Uneven tire wear

[atmjah]

Hello All

1968 SIIA 88" daily driver. 10 miles/day on city roads.

I replaced my ball end joints a year or so ago and had a professional sort out the alignment. Since then I've been experiencing uneven wear on *both* front tires; the tread on the outer half of the tires has worn down to the point that they need replacing. The tread on the inner half of the tires is fine.

I'm going to pick up some of these BFG 235/85/16s everyone on this site raves about, but before I spend that much money I want to address the wear problem. Any ideas about what's going on?

Best,
Jim
Pacific Grove, CA

[LaneRover]

My 65 109 did that and I was told that some part of the swivel housing was put on upside down and that it is kind of hard to tell if it is or not. If you look at your tire, does it sit at a slight angle?

Not sure if it is the inner swivel part or the outer housing that can cause it.

Brent

[atmjah]

I've had the truck for over 10 years and have never messed with the swivel housing. I'll definately check, but It's only since the alignment that I've noticed the uneven wear.

[KevinNY]

Certainly sounds like an improper alignment.

[LaneRover]

I've had the truck for over 10 years and have never messed with the swivel housing. I'll definately check, but It's only since the alignment that I've noticed the uneven wear.

If you've never had a problem before then it probably isn't the swivel housing. Maybe with all the city driving you're running up too many curbs! ;-P

Brent

[atmjah]

I was thinking that excessive toe-in might be the problem. Anyone have any experience with the impact of too much toe-in?

[Jim-ME]

My rover is doing the same thing. Since the only portion of the alignment that can be adjusted is toe in I'd say that yours like mine is out of adjustment. Remember castor and camber are fixed and not adjustable. I plan to get my toe in done after I replace my swivel balls.
Jim

[jac04]

On the Land Rover, I have found that the tires are very sensitive to inflation pressure when it comes to wear. After installing new tires on my 88, I noticed that the outer edges of the front tires were starting to wear a little. I double-checked my alignment and it was good. I decreased tire pressure to the original owner's manual specs (fairly low) and all was good.

On 'normal' cars, too much toe-in is usually the cause of excessive outer edge wear. Also, toe in/out usually has a greater impact on tire wear than camber does. Obviously, camber isn't adjustable on the Rover, so just make sure that the toe is set correctly, then run the proper tire pressure.

[luckyjoe]

I was thinking that excessive toe-in might be the problem. Anyone have any experience with the impact of too much toe-in?

Yes. This is an easy check and it sounds like it could be your problem.

I had a similar problem when I purchased my 109 - the toe was 1-inch out of spec and resulted in tire wear similar to what you describe (although not as severe). I corrected the toe, rotated tires front/rear and problem was solved.

Check the green bible for the spec...

Regards,