Hi. Wondering if anyone has experienced the same problem as I and what the solution turned out to be.
Last year, I bought a used F150 Lariat 4x4 from the local Ford dealer. It only had about 19K miles on it.
It was in beautiful condition... only flaw I could find was some mild cupping on both the inside and outside of the front tires.
Tires are stock Goodyear 245/75/16s.
No problem I think... I'll just get the dealer to throw in an alignment as part of the deal.. which they readily agreed to.
When I picked up the truck, they produced a "computer read out" from the alignment machine and said the alignment was dead on.
I know the service guy there and trust that they, in fact, did what I asked.
Got the truck home and rotated the front to the back and vice versa. Clear from looking at the lugs that they had never been removed.
Bottom line is the cupping continues... now have about 40K miles on it.. tires are badly cupped (despite my rotating them several times in the last year) and need replacement.
Don't want to put new tires on until I'm sure they won't be ruined as well.
Ford service manual says it not an alignment issue; manual claims its something worn out in the front end, but that's hard to believe considering its obviously been this way since new.
No shimmy or shake at any speed... tires have always been loud due to aggresive tread pattern.
Love the truck, gets great mileage on the highway (about 21 mpg), and I guess I should be happy with 40K from the original tires...
Just annoying that centers of all four tires are only half worn while edges are gone.
One last thing.. run all four tires at 40 psi, so they're not underinflated.
Anyone???
Thanks, KenP

 

Ken, what type of tires do you have on it? I could be wrong but the possibility of a balljoint and/or tierod end is not really a far fetched guessed. Ford replaced the lower balljoints and the tierod ends on my truck at 45,000 miles with their crappy non greasable ones. 3 weeks ago I was turning into my driveway and lost control of my steering. It turns out that the drivers side inner tierod end Ford installed 22,000 miles ago had already dried up. The ball had actually separated from the joint on the end. The truck is still covered under the extended warranty, but I was not going to risk having the end let go next time when I am goin 75 mph down the highway. I went to my local carquest and got quality GREASABLE Moog parts with a lifetime warranty. I paid for them myself (40$ a piece)and put them on myself. I know it is a long post, but stock front end parts, especially Ford ones, can fail without warning.

 

I had the same problems with the Goodyear Wrangler radials on the last four Fords I have owned, 99 4x4; 97 2x4 and two expeditions for the wife. Seems to be a problem with the Goodyears being POS's tires. I even took the 4x4 to a Goodyear dealer and he and the gall to say it was happening to a lot of Fords, but then said he had seen the Wranglers cause problems on Chevys and Dodges too.

I tried everything including the $400 cams and spacer route for proper alignment on the 99 4x4. Couldn't get the tires to stop cupping. They were very noisy to boot.

Finally went with Bridgestone Duelers and never looked back. The Wranglers lasted 25K and finally had cupped into the steel belt on two of the tires.

After the same mileage the Bridgestones they hardly showed any wear and no cupping of feathering on the same truck. Unfortunately, a women pulled into my path and I wrecked the truck.

First thing I did on the new truck was get rid of the Goodyears and go with Bridgestones.

Drhuntr

 

Hi. Thanks for the postings. Tires are Goodyear Wrangler RTS. Good news to hear that a change of tire brand cured the problem in at least one case.
This weekend, I'll take the front wheels off and see if the tie rods, joints, etc have any play in them.
Will let you know what (if anything) I find.
Have had a number of 4x4s over the years... only other one that cupped tires like this was a 1979 Bronco that ate front tires like mad. Best I ever had for tire wear was an Isuzu Trooper... changed the tires at 50K because of sun exposure and checking... not a single hint of unusual wear.
Went back to Fords and seems I'm back to front tire wear.
Anyway, like I said, 40K from the stock tires is probably OK... just a little frustrating they are uneven.
Thanks, KenP

 

>I had the same problems with the Goodyear Wrangler radials
>on the last four Fords I have owned, 99 4x4; 97 2x4 and two
>expeditions for the wife. Seems to be a problem with the
>Goodyears being POS's tires. I even took the 4x4 to a
>Goodyear dealer and he and the gall to say it was happening
>to a lot of Fords, but then said he had seen the Wranglers
>cause problems on Chevys and Dodges too.
>
>I tried everything including the $400 cams and spacer route
>for proper alignment on the 99 4x4. Couldn't get the tires
>to stop cupping. They were very noisy to boot.
>
>Finally went with Bridgestone Duelers and never looked back.
> The Wranglers lasted 25K and finally had cupped into the
>steel belt on two of the tires.
>
>After the same mileage the Bridgestones they hardly showed
>any wear and no cupping of feathering on the same truck.
>Unfortunately, a women pulled into my path and I wrecked the
>truck.
>
>First thing I did on the new truck was get rid of the
>Goodyears and go with Bridgestones.
>
>Drhuntr


I had Goodyear Wrangler tires on my Jeep Wrangler and they did the same thing. These tires basically suck. i bought some BFG AT's and never ghad any problems. As soon as I bought my F-150 I took the Good Years off and put Buckshot Mudders on it.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Sep-02 AT 09:17 AM (EST)]Not to worry though. The Good Year tires for Nascar are receiving excellent reviews and the up most attention. Good year tires are horrible!!

 

I had the same problem with the OEM 245/75-16 Goodyear Wrangler RTS tires on my '99 F250 LD 4x4 -- cupping on the tires, and a loud roar starting at about 40 mph. The treadwear was good, outside of the cupping. I had them swapped inside out to get more miles out of them, but finally got tired of the noise, harsh ride, and abysmally poor wet-weather traction and handling.

I put new 265/75-16 Michelin LTX/AT's on my truck about 4,000 miles ago, and, quite seriously folks, it's like I have a brand new truck! Yes, they're load range C, instead of the harsh-riding D's, but my truck doesn't have to work that hard. Absolutely, do not do this if you push your truck to the GVWR or axle load limits. But the new Michelins ride SO much smoother, softer, and quieter, I wish I had done this sooner.

I'll keep an eye on the new tires to watch for any signs of cupping.

Y'all be safe! Tony.

 

I didn't want to be the one to ask the obvious question, but since no one else has I will. Have you replaced the shocks?

Inflating the tires to 40 also seems excessive. On my F-150, I have the same tires and keep them at the recommended 29 psi and have never had a problem. It could be that the overinflated tires, coupled with weak shocks, are producing a bouncing effect when you drive - which would account for the cupping wear pattern.

If you're going to pay for new tires anyway, I would replace the shocks at the same time.

I highly recommend the Monroe Heavy Duty Gas shocks (yellow) for the F-150. It greatly improved the ride and handling for me.

 

Replace the Shocks!!
My Supercrew has 11K on it!!

 

Same trouble with my Goodyear Wrangler 265/75/16's. The alignment is right-on and I keep the tires at 35psi... replaced the shocks about 2K miles ago... no help. Nothing loose on the front.

OhioRiverFordMan
'99 F150 4x4

 

But we're not talking about YOUR truck, Deebo.


Granted, Kenp said "It only had about 19K miles on it..." but shock failure can occur at any time. Mileage doesn't make any difference. I've seen shocks become slightly bent before and cause this same cupping wear pattern.

I've also seen this happen on the back tires of two Ford Escorts that were used by a company to carry cash register parts around all day. Carrying too heavy a load caused them to toe-out, and overinflation caused them to bounce. I'm not saying Kenp has too heavy a load in front, but it could be that the suspension is not handling the load correctly due to springs or shocks out of tolerance for whatever reason.

It's not the tires fault. If it was, then everyone with those tires on the same kind of truck would be having the same problem.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 21-Sep-02 AT 01:17 PM (EST)]Well Rhodco.
My truck is cupping also. I know when shocks fail.
Ok. My 95 Bronco, Wranglers cupped. My 96 Explorer, Wranglers cupped.
And now My 01 Super crew, The Wranglers cup..
Should I go ahead and trade my 01 crew in on a 03 when they come out to see if they cup also? Please offer more of your infinate widsom..
I love the comparison with the Ford Escorts..:-X23

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 21-Sep-02 AT 08:55 PM (EST)]>
>Inflating the tires to 40 also seems excessive. On my F-150,
>I have the same tires and keep them at the recommended 29
>psi and have never had a problem. It could be that the
>overinflated tires, coupled with weak shocks, are producing
>a bouncing effect when you drive - which would account for
>the cupping wear pattern.

LT tires take higher pressure than the P rated tires -- the recommended inflation on my LT245-75R16 is 44psi.

BTW I have the same cupping on my RTS's - I hate to spend the $$$ but I think I'm going to replace them with BFG AT's at only 23K miles on them. May do the shocks too - some Rancho 9000's whilst I'm spending the money.

G

 

Alot of tires like the Goodyears and Dunlop Rover RVs tend to cup very easily. Even if you replace your shocks with Monroe or even KYB, you still get the problem. Good feedback from ya'll makes purchasing tires easy for us. I tend to roll with Michelin. They have high quality control standards compared to everyone else. FYI, Goodyear now owns Dunlop....they have for about 3 yrs.


Jon

 

Tire cupping is usually associated with bad shocks.


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