My passenger side tires are wearing really weird. They are developing flat spots around the outside edge of the tire...making them look like a dodecagon or something. Could this just be an alignment issue or do you think something needs replacing? I've ran across inside and outside wear before but nothing that looks like this. It doesn't really shake or anything either when I drive like what happens when there is too much play in the tie rods.

 

if its just the one tire, its probably a bad part or alignment. is it cupping or is it more of a wipe, or feathering. post a pic to get a better idea

 

Sorry, it is kind of hard to see it since its all wet now...its snowing here. If you look closely, you can see the flat spots. Its like three lugs will be flat and the next will be round, then three flat...all around the tire. I noticed it the other day because the flat ones were darker.

 

when was the last time the shock was replaced, last time i saw this it was from the tire bouncing down the road at freeway speeds, does the ties normal wear on the outside area?

 

The shocks need replacing....they are original to the truck. It sounds like that may be a plausible cause because I just took it on its first long freeway I just bought the truck in the fall and am still working out all the the problems that are wrong with it.

 

sounds like wear from a bad shock. Unfortunately, once this type of wear starts it won't wear itself back flat.

Go to the corner of the truck that this tire is on and keep pushing down to get it bouncing . . . when you stop pushing on it does the truck level out fairly quick or does it bounce two or three more times?

 

Most likely bad shocks. http://www.procarcare.com/includes/c...dtirewear.html

Just to state the obvious: bouncing 2-3 times is bad. Shocks are supposed to make the vehicle stop in about one bounce.

 

So it is one tire or both on the passenger side?

:wabbit2:

 

The wearing is on both the rear and front passenger side tires. When I bounced the truck, it kept bouncing a few times after. I went a head and bought all new monroe shocks and put them on the truck. The old ones were original to the truck I assume because they said toyota on them. After I got them off, I could compress them easily with my hands and once compressed, they wouldn't open back up. I can only imagine that this is what the problem was. I took a fairly long highway drive the other day and the wearing didn't seem to get any worse. (and it was great not bouncing for a 100 yards after I hit a bump!)