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2003 F250 4x4 5.4L with 35" off-road tires.
My problem is my front end started vibrating and got worst over the last 2 months. I noticed my front tires were wearing very oddly. Not the way they would if it were out of alignment. I checked the ball joints and the tie rods and all seem tight. There is no play in the ball joints or tie rods. Now I have noticed that I have play in what I think is coming from my steering gear box. I can wiggle the steering wheel and can hear it rocking but it's not from the gear box down. Could that be the problem or am I missing something. Also when turning out of a Parking lot that has a good angle to it I do hear a pop quite often but have not been able to locate where it's coming from other than it's in the front end somewhere. I just rotated the tires so now the front tires are smooth and worn evenly but I still have vibration just not near as much. Any help would be awesome. It's hard to see in the pics but there's like lips on the end of the tread. The ones that were on the back are smooth and not worn like these.
I have an 03 diesel. That looks like the shocks are bad or to soft for that large of tire. I had play in my box also. I just replaced it last week. Wow!! It drives like new again. Good luck.
Well I hate to think it's my shocks but that would be an easy fix. The shocks only have 40k on them and they were the bilstein 5100 HO series so they should have been sufficient for the tire. On your steering box was the play just from the steering wheel to the box.
Fishcal247, what steering box did you go with and what was any different in the steering effort? I just replaced the box on my 06 with a reman Cardone - the stuttering feeling in turning is gone but it feels like someone added power steering to a truck that never had it before. The effort is so light it's a bit unnerving.
I don't believe it would be from your steering box.
I would check your bushings and your alignment.
Feathering
Feathering is a condition when the edge of each tread rib develops a slightly rounded edge on one side and a sharp edge on the other. By running your hand over the tire, you can usually feel the sharper edges before you'll be able to see them. The most common cause of feathering is incorrect toe-in setting, which can be cured by having It set correctly. Occasionally toe-in will be set correctly and this wear pattern still occurs. This is usually due to deteriorated bushings in the front suspension, causing the wheel alignment to shift as the car moves down the road.
That is called "Cupping" usually caused for weak suspension. Alignment can cause this sometimes. However, with heavy knobby tires like that, the shocks have a hard time keeping them planted. Most shocks usually have a "multistage valve" installed. The 1st valve is constantly opening and closing and is usually the 1st to go out. It allows the tire to hop rapidly as you're driving down the road, causing the high & low tread wear.
Well atleast you have some ideas of things to check. Often interweb diagnosing is just a bit of spitballing anyways. Good luck with it and make sure to update if you get it sorted.
I'm running the near equivalent of 35"s on my '11 with Bilstein 5100s. 35" is not a ridiculously huge tire. I've run 37"s on my '95 with yellow monroes and not had any issues. If your tie rods and balljoints are tight and your bilsteins only have 40k on them and they aren't puking their guts, I'd check your spring bushings and alignment first.
Cupped or scalloped dips appearing around the surface of the tire tread wear could indicate loose, worn or bent suspension parts. Worn shock absorbers or unbalanced tires can also cause cupping, but the cupping would typically be more indicative of a concentric pattern. Shocks and struts are the most likely culprit because they provide damping force to control tire movement. When the tires move excessively, the scalloped pattern can appear. A lack of rotation can cause this condition.
Well that's what I was thinking but it does look like cupping not feathering. So I guess I'll start with an alignment and have them check the bushings and go from there
I'm running the near equivalent of 35"s on my '11 with Bilstein 5100s. 35" is not a ridiculously huge tire. I've run 37"s on my '95 with yellow monroes and not had any issues. If your tie rods and balljoints are tight and your bilsteins only have 40k on them and they aren't puking their guts, I'd check your spring bushings and alignment first.
Hey when you talk about spring bushings are you talking about the leafs or we're you meaning my camber bushings.
I got a reman box from ford. I still had some play in my steering after I replaced my ball joints. Yes the play was at the box. It like new again now. The steering box won't cause that were on your tires though. Tfalk. My steering was always easy one finger steering.
Ok so I took it to a suspension shop today and they said everything looked good. Nothing seemed to be loose or worn out. The guy told me it was most likely due to not rotating them enough. I forgot to mention that the mud tires I have are directional and he stated that those are the worst idea ever for a mud tire because you cannot crisscross them when rotating so you have to rotate every 3k or so. I hope that's all it is. He told me to run it till it was time for another rotation and it should get better as those cupped tires smooth back out. I told him if it didn't I would be coming to visit his *** of my other two become cupped which are in the front now.
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