Uneven tire wear

[PaHumBug]

Hi all,
I have 37" Nitto's that were pretty much new when I bought my 2005 with a 6 inch fabtech lift. (I do plan on going with bigger rubber once these are worn out). I had the truck aligned when I bought it a few months ago. All my tires have the same pressure, and all are wearing normally but the right front. Lugs that are right next to each other on that tire are different heights. Is this alignment, balance, or something worse like hubs, etc. I do have fabtech tie rods too.
Thanks

[Hellz]

lug nuts shouldnt matter if the size heights are different.. just matters that they fit properly and secure the wheel to the hub.

have you pulled the lugs off to verify they are different sizes?
could be one or two have loosened up and your just seeing the height difference.

you can check if your hubs are bad by lifting the front up and grabbing a tire at the 12 and 6 oclock position and try lifting up and down. you might need a 2x4 or something to help lift the tire up if its heavy.

iirc.. if you get any play more than 1/4 of an inch, the hub is bad... but i think the general rule around here is if you get any movement at all, just replace the hub(s).

If you are just worried about the lug nuts, i would simply buy replacement ones. maybe the previous owner broke a stud, and the original lug wouldnt fit on the new stud, so they put on one that was longer...

[PaHumBug]

Sorry I wasn't very clear. I meant the tire tread lugs. One is high, the next is low, next is high, etc.

Thanks, I will check the hubs as you said.

But what does this tread wear indicate?

Thanks

[Hellz]

what tread wear?

where is the worn down area at?? inside of tire? middle of tire or outter edge?

if it is on the edges, i would say possible alignment.
inside is over inflation.
both sides i would say maybe under inflation

i think for a worn hub, you would be seeing inside wear.. but maybe im wrong on that.

[HUMMERICH23]

Ive got the same issue with my cognito level with 37 Stts with the front passenger tire wearing way premature compared to rest. Have had alignment checked three times and it is dead accurate. I get wear on outside lugs and 1st center traction zone closest to the outside lugs. all the rest of the tires are showing perfect wear. I cant figure it out too, unless its just normal wear for the front passenger tire?

[PaHumBug]

Originally Posted by HUMMERICH23

Ive got the same issue with my cognito level with 37 Stts with the front passenger tire wearing way premature compared to rest. Have had alignment checked three times and it is dead accurate. I get wear on outside lugs and 1st center traction zone closest to the outside lugs. all the rest of the tires are showing perfect wear. I cant figure it out too, unless its just normal wear for the front passenger tire?

Exactly what I have. But it's not just that it's worn down more on the outside, EVERY OTHER lug (alternating) on the outside row of lugs is worn down more. Weird. Any ideas?

[[__--MUD--__]]

Unless you personally know the guy doing your current alignments & verify he's more than qualified- I'd go get an alignment from another shop, preferibly a place that works on big trucks on a daily basis.

A good shop wouldn't have you asking these questions...

I dont remember how many shops I went through before I found a really good one.

[PaHumBug]

I was hoping to get an answer here so I know if the alignment guy is pulling my chain or not...

[[__--MUD--__]]

ok so we dont have full trust in the alignment guy... Jack up the front end, grab both outer sides of the wheel and see how much you can move it. Can you shake it or does it rattle? How far can you push the tire as if you were turning?

The amount of force your rig puts down on those tires is far greater than you could exert by hand.

By the way, are you aware the Fabtech and Cognito tie rods are now ****? Cheap chineese steel..

http://www.clubhummeroffroad.com/for...hlight=fabtech

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=389381

Dont feel bad, I have them on my rig also- untill they go crap out.

[Scarsman]

Could also be a bad shock.

[HumminNBoatin']

Check your hubs AND balljoints. I have had this problem as well. Most alignment techs do a shake down of your front end. But with the H2 you need to use a prybar to really check the lower balljoints. You cant just shake it down by hand to check the lower ball joints unless you are literally superman.

Just jack the truck up via the fram or lower controll arm untill the tire is about 2" off the ground. Shove a prybar underneigth the tire and lift. Look at the lower ball joint and see if there is any play.

[PaHumBug]

Originally Posted by [__--MUD--__]

ok so we dont have full trust in the alignment guy... Jack up the front end, grab both outer sides of the wheel and see how much you can move it. Can you shake it or does it rattle? How far can you push the tire as if you were turning?

The amount of force your rig puts down on those tires is far greater than you could exert by hand.

By the way, are you aware the Fabtech and Cognito tie rods are now ****? Cheap chineese steel..

http://www.clubhummeroffroad.com/for...hlight=fabtech

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=389381

Dont feel bad, I have them on my rig also- untill they go crap out.

My truck came with the fabtech tie rods when I bought it. It's an 05 with 40K miles, but I don't know when the lift was put on, etc. Don't know if I have the old good ones or the new crap ones. Like you said I'm going to use them until they crap out, then probably go with Kryptonites.

Thanks for the tips I will try checking these things.

[ROUSHDEMON]

Sounds like your balljoints might be effed, also sounds like you might need to rotate tires a lot more often. How long are you going between swaps?

[PaHumBug]

I don't know my exact mileage right now but I think it's been about 3K miles. I'm going to have my axle seals fixed soon and get alignment then. And maybe my ball joints too if that is the case.... There goes my tax return...

[guruerror]

Originally Posted by PaHumBug

Exactly what I have. But it's not just that it's worn down more on the outside, EVERY OTHER lug (alternating) on the outside row of lugs is worn down more. Weird. Any ideas?

I've got the same thing...every other lug on the outside tread is worn lower.

37" BFG MT KM2
Cognito UCA, pitman/idler arm kit
Cognito tie rods

I just found out though that I've got a lot of play in the front wheels and that my tie rods need replaced. Since I've just recently noticed the uneven tread i'm assuming it's due to the tie rods getting worn out. I just ordered some Kryptonites, we'll see if that evens things out any.

[racer24]

Sounds like your ball joints and possibly your hub bearings too.

[guruerror]

Originally Posted by racer24

Sounds like your ball joints and possibly your hub bearings too.

I just called the dealer...they said the ball joints and hub bearings looked fine; but good call. I'm going to ask that they double-check them when they put the Kryptonites on, though.