Tires--uneven wear

[Alexandra Spears]

I noticed something when I got my tires rotated.

My back tires, which used to be my front tires, were wearing unevenly. On the outside it's starting to get bald, while the tread depth on the inside is fine.

This was happening while the tires were in front. Is that an alignment issue? Or ball joints, like my husband suggested?

Suggestions?

[1thunder]

could be both if balljoints wear out it knocks the alignment out

[MT-2500]

Time to.
Head for a good front/rear/4 wheel end alignment shop and have them check it out.
The good ones will check for worn front end or front end parts before a alignment and let you know what it may need.
MT

[Alexandra Spears]

Thanks you guys.

I also did a Google search and from the info I'm getting, if it were ball joints the wear would be on the inside. My steering seems to be fine, and my husband drove it around and did some hard turns in it to see if he could detect bad ball joints--he'd had a 94 Mercury Topaz not too long ago and we'd replaced the ball joints on it, so he's familiar with the noise. He thinks they're fine. I just get a creaking noise from my suspension when it's freezing outside.

I keep thinking alignment myself. My husband thinks it's because I'm not keeping them properly inflated...but if that were the case, it would be the inside and outside edges.

I am going to look into an alignment, and when I do I'll see about having the ball joints inspected.

[neon_rt]

Minivans tend to eat the outside of the tires off very quickly. Many times tires have to be changed before the tread wears all the way out b/c the outside edge is ruined. The Camber alignment ( you can Google it if you don't already know about alignment) is set by most shops to be Positive, meaning that the tire is aligned so it puts more weight on the outside. This alignment makes it easier to turn your steering wheel while in a parked position (when the vehicle is not moving). It makes it seems easier to manuver around a parking space when you are moving slow or not moving at all. As you can imagine this one advantage (which feeds bad driving habits in the first place) has a whole lot of disadvantages to go with it. We can discuss them in more detail if anyone is interested in suspension geometry.

[Alexandra Spears]

Originally Posted by neon_rt

Minivans tend to eat the outside of the tires off very quickly. Many times tires have to be changed before the tread wears all the way out b/c the outside edge is ruined. The Camber alignment ( you can Google it if you don't already know about alignment) is set by most shops to be Positive, meaning that the tire is aligned so it puts more weight on the outside. This alignment makes it easier to turn your steering wheel while in a parked position (when the vehicle is not moving). It makes it seems easier to manuver around a parking space when you are moving slow or not moving at all. As you can imagine this one advantage (which feeds bad driving habits in the first place) has a whole lot of disadvantages to go with it. We can discuss them in more detail if anyone is interested in suspension geometry.

Now that's interesting.

Does it usually happen only in the front? That's what's going on here. I had the not-so-good front tires rotated to the back, so the tires that are in the front now are pretty good.

Still, an alignment probably wouldn't hurt IMO.

[neon_rt]

I live on a crooked country road. Anytime I have an alignment, I had the shop align with Negative Camber. They will only align within the factory specified range so I get only -.2 degrees. Standard alignment is +.25 degrees. On a strut suspension such as what the Caravans have, when the body leans in a corner the wheels inherit almost the same amount of lean. If you already are running on the outside edge, leaning the outside tire further over to the edge tends to significantly reduce traction and literally burns the outside edge off. The rear suspension is solid axle so the change of camber during cornering does not apply.
That is why the back tires usually wear down evenly. If you start into a corner with negative camber (weight on inside edge of tire), as the body leans in the corner, the tire surface as laid out flat on the road, not only does this give way more grip to the front outside tire, but it also keeps the outside edge of the tire from getting burned off. If you dial in too much negative camber, you will wear off the inside edge of the tire too fast. AutoCross (parking lot) racers often dial in -2 to -2.5 degrees camber (for race only). There are other factors involved if anyone is interested.

[vamc]

Get a neg caber. (-0.02) This will make them wear the best b/c the road is not flat, it is towed in as well.

[neon_rt]

In an effort to further help the handling and tire wear on my '00 GC, I installed a Hellwig rear sway bar. That is the best mod ever! Not only was the handling better than most cars, the uneven tire wear the minivans usually have completely disappeared. I decided NOT to rotate my tires regularly after the mod so I could see if how the front tires would wear. I ran 50K miles before I rotated and only then b/c I was down to about 1/2 tread (but it was even across the tire). I started the test with new tires (225/60-16), struts,shocks and sway bar install, neg camber on the front was set at -.2 degrees.
Unfortunately the van was totalled recently by a reckless driver that thought RED lights are meant to be ran at high speed.
I have since purchased another '00 GC and plan to make the same mods to it. BTW after driving the modified van, driving this one 4 miles on the very crooked road to my house is not fun, feels more like piloting a boat.