hi - ford expedition 2003 eb 2wd 4.6

had some unusual inside left front tire wear. this problem did not show up until about 5 thousand miles ago. i have about 55,000 mile on the original tires, continental contritrac. i have kept them rotated every 5 thousand religiously.

noticed on the inside of tire where the tread was worn, not worn, then worn again. it was not cupping, but a smoother transition from wear to no wear.

have a friend who has an alignment shop look at it. he noticed a 1/4 negative toe. he said specs call for 1/4 positive (could be visa versa). bottom line was he did not recommend putting in an adjustment kit just yet. he stated tires probably had another 10 to 15 thousand on them. just keep them rotated every 3 to 5 to spread out the wear.

since the front left tire wore so excessively (dangerously) in less than 5,000 miles from last tire rotation, i decided to put my spare on the left front.

i have noticed in the last year or so a distinct rumble noise coming from front end when i am entering a road and accelerating and turning, especially left.

i just checked the left front tire. i noticed some wear in that tire after about 2,000 miles. what front end systems should i have ford or my mechanic check to eliminate this problem? i will have to buy tires in the near future and would like to eliminate this issue.

any help would be appreciated.

 

That's too much negative toe.......... A quarter inch positive toe sounds like that would be too much positive toe, that would wear the outside edge of the tire. I'd have to go somewhere else.
Specs mostlikely call for some negative camber (wheels lean in at the top, slightly) and just a hair of positive toe. Too much negative camber will also wear the inside edge of the tire, just like the negative toe will.
Try another slignment shop. If you have more than a quarter of a degree difference in camber or caster and a kit is needed.... do it.
They mey sell you half a kit if only one side is out, or not split a kit and buy the whole thing. But if you're keeping it, it's worth it.
Bob

 

thanks for the info. i talked to my friend again, and he said the camber was out 1/4 negative. we will go ahead and put an adjustment kit in.

thanks again!

 

un even tire wear meaning around the tire i would suspect that the tire is unbalanced or perhaps worn suspension.

 

thanks! when i had the spare put on the front left ( the previous tire in that location had the uneven wear), i had all tires rebalanced. i will have the suspension checked further. i do know the ball joint was checked and it was tight.

thanks again for the recommendations!