Tire problem

[kloadman97]

Someone here always seems to have the answer...so I thought I would give it a shot.

Assuming it worked, attached are two pictures of the tire I pulled off my Explorer this morning (right front tire). Besides my tread being low and the tire needing replacement anyway, I somehow flat spotted the tire. There was no sudden stop, I have never towed anything, and visual inspection didn't seem to show anything that might have caused that...just normal around town driving which happened with no issues up through Friday afternoon. I go out today and it's as flat as can be.

I would hate to miss an issue needing correction that would lead to a new tire being ruined in a short period of time. Anyone have thoughts as to what I might check or have someone check for me to ensure there is nothing more severe wrong with my truck? Thanks

 

[Bill Kemp]

This seems like a severe tire "cupping". I had this happen on some Goodyear Sports and was told that worn shocks can add to the problem.
Different tires, Micheline(sp) and new shocks cured it.

Dont know for sure so if I were you I would check w/a tire shop & see what they say.

 

[dogfriend]

I'm not sure if its camera distortion or whether the sidewall is actually bulged out. It looks like there might be internal damage that caused the tire to bulge out. It does look like you wore off the right corner of the tread (referring to the bottom photo) a lot more than the left side, so you may want to have the alignment checked.

 

[marragtop]

Tires can flat spot by the belts coming apart internally. The tire had a lot of wear and miles on it so you won't really know unless you inspect the inside of the tire. Looks like you need new tire anyway.

 

[kloadman97]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

To respond to some of what you guys mentioned:

That tire is a Continental ContiTrac. It was the kind on there when I bought the truck in 2003 and I have just stuck with it each time I purchased new tires. Obviously my fronts were in need of replacement but with a new baby in the mix (my car isn't the baby transport) other things had taken monetary priority. I guess now I don't have a choice huh?

In regards to the shocks...they are likely in need of replacement but with a 1997 with over 150k miles on it seems I am getting to the point of deciding between significant repairs and those costs versus a newer vehicle.

Alignment needs done for sure. I lived in a county in Ohio that is known for, among other things, for having the greatest number of collisions between deer and cars. So in addition to lots of snow and ice and bumpy hills and torn up country roads, I "kissed" two deer with my truck. One was a younger doe that I sort of hip checked with my right rear panel when it tried to duck behind me. The other was a big buck that took on the front left corner...breaking off a piece of my bug shield, breaking the glass in my side view mirror, and putting a nice dent in the fender. The car didn't come through all that badly, but the deer was someone's dinner.

I will be taking it to a tire shop either tomorrow or Tuesday. A friend suggested the broken belt idea, so maybe that's it. Rather have it be that than something crazy that isn't a simple fix.