i have an 05 e450 that has uneven tire wear in the center front tires...it has high and low spots in the middle of the tire...what could be the causes?...shocks, ball joints, tire pressure, etc????

 

Bad shocks are a possibility. Tire pressure usually wears the tire out in the center if too high, and wears the sides out if too low. Uneven in the center is unusual to say the least. It sounds to me like the belts have slipped inside the tire. Are their any unusual bumps or buldges on the sidewalls?

 

im running 65 psi and the belts are fine...i was also thinking too high psi and maybe the shocks r going bc it seems to be getting worse and ive always been putting 65psi...the tires have 45k on them so they are pretty much gone anyway...i just dont want new tires to wear funny

 

I understand that. If you're going to get new tires, most places have free allignment with the purchase of 4 tires. That would be a good time to see if anything is loose in the front end. If the belts are OK, then I'd be leaning towards worn out shocks.

 

What kind of tire is this. Is it an AP (all purpose) an AT (all terrain). Neither of these type of tread pattern will last as a steer (front) tire. They're way too aggressive. To get a steer (front) tire that will last you you'll need a smooth straight tread.
I'm an alignment tech, everything from passanger car, light and heavy trucks.
Bob

 

on top of that...have they been regularly rotated?
just being on the front too long can cause bad wear patterns.

 

i weighed the front end 4100 lbs and according to inflation tables should be 10 psi less so i am going to be running 55psi...im not too worried about lowering the air pressure in front bc the load wont vary much as in the rear...for oem ford shocks they seem to be holding up 'well' and will hold off probably till 60k

i just did an oil change, air filter, and fuel filter...however, when i tried to rotate the front tires from one side to the other the rims are seized onto the hub and did not have a torch handy...i have never rotated them but could have accidently been rotated by the dealer for warranty brake work in the past but i doubt it....the tires can make it to 50k which is great for no rotations and 95% city driving and i dont think rotations would have made any REAL difference

btw, all six tires are michelin ltx m/s 225/75r16...which would be all purpose???
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires..._owl_ci1_l.jpg

bob, what steer tires would you recommend...im thinking of getting bfg commercial t/a all season for the front and bfg commercial t/a traction for the rears
http://www.etiredealer.com/bfgoodric...all-season.jpg
http://image.bizrate.com/resize?sq=1...454&mid=129971

 

For the mileage you got and not rotating the tires did great. But not rotating will give you uneven wear 90% of the time no matter what vehicle you drive.

 

I'd really like to see what the tires that are on the van look like now.
Rotating the tires really will help you out. If what you have on there now are Michelin LTX M/S, that's a hell of a tire.
Rated higher than about anything around for tread wear (miles), to disperse heat (cooling off).
If you could I'd like to see pictures of the tires . Another thing, does that van have a solid front axle, or independent front suspension? For that weight you'd be better off with a solid axle.

 

independent front suspension that rated for 4600 lbs...i think its pretty much the same setup for f and e series 2wd since the late 80s or earlier...

ill try to get a pic next week

 

45k without a rotation...thats going to cause MASSIVE abnormal wear.
and once it starts picking a tread, it will always pick the same one. until its gets really bad. this is the reason for rotates.

 

it is just too much of a pain to rotate a dually...i could swap the front but i never did and when i wanted to the wheels wouldnt come off...normally i swap the fronts if i have the tires off but never had to take them off

im going to put these tires on our 94 e350 which we barely use and take the goodyear G647 fronts and G133 rears from the 94 that still has a good amount of tread left on them and ride on alcoa classics

 

too much of a pain?
just take it in, have it done. its not expensive.

it will drive better, and the tires will last longer.

 

i dont have time to take it somewhere where they first have to be able to lift an e-450 and will probably lift the entire rear axle by the pumpkin...years ago had a tire rotation done on an older dually and when i came out the entire 9000 lbs plus was resting on the pumpkin...not happy and havent been back since...also not many places will do a tire rotation on a dually and if they do charge a lot of money...im going to get 50k mi out of these tires and have never been able to get over that on any truck with all city driving...then they are going to impact gun on the lugs and probably screw someting up...im the only one that touches my trucks...too many years of wasting money and bull*****