Extreme Tire Wear

[unkatee]

Hi everyone. Been a member and lurking for quite a while, but I need some help.

My '93 automatic has started to wear the drivers side tire very heavy. The tire wear is on the inside. The pass side is also wearing, but not nearly as bad.

I have checked the lower control arm and bushings between the LCA and swar/locating bar. They all look ok and I don't see any play when I move them. The sway/locating bar chassis mounting bushings also look ok. I can feel some very slight movement in the tie rod on the drivers side when I twist the hub back and forth. I have also noticed that the rubber boot from the end of the steering rack to the tie rod is missing. The end of the steering rack is very dirty and greasy.

Is the very slight movement in the tie rod the culprit? Have I ruined the steering rack by not having the protective boot? What else am I missing?

[FestYboy]

excessive toe out is your problem, have the car re-aligned and rotate your tires. in all reality, very slight movement won't cause any issues, BUT it is a sign that rod ends will need replaced in the near future. Personaly, i've had play in my inner rods for several years with no issues (will be replaced next month as i have the funds to do so now).

short answer, align and rotate.

[jtugfestiva]

ive noticed this too on my festiva. Im a pretty big guy and i think is when i sit in there its causing the car to have a negative camber on the drivers side. I hardly have any passengers in the car with me. I think this is the problem. These cars are small and weight plays a big roll on the suspension.

[ejp2fast]

Camber won't kill tire wear, excessive toe out or in will.... with you in there you probably have too much toe out..

If you're a BIG DUDE, then i'd align it to compensate for your extra mass.. which would probably be screwing your tie rod end OUT to bring your toe IN... then when you sit it the vehicle the car will squat your Toe back OUT to normal... did that make sense?

Talk to jglutz and ogrestiva and others... they are big dudes (i've met ogrestiva, and seen a pic of jglutz) i don't know if they have any issues or not..

[fastivaca]

I'm finding my passenger side front tire wears a lot faster than the driver's and I'm running 185-60R13's. The wear seems pretty even across the tire though so I'm puzzled.