General Tires problems
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General Tires problems
My truck came with General Ameritrac tires. From the first ride home, I noted the heavy vibration in the front end at 70 mph. I called the dealer and they had me bring it in. They rebalanced the tires and put the bad ones in the back. (pulled a "Cheeco and the Man") vAt 10,000 miles I rotated and guess what? It's worse then ever. Has anyone had this problem? Has Ford replaced them for you? These tires have large dimples on the sidewals. 
Last edited by pdbd; Jun 3, 2004 at 07:51 AM.
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From: LOCASH
Yes I had that problem....Mine started at about 1000 miles....same speed as yours~70mph.... Ford said they thought it was a balance problem...so they balanced both driveshafts, and every driveline part that could be balanced was balanced...they had the truck aligned by 2 different shops and balamnced by 2 different shops... Finally they took some better rims/tires off of an excursion and tried them...everything worked great... Long and short of it was they had my stockers sent to a dealership that had some kind of machine that tells weather the tires or rims are bad(CANT remember the machine name) anyway 2 of my tires were defective...
Ford gave me 4 new rims and tires...Problem solved and everything is smooth as glass..Probably the smoothest truck around given all of the precision balancing done to the driveline...LOL..
Ford gave me 4 new rims and tires...Problem solved and everything is smooth as glass..Probably the smoothest truck around given all of the precision balancing done to the driveline...LOL..
Cargo Master
Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Carlsbad, California
Sooner or later, you'll own General . . .
Mine came with BFGs. I told the salesman when I ordered the truck that I didn't want Firestones and was told that it wasn't an order option, and that some came with BFGs and some came with other tires.
I was all set to go off and buy new tires and was quite happy to see the BFGs on the truck when it arrived.
I think that when I order my next truck, I'll add Generals to my do not want list.
Mine came with BFGs. I told the salesman when I ordered the truck that I didn't want Firestones and was told that it wasn't an order option, and that some came with BFGs and some came with other tires.
I was all set to go off and buy new tires and was quite happy to see the BFGs on the truck when it arrived.
I think that when I order my next truck, I'll add Generals to my do not want list.
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Originally Posted by Kenwood
Yes I had that problem....Mine started at about 1000 miles....same speed as yours~70mph.... Ford said they thought it was a balance problem...so they balanced both driveshafts, and every driveline part that could be balanced was balanced...they had the truck aligned by 2 different shops and balamnced by 2 different shops... Finally they took some better rims/tires off of an excursion and tried them...everything worked great... Long and short of it was they had my stockers sent to a dealership that had some kind of machine that tells weather the tires or rims are bad(CANT remember the machine name) anyway 2 of my tires were defective...
Ford gave me 4 new rims and tires...Problem solved and everything is smooth as glass..Probably the smoothest truck around given all of the precision balancing done to the driveline...LOL..
Ford gave me 4 new rims and tires...Problem solved and everything is smooth as glass..Probably the smoothest truck around given all of the precision balancing done to the driveline...LOL..
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From: LOCASH
My dealer said I was not the first to have this happen...They said they have replaced quite a few sets of tires... Here is something that looked fishy to me... On the sidewall of the tires I saw/see 2 big indentations..I assume this is where the truck was strapped to the transporter...But that cant be good for the belts...im wondering if that is not some part of the problem...
But I agree on general...When I go to buy tires the new ones will not be associated with firestone in any way shape or form...
But I agree on general...When I go to buy tires the new ones will not be associated with firestone in any way shape or form...
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Originally Posted by Kenwood
My dealer said I was not the first to have this happen...They said they have replaced quite a few sets of tires... Here is something that looked fishy to me... On the sidewall of the tires I saw/see 2 big indentations..I assume this is where the truck was strapped to the transporter...But that cant be good for the belts...im wondering if that is not some part of the problem...
But I agree on general...When I go to buy tires the new ones will not be associated with firestone in any way shape or form...
But I agree on general...When I go to buy tires the new ones will not be associated with firestone in any way shape or form...
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Originally Posted by Kenwood
My dealer said I was not the first to have this happen...They said they have replaced quite a few sets of tires... Here is something that looked fishy to me... On the sidewall of the tires I saw/see 2 big indentations..I assume this is where the truck was strapped to the transporter...But that cant be good for the belts...im wondering if that is not some part of the problem...
But I agree on general...When I go to buy tires the new ones will not be associated with firestone in any way shape or form...
But I agree on general...When I go to buy tires the new ones will not be associated with firestone in any way shape or form...
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Fountain Valley
Mine has Generals. I changed the rims to Forged Centerlines before 50 miles. 2600 miles with no problems at any speeds.(they have the "ripples" too which I have had on many brands)
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General/Continental Tires= Junk they have had problems with the belts seperating for years. Many tire shops have quit carrying them all together, just to avoid all the hassels. Firestone/Bridgestone makes some of the finest tires around (yes they had problems awhile back, but now problems are solved). I have the Perreli scorpions on my truck, they are a long wearing tire but such a hard rubber compound make them terrible in the rain and snow. Hope this clears things up. Jerry
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Originally Posted by jimmy-six
Mine has Generals. I changed the rims to Forged Centerlines before 50 miles. 2600 miles with no problems at any speeds.(they have the "ripples" too which I have had on many brands)
.Jimmy, are you sudjusting that the rims are at fault?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Fountain Valley
No, I bought the rims before the truck was built, because I wanted them (last set of Auto-Drag look alikes, no holes). I just haven't had a tire problem yet with the Generals. and hope I don't.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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Well, I've had problems with the Generals on my new F250. Passenger side front blew out at 900 miles, and yesterday at 9900 miles, the driver rear blew. Both were on clear rodes, no road hazards, and no high speeds. All tires do show the sidewall bulges. Dealer said first tire was a "road hazard", as tire had a large chuck blown thru the tread. Yesterdays blowout was the same, and there is again a large chuck blown out of the tread. Come heck or high water, next week, all these da*n generals are coming off. Truck has never been loaded and has not been used to pull any loads yet. These are obviously cheaply made tires, that ford is saving a bunch of money on.
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Joined: Jul 2004
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i had the same problems and my tires they had chips flying off and they were falling apart at 10,000 miles. It still does it with the tires i got on it now and It still has the vibration but its the rim its bent
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From: Sebastopol, CA
The other side: my '99 F350 dually had 79,000 miles on the original Generals. They still had another 20K of tread left. The truck rarely moved unless it was pulling something, 12k fiver or 3500 lb boat. My '04 has Generals, 11k miles and no problems. The indentations on the sidewalls result from construction cords used in the manufacture of the tire. All brands are subject to them according to a tenant of mine who is a tire dealer.