Suspension and Tire Wear

[old89lsc]

I recently noticed quite a bit of outside shoulder wear on the front tires (20k miles) of our 2001 Windstar (101k miles). The van also pulls to the right. I took it in for a tire rotation and once the tires were off, the inside shoulder wear was even worse, especially on the front right tire. The conclusion was that the alignment was off.

I took it in for an alignment at a different shop, and once they got it set up they showed me that the camber is off. The camber was about -1 degree for both front tires, which would explain the excessive inside shoulder wear. Initially, the suggestion was to cut the strut plate to adjust the camber but that turned into a recommendation to replace the springs and struts on the front. The total estimated cost was $1,035. At that price, it may be cheaper to eat up tires. I have found that strutmasters.com will sell a pair of assembled EZ struts for $300. But with all the work suggested by my Haynes (steering knuckle and hub removal) I am not eager to do the job myself.

I was just wondering if anyone else had this kind of tire wear and what they did for it. I had seen some scary posts about older Windstars breaking springs, but not so much on 2000 and newer models that would motivate me towards replacement.

[wiswind]

If you replace the struts, you have to remove the whole spring & strut assembly from the vehicle.....at this point, you can install a "alignment camber kit" that will permit camber adjustment.
It is made by Moog.....available from Rock Auto for just under $81 each (2 needed to do both sides).

[northern piper]

was this van in an accident? Have you checked all other suspension/steering components? Are they original tires and proper size? Inflation?

I installed quick struts which wasn't that bad a job and didn't use any camber plates, had an aligment done by a reputable shop and things were fine. I just kind of wonder where things went wrong as really the only thing to adjust on these windstars is toe.

Piper

[wiswind]

Just a note to say that the camber "kit" that I mentioned is NOT needed unless for some reason you need to adjust the camber.....which is not normal.
A "quick strut" comes with a new upper mounting plate and bearing.....which, like the OEM, is not adjustable for camber.

[old89lsc]

No accidents. We have been driving it since 2002 when it only had 18k miles on it. The tire wear problem is new.

However, my wife was forced off the road to avoid stopped vehicles. It seems like after that happend the van pulled a little to the right. That was a year ago and rotating the tires fixed the pull, until recently.

The camber being off is being attributed to too low of a front ride height due to worn springs/struts. I watched as the mechanic at the shop pushed up on the front end and the computer showed the camber go back to an acceptable angle. Looking at the van while sitting, my wife and I agreed that the front looks lower than the back, but I haven't measured.

When I replaced the tires 1.5 years ago, I changed from 215/65R16 to 225/60R16. The sidewall of these two sizes is the same, and the latter tire is the typical Windstar tire size. I am not sure why the original tires were 215s. Could it be because it was originally a Canadian vehicle? The excessive shoulder wear on both sides normally indicates too low of an inflation, but I have kept track of the tire inflation. I won't say that I was perfect, but in general I inflate to a couple psi more than what is recommended to begin with.

I guess that I am a little fuzzy about what "not too bad of a job" is. But it sounds like I can give it a try. If I am removing the springs and struts, I guess that I would assume that new ones will fix my camber and really would not plan on putting the camber adjustment plates in.

Thanks for all the input.

[northern piper]

I replaced my struts/springs with Monroe Quickstruts. I found the job to be pretty easy. At the same time I replaced the sway bar end links, inner and outer tie rods both lower control arms. Depending upon what you want to do the job can become bigger or not. If you're planning on doing the struts/springs for sure replace the sway bar end links. You'll get a new part (likely the old won't come off without ruining it) and the new will have a zerc fitting for grease. In removing the struts I first removed the cowl which allowed easy access to the top of the strut. In my opinion this is a must. I loosened the knuckle and was able to remove the strut without removing it. I did remove the caliper to stop the strain on the flex hose. I used a spring compressor but likely didn't need to. Probably needed 1/2 can of PB blaster to loosen nuts. For me the hardest part was the inner tie rods which you may not need to do. Search on my username and you'll find a pretty detailed description of the work req'd. If you're pretty mechanical it's not a bad job. Dont forget to torque fasteners to the right setting.

Piper

[12Ounce]

There are a number of rubber suspension components that can wear and affect tire wear. Be sure to inspect lower control arms, antisway mount bushings, antisway links, sub-frame mounts, engine/tranny mounts, ... and of course, tie-rod ends (inner and outer).