I'm running Fox Shocks w/ remote reservoir. They were expensive at $170 each 14 years ago, but their still working great. At $15 each to rebuild every 5 years or so, I think I came out ahead. The real reason I bought them is because I was in my 20's and they were cool. On another note, my truck hasn't had an alignment since it was lifted in 2000, other than setting the steering wheel straight when replacing the steering box. It seems odd to have tire wear problems on a solid axle truck. I'm wondering if the rear brakes are doing their part, or are the fronts doing more than their share?! I had wear problems on an S-10 that was caused by drums out of adjustment, making the front brakes work harder. Being that the super duty is rear disc, I might think about master cylinder bias.

As someone who always seems to have unique problems that a Google search won't solve, I think this thread is valid, more so if it ends with a difinitive fix.

 

I agree. Tugly knows his truck. Besides, eating tires in 800 miles, Something's wrong. It may be a simple fix we hope.

 

At least you can point to tugly threads and tell new owners to do the exact opposite of whatever he does.

 

Hey Tugly, that picture in post #58 is makes the entire thread worthwhile to me. Was there an article attached to it? If so, would you also post that link?

As far as crabbing goes, I wouldn't have known what that was until I experienced it in a buddy's truck with front end frame damage? It was like driving a Christmas tree "garland" down the road to keep it between the freeway lines. Subtle, but the symptom was definitely there and I would guess that over the miles that would result in some sort of odd tire wear (diagonal? but not sure).

(BTW, IMHO you haven't experienced a front tire wear problem until you have owned a Twin Traction Beam Dana 44 front axle with worn radius arm and other bushings.)

I would also like to add that my mother told me that if I didn't have something positive to say, not to say anything at all. But I won't say that because the grumpy guys in this thread know a lot more about this stuff than I do and I don't want to **** them off, if I ever post something asking for their help...

Edit: Dang Tugly, I think this is a pretty exhaustive article on the stuff you are inquiring about:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/tire_wear.htm

Edit: I also thought this was a great article, but more rudimentary:

http://www.procarcare.com/includes/c...dtirewear.html

Edit: As a guy who personally chased true Death Wobble in my 7.3 PSD E350 for a year and a half, I get "resonance." But I didn't know that bad shocks can create resonance:

"Scalloped – Cupping Damage:
Primary type wear experienced with worn shocks. Loss of shock dampening allows for greater tire load variance and allows build up of resonance with the rhythm of a road quickly resulting in cupping wear. Tire companies can measure early scalloped cupping in new truck tires on older shocks within a few hundred miles on a rough road; however, the same test conducted with new tires and new shocks does not experience similar damage for tens of thousands of miles. This can impact the life of the tire as much as 50%. For this reason, it has been found cost effective to change shocks when replacing tires on modern Heavy Truck suspensions"

http://www.reaganindustries.com/shoc...hock-tire-wear

Edit: From a heavy truck shock mfg, but still an interesting read:

http://www.monroeheavyduty.com/press...rn-shocks.html

 

As far as shocks affecting tire wear, so long as the wheel is balanced and not bouncing, alignment and tire pressure are the main issue. Shocks are ride. That only comes into play if you hit a bump. That's my 10 cents.[/QUOTE]

x2........and, shocks are there to absorb the recoil rate of your springs and thus keeping your truck under control and your tires in contact with the road. Softer or stiffer shocks will therefore effect your ride quality, but as long as they are working correctly, should have very little or no effect on tire wear. That's my 5 cents worth

 

There is no way for me to know what causes tire wear and what doesn't - except for the answers I get here. Historically, if I had tire wear, I would take it to the alignment shop and be done with it. I had no need or desire to learn how to suss out scrub sign, so I dropped out of Tire Wear 101 at an early age. Apparently... the same could be said for the local goobers with greasy coveralls. A solid axle is way too complex for a mechanic that wasn't doing this when our truck was made - because I get "It's old" from these guys as the magical answer for tire wear. I was completely lost in the ether, and every Google search for answers on a Superduty with leaf springs sends me to FTE. So... here I am, wading through popcorn to find a kernel of truth.

Not Springs? OK... now I know that. Thank you.

4-wheel thrust alignment was done after the drunk hit-and-run... but before the ladder bars.

I hate the ladder bars, but Stinky behaves better with them. (Anthropomorphisation is not a sin) Since the ladder bars are anchored symmetrically to the frame, I would have a hard time grasping how it could allow the rear axle to go out of alignment. If I had rear tire wear (ever) or if the tire wear in the front changed after the accident or the ladder bars - I would drop them off to see if it helps. It's still a very good observation and question - I'll mull on that one.

Yes.

This is exactly the kind of thing that makes my mouse swerve from the "Put in Cart" button online. For a while there, I was under the impression the mouse thought it read "Put in Cat". I have a lot of references for Bilstiens, then I get stories of fails and the option of an adjustable shock. The adjustable shock makes obvious sense in the rear, but it's a more subtle reason in the front - I don't know how firm it will be until there's a Buck$Zooka crater behind the wheels. Adjustable Ranchos in the front are looking good for figuring it out.

I can't ignore the brake concept. I have a plan in motion already, but the brakes will get a visit if this doesn't work out.

Fox Shocks? My crystal ball has a bald guy Googling "Fox Shocks"come morning.

I Googled "Superduty Tire Wear Pictures", and it took me through "Yahoo" to a thread somewhere here on FTE. I just grabbed the image, because it was the first one I saw with the wear pattern on Stinky's nose.

 

Here you go:

http://www.ridefox.com/subhome.php?m=truck&ref=topnav

1.800.FOX.SHOX

Because 4x4 E350's are pretty much all unique, they have unique suspension problems which require unique shock solutions. FYI, there is a guy on the sportsmobileforum.com with username BajaSportsmobile. IIRC, Fox Shox is next door to his shop which is named AgileOffRoad.com He takes Fox Shox apart and revalves them for the various weights and various aftermarket 4x4 suspensions of our vehicles. If you are thinking about Fox Shox, talk to him first. His name is Ramsey El Wardani and he is a Fox Shox genius. Here is his signature on the sportsmobileforum.com:

"Four time Baja 1000 winner, four time Baja 500 winner. Solo'ed the Baja 1000 to LaPaz/Cabo twice. 4-Wheeling since 1972, Desert Racing since 1989.

AgileOffRoad.com"

I guess because he drives kinda fast offroad in Baja, he learned something about shocks...

 

I for one feel your pain Rich, Literally. My Excursion and my back have been testing me lately. I thought after the engine rebuild this summer and taking care of a few items before winter I was all set for a while. But damn, I was wrong.

After 6" of snow about a month ago I found out my 4WD was inop. Turned out my Warn Premium hubs took a dump after 3 1/2 years of use. Thankfully the folks at Warn replaced them under warranty but there was a lot of down time waiting on shipping & such. Then the next day when I went in the garage a saw coolant, tranny fluid & oil on the floor. To make a long story short - the previous two weeks I've been coming home and after supper go into the garage to replace the radiator, remove the turbo to replace the Pedestal O- rings & tighten up the top end. All while dealing with incredible back pain which led to an epidural injection last week. I guess it's all part of owning a 15 year old vehicle. I just about threw in the towel last week.

 

Oh, then the 3 1/2 year old MBRP high flow muffler ( part of the exhaust package) fell apart at the welds. Oh, well.........it's only 8 degrees outside.

 

Here's a more specific link;
With reservoir Ford F250 - Superduty 2004-1999 Front Shock - 2.0 Performance Series Reservoir Smooth Body Shock | FOX

Without reservoir http://www.ridefox.com/product.php?m...itfit#fitguide

The remote reservoir adds oil capacity to resist shock fade due to heat. Unless your offroading, the reseviors are pointless, unless you want them because they're "cool" like I did. They're easy to rebuild, but you'll need 200psi nitrogen supply to charge them.

I seriously doubt they'll have any different affect on tire wear than any other shock, but they're worth the $ if you keep the truck long enough. At this point Stinky is "Too Big To Fail".

 

Thanks to your efforts, he did email me the other day and I replied... but I get the sensation he's not the email type. I'll be calling him when I'm not distracted.

Thank you for all those links. I'll read up on the Fox Shox, but I'm flipping the safety on the Buck$Zooka until I've verified I need anything up there. Since this hinges on waiting for new tire wear to show, this should take some time.

Rich, I still have your number and I've been meaning to call. It sounds like we're due for an online beer together.

Oh jeezus I needed that laugh.

 

For your sake I hope the tire wear issue is resolved. These trucks can be a source of aggravation...especially if you use them to help pay the bills either directly or indirectly and that adds stress. I had to have a bit of help with some recent work, physical limitation, only to find that when the shop was 130 miles in the rear view that the guy had not done such a great job. I had to re-do a lot of what he was paid to do and it took me, with the help of a wonderful wife, four times as long. That, time and money wasted, only adds to the level of aggravation and frustration. I think most on here have felt this to some extent in the past and have empathy for your situation. Thank you for your informative posts. I have learned tons.

If the new alignment solves the problem, would you be willing to post the specs?

 

That's the plan.

 

I know you don't want to hear this, and hate it when someone suggests it's normal or common when you believe you are experiencing a problem; but I am going to tell you about the 3 vehicles that I currently own. 2011 Audi A4 (Quattro AWD), factory suspension, 255/35-19; 1994 Jeep Wrangler YJ, 4" lift leaf springs, 35x12.50-15; 2006 F250, factory suspension, 275/65-20.
The Jeep and the Ford have locking hubs and solid axles. The Audi is Quattro. All have much different tire sizes and tread type. Each one of these vehicles gets a heel and toe wear pattern. I rotate them often. If I don't, the tires become noisy and rough riding. I got behind the tire rotation on the Audi and ended up buying new tires after about 50% wear. Sound familiar?
There's nothing wrong with either of my vehicles. The tires on the Ford really get funky in the summer when I haul my slide in camper around. It's heavy. I rotate often. I swap side to side when I start to see it. It might even be prior to 2500 miles. I've gotten fast at it on all 3 vehicles. Bought a second floor jack and a nice 20V battery powered impact.
You might be seeing this wear sooner than it should but I don't know how you drive and the terrain. How hard you brake, accelerate, how heavy you tow, the tire pressure, the road surface, tread pattern, all affect this.

All the previous trucks, Jeeps, and other 4WD sold front axle vehicles I've owned have been this way. For me what worked, is to the keep the pressure on the higher side and rotate side to side often. It wears them in the opposite direction and evens everything out. Good luck to ya, not sure there's much else I can say to help ease your mind.

 

That's valuable information with specifics. Thank you!