Front right tire wear

[DrDusty86]

My 99' Escort Zx2 has some odd tire wear on the inner area of the pass side front. I put tie rods on it about 10k miles ago and had it aligned, they did not mention anything, in fact they said all looks good. The tire is wearing SLIGHTLY more on the inside of the tire, though the whole tire looks to have the first wear bars disappearing.
The tires have 52k miles on them, They are BF Goodridge TA Touring tires. I have a tire that is noisy on the driver's side rear(opposite corner) I have rotated them every 10k miles. The car drives straight and doesn't pull.
When I rotate the tires I put a bar a 6 o'clock position and pry up to check for play in the ball joint, as well as shake the tire from top to bottom an and shake it at 9 and 3 positions as well with no play.

I have come to a conclusion that these tires are junk. What could it be on the car, if anything?

What else should I check?
Dusty

 

[The_Jeff]

Stick a laser pointer level gizmo on your front tire sidewall bulges at 4 and 8 oclock and aim for the rears. Should just barely miss. Then do the same with the rear tires aiming frontwards. Then use the bubble level portion, put a couple business cards between the top sidewall and the gizmo for a slight amount of negative camber.

It could just be a native function of the car's standard alignment setup.

 

[The motor guy]

My truck does the same thing in fact, both front tires are toed in and wear the outside more than the inside. If i rotated the tires regularly it wouldn't be noticeable. I think the front passenger tire wears the most cause of the road being angled and the fact that I take left turns faster than right ones so it puts alot of weight on that one tire turning.

 

[johnachak]

10K is a long time on an alignment.

 

[DrDusty86]

John,
Your kidding right??? I had the car aligned for the FIRST time in 200k miles when I did the tie rods. The shop said I had it almost perfect. I just counted the turns as I removed and installed them
My ranger in 413K, I CHECKED it once at 275k...
I don't hit curbs or hit pot holes at 80mph.. I take rough roads VERY cautiously, but hammer down on smooth pavement

 

[4x4chevydude]

could be bad ball joints or bushings in the front end...my tires wore terrible until I replaced mine

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: johnachak
10K is a long time on an alignment.


Depending on roads and other conditions, an alignment should last many tens of thousands of miles. Many cars never need an alignment.

 

[mechtech2]

52K+ miles on the tires and you see wear??
C'mon now! That is a LOT for those size tires!

There are inner tie rods that need to be checked for any play. Then the toe set. Camber is not usually a problem unless it is way off.
Sounds like that side is toed out a bit too much.

 

[DrDusty86]

Mech, Does my Zx2 have inner tie rods? I wasn't able to find them

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
John,
Your kidding right??? I had the car aligned for the FIRST time in 200k miles when I did the tie rods. The shop said I had it almost perfect. I just counted the turns as I removed and installed them
My ranger in 413K, I CHECKED it once at 275k...
I don't hit curbs or hit pot holes at 80mph.. I take rough roads VERY cautiously, but hammer down on smooth pavement


That's probably a good move because your car was built backwards. If you want to be able to hit potholes at higher speeds without causing problems, just spin it round the other way and shift into reverse so it drives like a regular car but with weird steering, then mash the gas pedal to the floor.

The first axle to pass over the pothole will have very little weight on it due to torque reaction and will just glide over the pothole. As the second axle passes over the pothole it's suspension will already be loaded, but drive torque will make the tires 'climb' out of the pothole and again you'll be perfectly fine doing this at speed.

...or just continue taking it slow over the rough stuff. It's worked well enough so far.

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
Mech, Does my Zx2 have inner tie rods? I wasn't able to find them


Absolutely. Any parts store should have them. You need to borrow, rent, or buy a special tool /socket. Parts stores usually loan them.

 

[johnachak]

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
John,
Your kidding right??? I had the car aligned for the FIRST time in 200k miles when I did the tie rods. The shop said I had it almost perfect. I just counted the turns as I removed and installed them
My ranger in 413K, I CHECKED it once at 275k...
I don't hit curbs or hit pot holes at 80mph.. I take rough roads VERY cautiously, but hammer down on smooth pavement


Yeah, my bad... I didn't notice Texas... Around here 6,000 or when a big pothole knocks it out or whatever come first is the rule of thumb...

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I think the front passenger tire wears the most cause of the road being angled and the fact that I take left turns faster than right ones so it puts alot of weight on that one tire turning.


I think it has more to do more with hitting curb when parking or turning right more frequently. I have hardly seen anyone parking with the driver side hitting the curb.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: johnachak
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
John,
Your kidding right??? I had the car aligned for the FIRST time in 200k miles when I did the tie rods. The shop said I had it almost perfect. I just counted the turns as I removed and installed them
My ranger in 413K, I CHECKED it once at 275k...
I don't hit curbs or hit pot holes at 80mph.. I take rough roads VERY cautiously, but hammer down on smooth pavement


Yeah, my bad... I didn't notice Texas... Around here 6,000 or when a big pothole knocks it out or whatever come first is the rule of thumb...


Our potholes and their "potholes" are not created equally.

What we consider a pot hole, they consider a crater from an asteroid.

We have potholes that'll rip an entire wheel/bearing/etc right off of a car!

 

[mechtech2]

Chicago right after Winter is the Royal King of potholes.
And often no time to see them or room to avoid them.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
Mech, Does my Zx2 have inner tie rods? I wasn't able to find them


Absolutely. Any parts store should have them. You need to borrow, rent, or buy a special tool /socket. Parts stores usually loan them.

You can't see the inner tie rods because they are underneath the P/S rack boots.

If you are replacing them, DO NOT BUY CHEAP PARTS. If you do, you will be doing the job again in 1 year, and your new tires may be trashed by then. Raybestos Professional Grade (Also called NAPA Chassis Premium) is an extremely good choice.