Rear tire slant

[MXlonerider]

Hey all,

Well, I left the Dodge forums after trading my old '88 D100 to my younger brother, now I'm back after having recently purchased a 2000 Dodge Dakota 4.7L Auto/ 4x4 Club Cab.

When I bought the truck, it had nearly-new tires on, which pleased me. Now, after having driven a couple thousand miles, I've noticed that the rear tires seem to be wearing very unevenly. Now, I'm not sure whether this is happening on just one or both rear wheels, as I've had the tires rotated since I bought it and had a front end alignment done (and my eyes aren't good enough to tell straight from crooked sometimes), but I know that at least one of the rear wheels is riding with the top slanted out just a bit. This is causing the outer edge of the tire to wear very quickly, and I'm worried not only about tire lift, but also about losing traction and wearing something down in my rear end.

Can you list some possible causes I should look into? I'd appreciate it very much all.

OH! and one last thing--does anybody know of a place where I can get a cheap replacement stock driver-rear fender flare for this truck? Haven't had it a few months and somebody already backed into it....

[jdmccright]

Welp I'm a Dodge newbie too, but angled rear tires are not a good thing. Take a good look at the tires from the rear and use a plumb-bob to check their angle. Do both tires lean the same way? Or just one? Both would indicate a misaligned rear axle and will need a 4-wheel alignment. One means that you've got a bent axle carrier and ought to get that fixed quick. Maybe your missing rear fender flare is part of the reason the wheel is cocked...due to damage of some sort to that corner?

Other possibilites are that the axle just needs to be realigned for thrust (making sure the axle is perpendicular to the centerline of the truck). This condition results in the truck "crabbing" to one side, causing the driver to steer in the direction of crabbing and causing extra wear on the outside tread, along with extra wear on the CV joints and U-joints. Not checking where the tires were rotated from makes it harder to pinpoint the problem area.

Sorry if this isn't very pointed, but keep on feeding info and we'll do what we can. Good luck!

[wayneo69]

maybe a bent axle or housing the rear alignment is not adjustable could be that it was wrecked and the frame is bent you can put a 4 wheel alignment on it and get the readings on the rear(that are not adjustable) but you can use those readings to start from. put it on a lift and run it in gear and watch how the wheel runs may be a bad belt it the tire then swap that wheel with a front one (just rotate the tires and run it again on the the lift and watch it

[MXlonerider]

Hey guys, thanks for the input.

I took the truck by a local shop that I trust. According to their opinions, the degree of wear shown on the tires could not possibly be caused in such a short period of time, even by a bent/wrecked rear axle. They believe that the previous owner simply never rotated the tires and needed a slight alignment, causing the very uneven wear over who knows how long a period of time. I knew it was possible... but didn't personally think there was anybody who didn't at least rotate their tires regularly over a period of years still out there. I = wrong, apparently.

Also, they said that the 4x4 Dakotas with the fender flares are built and designed such that when you look at them from the rear, there is actually a slight optical illusion which causes the tires to appear slanted. Go figure.