• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

 

Bad tie-rods?

Mos68x

Active member
825
30
28
Location
Seligman,AZ
IMG_7484.jpg

Is this the tire cupping many of y'all have talked about caused by worn tie-rod ends? This tire has been in the same place on the truck since I bought it (about 3k miles) the other side did it some too, but had been changed due to tire fixing.
 

acme66

New member
349
7
0
Location
Plains, Montana
Brands change wear pattern I have found but I consider the Goodyear to be one I found that wears ok. With the truck off grab each of the joints in your hand and have someone shake the steering wheel back and forth. Any slop and you will feel it. I have never been able to keep the X and XL'S from cupping but could improve it by backing the toe in off some. Don't let the wheels get straight or it will undrivable but you do not need as much toe in as the books say.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

Mos68x

Active member
825
30
28
Location
Seligman,AZ
Brands change wear pattern I have found but I consider the Goodyear to be one I found that wears ok. With the truck off grab each of the joints in your hand and have someone shake the steering wheel back and forth. Any slop and you will feel it. I have never been able to keep the X and XL'S from cupping but could improve it by backing the toe in off some. Don't let the wheels get straight or it will undrivable but you do not need as much toe in as the books say.
Holy crap! He's alive!! Lol j/k

These are the Badyear 1400 XLs

I suppose I can check that right quick, I guess it could be from excessive toe-in as well, but with it being uneven wear across the tire I immediately thought tie rods.
 

someoldmoose

New member
583
2
0
Location
Lancaster, PA
Generally, the bigger the lugs (tread blocks) the more likely a tire is to "cup". Yes, you absolutely should check ALL steering components often. What is the air pressure in your tires ? Do you check it (chalk check ) every pre-trip and load / temperature change ? This is ABSOLUTELY the number ONE cause of tire wear issues. How do you use the truck ? On the street with lots of turning ? Turning will eat up the edges of these kinds of tires rather quickly even with perfectly set (which NEVER happens) toe-in. If most of your driving is straight line with minimal turns, then it could be a setting or component problem. Are your king pins and bushings in good shape ( no perceptible movement when "yooksed" in and out at the top and bottom ) or you can get out your dial indicator and check them correctly ( ummmmmmm, nah . . . unless I am setting them up the first time ) If the wear is exactly the same on both sides you can try changing the toe-in. Somewhere between .3 degrees and whatever the spec is ( field check -- measure with a string across the inner edges of the wheels, if front measurement is just slightly less (1/4 to 1/2 an inch, 7 to 13 mm for you metric fans) than the rear, yer in the soccer stadium. When I off-roaded a lot I kept a string with markings on it in my toolbox. Makes spotting bent parts a LOT easier. Speaking of bent ( like my mind ) is your tie - rod straight ? Are ya sure ? A little won't matter but if it is, or worse, was and was pushed back to "straight" it might actually be "changing, as in flexing" under load. If that is going on, VERRRRRY DANGEROUS. It WILL snap, and always at the worst time ( in the middle of a turn after hitting the bump just before it. ) Not something I want happening while I'm driving a B A T down the high-way. No cure for that except replacement.

Also, tire rotation, if all the tires are the same, will extend the life of the tires but, obviously, won't fix the cause of the wear. Don't hide "bad" parts by keeping the tires rotated.

Edit - just saw Wes' - yeah, worn dampeners (shocks) will also cause wear. This is usually found on one side at a time unless a weird change in "the force" makes them both go at the same time.

so, make sure everything is clean, tight, and right, then blame Michelin. The French should stick to food. (love yuz frogs ! and all our canuck neighbors to the north, too)

Good luck and Happy Motoring !
 
Last edited:

snowtrac nome

Well-known member
1,674
137
63
Location
western alaska
as stated check components for wear but, that cupping is normal on a steering axle. its caused by the scuffing that occurs from caster and camber adjustments, causing the front wheels to return to straight when making a turn. the scuffing only happens when in a turn. the more steering the more cupping. that is why 2 wd trucks run a non traction tread on the steering axle
 

acme66

New member
349
7
0
Location
Plains, Montana
Holy crap! He's alive!! Lol j/k

These are the Badyear 1400 XLs

I suppose I can check that right quick, I guess it could be from excessive toe-in as well, but with it being uneven wear across the tire I immediately thought tie rods.
It has been a hectic few weeks but yeah we still live. If you have no rod issues you might just be stuck with what I do, rotate the fronts to the rear and wait for the rears to grind flat again. I wasn't even aware the 5 ton kingpins could be adjusted. I do remember on member said his wear issues went away with new shocks. That would require the front springs to flex so... On that note put a wrench on the spring mount bolts just to confirm they are tight. Most of mine were not.

Ken

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

Mos68x

Active member
825
30
28
Location
Seligman,AZ
I did a check, before I got distracted...***SQUIRREL!!*** (got to pullin stumps)

Had my brother yank it back and forth while I felt on each joint in the steering 'system'. The first one I checked was bad, fortunately it's the only one. Of course it's also the one on that side, but it's from the idler arm to the upper kingpin, so in theory it shouldn't be causing this, just slop in the steering. I will check for toe-in measurements, as I think that may be the culprit. Overall, there hasn't been a lot of turning on pavement. Most of the driving since I bought the truck has been straightline driving. I'll check the toe-in in a little bit and report back. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but I did notice that when I put the current pass front tire on it changed the steering wheel center, not much -just an inch or so off from where it was while driving straight down the road.
 

Nomadic

Active member
337
78
28
Location
Nevada
I'm inexperienced with 5-tons, but tires I do know. Some of that looks like chunking. That can happen when the tires get too hot. The photo shows chunks missing on the LHS. This could mean a simple toe change to get the tire patch right so it chunks across the whole tire and not just the LHS.
 
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website like our supporting vendors. Their ads help keep Steel Soldiers going. Please consider disabling your ad blockers for the site. Thanks!

I've Disabled AdBlock
No Thanks