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hey guys i got a 2006 f150 fx4. i got 4 new tires and one of the tires in front was the wrong size 275/45/R20 instead of 275/55/R20 my transfer case went bad when i used the 4wd in the snow in december. my mechanic said it was because the one front tire was too small. the guy at the tire place disagrees. it cost me 1300 for the transfer case. is my mechanic right or wrong? im trying to get my money back from the tire guy.
The tire guy put 3 275/55/20s on the truck and one 275/45/20? That's a pretty big oversight.
Your mechanic is correct, having one tire an aspect ratio smaller than the other side will certainly cause some damage, but I would think that the damage would be on the front differential and axle shafts, and not in the transfer case. The TC going south could very well be related to the tire sizes.
Regardless...your tire guy messed up...royally. I'm still dumbfounded as to how this happened. How long have the tires been on the truck?
Is this tire place a national chain, or a local shop? I would say that you have a pretty strong case on your hands to push back heavily on the tire shop.