to have shims put on the upper A arms.
Personaly I would take it to a dealer. It was $125 for shims & labor plus $50 for the alignment. Its cheaper than tearing up tires all of the time
I don't trust Sears or any place like them.

 

[DC Larson]

I just had new tires and an alignment on my Merc. It seemed to really quiet down the front end noise I had.....that kind of groaning noise and vibration. It was so bad out of alignment that they had to add these shims to get it back to normal.

4 - Les Schwab LT 235x75R 15's------$423.04

Alignment - $45.95

Shims (Installed) - $80.00

I had heard bad things about Les Schwab...mostly from out on the west coast. But these guys here seemed to really know whats up....no surprises. They called before installing the shims. Plus when I was taking my morning break I walked over there for the heck of it and the alignement guy showed me exactly what was up when my car was still on the alignment machine.

All in all everything seems to be fixed. Another question tho. I still think I can hear the noise mentioned earlier but it could be in my head also. My wife doesn't hear it. Could the brand new tires "mask" the sound so I can't hear it but still have the problem?