Hello I have a question about my 82 4x4 I bought new tires about ten thousand miles ago and I've already rotated them once because they was wearing uneven but it's so bad now that I almost need new tires. The outsides of the tires are completely worn down and the inside looks almost brand new, I'm so upset about this and wish I would have fixed this before but anyway how and what do I do to adjust so that the tires are even on the ground I would like to do it myself because I just don't trust anyone eles. Oh and it pulls to the right just a tad but not enough to be bad in my eyes but any help would be much appreciated cause I'm bout to have to get new ones and this can't happen again I'm not a million air thanks

 

I'm assuming that its only one tire right? If so it sounds as if your tire is toed in. You can correct that by making an adjustment to the tie rod. I suggest instead of doing this yourself you take it to professionals at an alignment shop. Your toe in/out might not be the only problem. Your camber or castor could be out of alignment also.

 

Got any kind of lift?? Lift can affect fhe camber/caster angle and cause uneven wear

 

Why don't you trust anybody else??

 

lol....i do my own alignments. ive invested in a few of the cheap gadgets along with some home grown stuff and do it myself. i DO NOT recommend this practice! you will never get great results and will end up eating tires, etc, etc. with out good professional equipment you cant get professional results. my trucks see mostly offraod so a back yard job works for me. any other vehicle i own for the street goes to the shop and gets it done and done right. developing a relationship with a shop takes a little time and communication is the foundation. talk to the tech and explain your concerns and ask them if theyre going to stand behind their work.most shops want your business and want to do a good job in order to keep your business. its obvious youve had bad luck so do some research and find a shop that has a good reputation and let them earn your trust.

 

You can adjust the toe with a tape measure. On SFA trucks I don't think you can adjust camber and caster, unless it's been wrecked, lift kit etc.
I'd suggest replacing any front end components that have play in them, then get a shop to align it if you don't feel comfortable doing the work yourself.

 

Ok I'll get the shop to do it I just hate sending my truck to the shop, and on another note what kind of all terrain tires in your opinion is the best for highway driving and just very mild off roading if any at all I'm looking for what's gonna.get the.most miles on the road thanks

 

I'd vote for BFG All terrains

 

I like my Falken Wildpeaks. I have them on my 05 Tundra DC and my 83 Pickup. Very able tire off road, quiet on the road, good wear life and they don't break the bank.

 

Sounds like the alignment is off. You CAN do an alignment with just a tape measure. I did my alignment at home in my garage with a tape measure before I started working at a dealership. When I checked it all out on our alignment machine I was right on. With these solid axles the only thing you can change is the toe in and out anyways. Grab two peices of angle iron, mine were 3 or 4 feet. Longer is better. Mark the center of that. Put your truck on jackstands (make it level). Pull the front wheels off, using a level from the bottom of the rotor mark center on the hub. Use some clamps to clamp on your pieces of angle iron, make sure those are level and centered. Now just measure the backside ends and the front side ends. Adjust your toe so that it is equal (you can go toe in 1/16th if you want, supposedly helps center it). And it is as easy as that.

 

ConSeann3ry is correct, you can accurately do an at home alignment on these trucks. HOWEVER, the correct way to do it involves accounting for the FACTORY tire size which is HR78-15B which is modern sizes is a 225/75/R15 (Or simply about a 28.28" diameter). Here's what I did:
*Take two pieces of angle iron and cut them to 28.28" in length and mark the exact center (14.14") of them.
*Measure the height of the bottom of the axle housing with the tires on and sitting on level ground.
*Remove the wheels and placed the front axle on jack stands at the exact same height as above (this take out the guess work of knowing that the truck is perfectly level and at the position that it would be at if it were on the ground)
*Clamp the pre-cut angle iron on each rotor with the center mark centered over the center of the hub and level them from front to back
*Measure the toe from the front end of the angle iron and the rear end of the angle iron and adjust accordingly. (My truck likes 1/16" which I think is what the FSM specifies)

The point in using the appropriate length of the angle iron is because the toe should be set using the appropriate sized tires so if you toed it at the rotors then you would have too much toe. For instance, a 1/16" at the rotors could yield about 1/4" at the tire tread which would be too much toe. And 1/16" at the tread of a 33" tire could yield about 1/32" at the appropriate sized 28" tire which would be too little toe.

 

I'm gonna get a professional to do it I guess that seems kinda tricky the reason I don't really trust anyone to do it is because you really don't see many straight axles anymore so it makes me wounder if they even know how to do it

 

But I'm gonna rebuild my axles then make a.decision on what tire I'm gonna get them I'm gonna.get it done I just need to find what tire will last the longest on the highway

 

i swear by bfg a/t but they dont last to long anymore, like they used to. however my friend bought the tread rite retreaded tire in the bfg a/t tread on and the bfg ko carcass and they have lasted an amazing amount of miles. i think but dont quote me at 40k+ and going strong.
i forgot how they spelled tread rite, wright, write. google it youll find em.

 

its caster and camber causing it to wear not the toe

 

What is involved in adjusting camber and caster

 

Any logic behind this answer?

 

Camber cannot be adjusted on SFA trucks I believe. You could adjust caster with shims, but unless the truck is lifted had the spring perches relocated, normally you don't or can't adjust caster or camber on a solid front axle.

 

What tire pressure are you running?

 

I run about 38#