I took my 2005 Ranger Edge 3.0 2 WD to the Ford dealer 2 months ago to have front end aligned and tires rotated, front tires were staring to cup on inside. Truck ran fine, no noise, normal daily driver. Then at 2200 miles since 1st alignment, 2 front tires starting cupping again. Took it back, dealer says that this is common for off road tires. My truck has all season Firestone Destination LE 235R70 16. Is this true or are they blowing smoke where the sun don't shine????

 

manufacture requires alignments every 12 months, 12000 miles to keep a warranty on the tire


depending on where you live and how bad the roads are, its a good idea to get it checked every 6 months, 6k

with the alignment out, you can easily kill tires in under 3k miles

 

Do you check your tire pressures often? They are usually the nuber 1 causing of cupping on tires.

Also does the truck get wheeled at all? That can throw your alignment out sometimes as well.

 

I've always had the front end aligned once a year regardless (for normal driving; my Jeep Wrangler was another story!). I check air pressure probably every other week and keep them running around 30-32psi. Just strikes me odd that a normal tire for a Ranger would wear that fast while the dealer tells me the front end is solid and in specs! The roads in Central Florida are in pretty good shape compared to those in Buffalo (from where I came).

 

Maybe try a different shop. I dont really know. I have gotten about 70,000 km out of a set of tires. They are still on the truck, and there is no cupping what so ever.

 

Bad upper ball joint can cause a negative camber giving you uneven wear on the inside of the tire. Alignment cams can adjust this but are not stock on the truck.

 

bad shocks can cause cupping also.

 

Had to replace both upper and lower ball joints and shocks to completely eliminate inside tire wear on the front end.

 

My 1999 Ranger always had tire wear problems and alignment never corrected them. I finally grabbed a wrench and a two foot square and set the front end up that way; aligning the front wheels with the rear wheels by line-of-sight. The tires are wearing evenly now!

 

Holy crap!!, the search function works

So... my tires finally went south due to cupping.
Just waiting on my tax refund to get a new set.
Besides what's already been mentioned, is there anything else I should try to avoid this happening to my new tires?

 

wheel bearings if you are over 100k

 

Center Cupping may be pressure but edge cupping may be shocks.

 

I fought with inner edge wear and cupping until about this time last year when a tech at an independent shop casually mentioned, "there is a camber kit for your truck that will cure that."

I had them order and install it and it is the single best tweak I've done to the truck. It improved the overall handing and "drive ability," and my tires wear evenly across the rolling surface.

FWIW

 

Any specifications on the kit, p/n, description, etc.

thks

 

I threw out the boxes and contributed the old pins (removed from the top of the control arm) to a scrap project, but maybe I can find it on the invoices -- if I can find them.

The problem there is that for the last 11 months we have been in tornado recovery mode where I live and the invoices may have become lost in a crap-pile of paper that I've just not gotten around to.

You might just try a Google for "xxxx Ranger camber kit" (x = your model year) and see what turns up.

What the heck? I did a search for 2003 Ranger Edge camber kit and got a bunch of hits. Here's a link at Reilly's that includes a kit for 4x4 Rangers.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/se...003&vi=1438309

Also, when I said "independent shop" I meant "not a Ford dealer." I had the installation done locally at a Big 10 Tire Store.

 

Nah, I'm at only at 60k. But I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.

 

My first one went around 80, the second 10 later. I rebuilt the front end then, as everything was shot.

 

Sounds like some bad shocks or ball joints.

 

I thought ball joints too, but I checked the wheels for free play and got nothing.
Maybe it's the shocks. How do I check those?

 

how many miles on them?

 

60k.

 

Stand in front of the truck at the "corner" and push down with a hard "pump and ****** hands off" motion on the bumper.

If the vehicle simply responds to the pressure and then "slow motion" resettles the shocks are probably okay.

However, if the vehicle bounces two or three times or immediately snaps back up with a few mini-wriggles, the shocks are shot.

The same technique can give you a read on all four corners/shocks.

 

Check the front end parts.

My Ranger tore the fronts up a bit in less than 1000 miles. Good thing I caught it in time. It's since been resolved.

If you can, do the front end work yourself. It cost me a bit over 600 bucks to get it fixed and aligned at a shop. It needed not only the drag link and all related steering parts, but also needed front u-joints. Obviously that really added some money onto the bill.

Still worth the money though, as the 31" BFG's are quite expensive.

 

That probably works on a Civic or some other small car, but not on the Ranger. The suspension is stiffer and even with me tipping the scale at about 300lbs "pushing down" the front end enough to get an idea ain't an easy task.
Anybody have any other suggestions?

 

I'm not very mechanically inclined, although I could probably change the shocks and upper control arm myself. Other than that, I'd need to take it to the shop.
Thanks for the ideas, mates!