Frustrated. My own fault. Was checking out the 34 pickup before the upcoming driving season this week. And I noticed this. On both tires mind you. These damn bias-ply don't have good mileage as it is. And they're expensive to replace. 170.00 a piece. I never had one shimmy or bounce on this front end to give me any indication of bad shocks. Please change your shocks now? Hell shock replacements were only 25.00 a piece.
170 is cheap for any tire these days. The tires for the wife's late model truck are 200+ and they are nothing special.LOL That said, yes check your shocks. Tire wear, lost traction at the most pesky of times. Good shocks are a must.
I ran these shocks for 10 yrs...... duh. Just mad at myself....... Alittle more than SHOCKED..... PB... Wish I could get 60-80 grand on a set of 200.00 bias-ply
You're lucky to not have ever had this happen. Yes both bad shocks and bad struts cause this premature wear. Cupped or scalloped dips appearing around the surface of the tread could indicate loose, worn or bent suspension parts. Worn shock absorbers or unbalanced tires can also cause cupping, but the cupping would typically be more indicative of a concentric pattern. Shocks and struts are the most likely culprit because they provide damping force to control tire movement. When the tires move excessively, the scalloped pattern can appear. There is no fixing tires in this condition. too late for rotation. 25.00 shocks are the easy fix.
Appreciate the consideration Petejoe, for this important reminder!...that is bad news indeed about your tires!!!...I know that just hurts when ya' can't nothing about it except purchase new tires ''after'' the fact..., and STILL need shocks on top of it....that is just a real bummer!
My wife's OT DD had some serious rear tire wear, compared to the fronts which were fine. Pulled the shocks and they had lost their gas charge, but they still dampened well and had no leaks. I wouldn't have called them "bad" like many I'd seen before, but I changed them anyway. Car rides like new and no more unusual tire wear.
Speaking of shocks, I replaced the hyd.lever shocks on my 46 ford, and the only thing I can find is gas filled shocks. does anyone make hyd. shocks anymore?
Monroe, Gabriel...for starters. DO have your tires machine balanced at the same time you replace shocks. One 'knowledgeable source' on here suggested moving wheel weights to the REAR of the wheel to 'clean up' the outer appearance. Raises HELL with the kinetic and dynamic balance...which causes tire bounce, which compromises the integrity of the shocks...
Sure LIKE your car, (I told you how bad it makes me miss mine) Thank the gods of '46-'48 Fords I have a '47 to do, although a Fordor.
yep, amazing dramatic wear problem - that said, had to get wife's low '50 Chevy PU needed front ball joints replaced - shop had a pit in ground - while looking around under truck found that both rear shocks were leaking fluid - truck is so low, and a challenge to raise it high enough to work under it, I very rarely ever check things under it - goes to prove that need to do more maintenance inspections than just the top side now and then - even if that means taking it to a shop that can raise it up all at once - or bite the bullet & get a lift for our shop
Even our late model daily SUV can do this. Rotation on AWD cars is more important than ever. Worn spindles and upper ball joints can do the same
I've seen tires come several inches off the freeway at freeway speed because they were out of balance or had bad or no shocks. Rather spooky when the car is in the next lane beside you at 70. That one may have had a broken belt though and the guy driving it didn't appear to be capable of noticing anything wrong. On that one I'd say that the shock was letting the tire skip down the road and each time it hit it scuffed a bit of rubber off. Out of balance would have one or two spots scuffed off but they dn't be that even.
ever hear a semi truck thumping or tapping as its going down the road??? , 9/10 its cupped tires from a undampened axle on a trailer ( the other 1/10 is a bad cap joint or flatspot ) or bad/worn shocks on the steers or drives , the tire is being drug ( from a slight toe in so it return steers or pulls straight ) and the resistance forces it up and the shock or dampner prevents this oscillation from happening ( radials the sidewall flexes and helps calm some of this action ) . on a FWD car its not as noticable as a RWD because of the pulling instead of the pushing . a gas shock will work better than a regular one as it prevents oil foaming in the dampner which will cause a unit to fade and then fail . you should check your front end alignment when you replace your shocks a simple 1/16th too much toe can tax them ..