uneven tire wear

On 7/4/2014 11:22 AM, wrote:
> dsi1: "My guess is that the camber is off. "
>
> Read the original post. He states car does not pull. Camber can indeed be a tire wear culprit, but it does not apply in this case.
>

This ain't rocket science.

(follow-up, by OP)
On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:

>'04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>list.
>
>Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>thinking it's not a toe problem.
>
>Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>
>Thanks

A little more detail:
- I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.

- I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.

I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.

AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
wearing?

Thanks again.

George wrote:
> (follow-up, by OP)
> On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>
>> '04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>> than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>> 'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>> more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>> list.
>>
>> Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>> miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>> don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>> thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>
>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks
>
> A little more detail:
> - I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
>
> - I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
> surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
> wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.
>
> I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
> there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
> and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
> I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.
>
> AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
> big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
> wearing?
>
> Thanks again.

Could be toe out.
Are your roads crowned? Assuming you are in North America,
perhaps the left tire is working overtime
trying to keep the car from ending up at the curb or ditch.

On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 12:55:59 -0400, George >
wrote:

>(follow-up, by OP)
>On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>
>>'04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>>than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>>'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>>more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>>list.
>>
>>Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>>miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>>don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>>thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>
>>Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>
>>Thanks
>
>A little more detail:
>- I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
>
>- I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
> surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
> wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.
>
>I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
>there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
>and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
>I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.
>
>AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
>big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
>wearing?
>
>Thanks again.

Why are you bothering with all of this, instead of just having the
alignment thoroughly checked by a reputable shop? Once you know which
measurement is off, it's a lot easier to determine the cause. Right
now, you're making a science project out of a simple problem. If you
don't trust the alignment shop to do the diagnosis and repairs, then
get a printout, and post all of the readings here.

On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:01:19 -0700, Bill Vanek >
wrote:

>On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 12:55:59 -0400, George >
>wrote:
>
>>(follow-up, by OP)
>>On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>>
>>>'04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>>>than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>>>'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>>>more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>>>list.
>>>
>>>Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>>>miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>>>don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>>>thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>>
>>>Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>>
>>>Thanks
>>
>>A little more detail:
>>- I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
>> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
>> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
>> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
>>
>>- I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
>> surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
>> wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.
>>
>>I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
>>there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
>>and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
>>I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.
>>
>>AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
>>big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
>>wearing?
>>
>>Thanks again.
>
>Why are you bothering with all of this, instead of just having the
>alignment thoroughly checked by a reputable shop? Once you know which
>measurement is off, it's a lot easier to determine the cause. Right
>now, you're making a science project out of a simple problem. If you
>don't trust the alignment shop to do the diagnosis and repairs, then
>get a printout, and post all of the readings here.

Well, trust issues. In 40+ years, I've never taken a car to a repair
shop, except for state inspections; so, I have no clue who's competent.
Plus, my sister just had an alignment done, and they left it toe out.
Two wrecked tires. Add in whatever personal baggage I carry around, and
I'd like to at least have a better idea what's going on before I take it
somewhere. Which is all I'm asking - what could cause this sort of wear
on just one tire?

On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 12:43:15 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
> wrote:

>George wrote:
>> (follow-up, by OP)
>> On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>>
>>> '04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>>> than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>>> 'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>>> more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>>> list.
>>>
>>> Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>>> miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>>> don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>>> thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>
>> A little more detail:
>> - I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
>> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
>> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
>> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
>>
>> - I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
>> surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
>> wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.
>>
>> I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
>> there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
>> and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
>> I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.
>>
>> AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
>> big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
>> wearing?
>>
>> Thanks again.
>
>Could be toe out.
>Are your roads crowned? Assuming you are in North America,
>perhaps the left tire is working overtime
>trying to keep the car from ending up at the curb or ditch.

I like that idea; but, if it worked that way, wouldn't this be the
normal wear pattern for toe-out?

George wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 12:43:15 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
> > wrote:
>
>> George wrote:
>>> (follow-up, by OP)
>>> On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>>>
>>>> '04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>>>> than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>>>> 'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>>>> more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>>>> list.
>>>>
>>>> Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>>>> miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>>>> don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>>>> thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>>>
>>>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>> A little more detail:
>>> - I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
>>> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
>>> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
>>> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
>>>
>>> - I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
>>> surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
>>> wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.
>>>
>>> I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
>>> there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
>>> and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
>>> I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.
>>>
>>> AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
>>> big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
>>> wearing?
>>>
>>> Thanks again.
>> Could be toe out.
>> Are your roads crowned? Assuming you are in North America,
>> perhaps the left tire is working overtime
>> trying to keep the car from ending up at the curb or ditch.
>
> I like that idea; but, if it worked that way, wouldn't this be the
> normal wear pattern for toe-out?

It's been my experience that one tire often goes straight
while the other is toed out. I don't know if that is due to
looseness in bushings, road crown, etc.

On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 14:29:40 -0400, George >
wrote:

>On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:01:19 -0700, Bill Vanek >
>wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 13 Jul 2014 12:55:59 -0400, George >
>>wrote:
>>
>>>(follow-up, by OP)
>>>On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>>>
>>>>'04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>>>>than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>>>>'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>>>>more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>>>>list.
>>>>
>>>>Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>>>>miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>>>>don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>>>>thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>>>
>>>>Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks
>>>
>>>A little more detail:
>>>- I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
>>> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
>>> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
>>> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
>>>
>>>- I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
>>> surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
>>> wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.
>>>
>>>I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
>>>there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
>>>and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
>>>I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.
>>>
>>>AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
>>>big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
>>>wearing?
>>>
>>>Thanks again.
>>
>>Why are you bothering with all of this, instead of just having the
>>alignment thoroughly checked by a reputable shop? Once you know which
>>measurement is off, it's a lot easier to determine the cause. Right
>>now, you're making a science project out of a simple problem. If you
>>don't trust the alignment shop to do the diagnosis and repairs, then
>>get a printout, and post all of the readings here.
>
>Well, trust issues. In 40+ years, I've never taken a car to a repair
>shop, except for state inspections; so, I have no clue who's competent.
>Plus, my sister just had an alignment done, and they left it toe out.
>Two wrecked tires. Add in whatever personal baggage I carry around, and
>I'd like to at least have a better idea what's going on before I take it
>somewhere. Which is all I'm asking - what could cause this sort of wear
>on just one tire?

It depends. If it is worn evenly across the tire, but at an angle,
it's obviously camber. But if it's just one edge badly worn, there are
various odd things in the steering geometry that can cause it, none of
which you are going to be able to correct on your own. There are also
tire issues to consider if the geometry is to factory specs. You need
the measurements before you do anything. You can't accurately correct
the toe or the camber or the caster without proper equipment, so just
ask around. There has to be some place that has a decent reputation. I
also understand that it's pointless to pay someone to put the car on a
rack and just measure it without doing the alignment at the same time,
so just do the whole alignment, and you can post both the before and
after readings here. There are people here who do know what they're
doing, and they can tell you if the readings make sense in the context
of your problem. But that does bring up one other thing - make sure
whoever you use will print out the readings for you. Don't stumble
into some shop that has ancient or broken equipment that can't print
it out.

Remember too, that they are supposed to check all steering related
parts for wear, looseness, etc.

George wrote:
> (follow-up, by OP)
> On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>
>> '04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>> than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>> 'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>> more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>> list.
>>
>> Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>> miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>> don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>> thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>
>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks
>
> A little more detail:
> - I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
> .............

IMO, that's your answer. Could be mfgr defect, could be installation
error. If a licensed shop had done it, they would have aligned it (and
found they couldn't) and would have sent the part back as defect if
necessary.

GW

On 7/13/2014 6:55 AM, George wrote:
> (follow-up, by OP)
> On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:53:23 -0400, George > wrote:
>
>> '04 Cavalier. LF tire is wearing on the inside edge. RF is not. Other
>> than that, both have good tread. Car does not pull. There is some
>> 'road noise' (tires or FWB, IMO) on the highway, which is noticeably
>> more pronounced on left turn effort. The car does not have a noticeable
>> list.
>>
>> Both struts and control arms have been replaced within the last 30K
>> miles. This (left) bearing/hub assembly was replaced ~30K miles ago. I
>> don't feel any play in it. Since the problem is only on one side, I'm
>> thinking it's not a toe problem.
>>
>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks
>
> A little more detail:
> - I replaced the control arms about 2 months ago.
> If the tread wear was already happening, I should have seen it then.
> I do miss things, but it's kind of obvious.
> ... So, there's a good chance it started with the control arms.
>
> - I just checked the camber, at least roughly - parked on a level
> surface, and put a level across the rim. It looks right: both
> wheels were plumb, within less than a degree.
>
> I suspect there's a problem with my control arm job. But, it's not like
> there's any adjustability the just 2 bushing bolts, the ball joint,
> and the stabilizer link. I've gone back over it, and things are tight.
> I'll re-check, but I don't think expect much.
>
> AFAIK, if it was a toe problem, it both wheels would be worn. So, the
> big question: is there any way, other than camber, to have just one tire
> wearing?
>
> Thanks again.
>

The big answer is yes - it could be a bad wheel bearing. First check the
bearing on that tire. That should only take you a few seconds. If it's
OK, check the front bolt on the arm where it attaches to the subframe.
If there's no alignment markings on it, take it off and see if it's an
eccentric bolt. If it is, replace it to move the arm inwards. If it is
not a camber adjusting bolt, you might consider replacing it with one.
You probably can buy these at your local parts store. My guess is that
they would cost less than $40 for the kit to do both sides. Please don't
mess with the other side. You can also buy these online for around $20.

You also need to learn how to check the toe by feeling the tire. It's
simple and only takes a few seconds to do. Why have you not learned to
do this?