eating my tires!!

[99Taco2]

HI all..
I have a 99 4 wheel reg cab Tacoma.. Love it.. Today I noticed the new Yokohama Geolanders I bought back in Jan have cupped and worn unevenly on both front tires. I replaced the struts a while back, and I checked all the ball joints, which were tight. Am I missing something? I am guessing maybe there is a center drag link that the tie rods might be attached to that might be worn, causing both tires to wear oddly? I had a alignment done back in Jan as well..I haven't had a chance to crawl under it yet, just curious if anyone had this happen so it might save me a little work!! any help would be greatly appreciated..
TIA!!
Jim

[humanoid]

Yeah, I would say check the tie-rods and make sure your tires balanced as well. I'll post some more things to look at when I have some time to mull over your dilemma.

[Bakemono]

Question: Do you rotate your tires? If you never rotate the tires, they will cup on the outside.
Other than that, perhaps you need to get your camber checked.
Cap'n

[99Taco2]

Hey guys,

I do rotate my tires every 5k actually, I am going to poke around under it tonight to see what , if anything I can find. thanks again for the help!!!
Jim

[desertguy61]

Originally Posted by 99Taco2

HI all..
I have a 99 4 wheel reg cab Tacoma.. Love it.. Today I noticed the new Yokohama Geolanders I bought back in Jan have cupped and worn unevenly on both front tires. I replaced the struts a while back, and I checked all the ball joints, which were tight. Am I missing something? I am guessing maybe there is a center drag link that the tie rods might be attached to that might be worn, causing both tires to wear oddly? I had a alignment done back in Jan as well..I haven't had a chance to crawl under it yet, just curious if anyone had this happen so it might save me a little work!! any help would be greatly appreciated..
TIA!!
Jim

sorry to see you getting such lame answers. it seems this forum is full of know nothing answers being flung around. shame...

anyway...how did you check the ball joints? you need if up in the air and use a super large pair of channel locks. u can actually grab the top of the ball joint ana force the spindle up and down if theres play. same with the tie rod ends but easier. just have someone move the tire at the 3 and 9 oclock positions. if they are worn you will see them move up and down rather than turning the steering parts. if it has more than 100k on it they probably need replacing depending if they have been greased regularly. after that get it aligned. cheaper to fix it instead of eating up tires avery 10k miles. might want to check your bearings for play wjhile youre at it.

[99Taco2]

well I got the front end off the ground and then pried up and down on the ball joints with a prybar,measuring the play between them and the control arms. They seemed tight. I will try your method as well..I haven't looked at my manual. are the joints bad to replace? I am pretty crafty with a wrench. ( I dragrace an 11 second Chevelle I built) so it shouldn't be a problem..thanks for your help..

[desertguy61]

Originally Posted by 99Taco2

well I got the front end off the ground and then pried up and down on the ball joints with a prybar,measuring the play between them and the control arms. They seemed tight. I will try your method as well..I haven't looked at my manual. are the joints bad to replace? I am pretty crafty with a wrench. ( I dragrace an 11 second Chevelle I built) so it shouldn't be a problem..thanks for your help..

I havent look at a 99 but my 93 4-runner have bolt in balljoints that are a no-brainer to replace.

[sonofmayhem]

Originally Posted by desertguy61

sorry to see you getting such lame answers. it seems this forum is full of know nothing answers being flung around. shame...

anyway...how did you check the ball joints? you need if up in the air and use a super large pair of channel locks. u can actually grab the top of the ball joint ana force the spindle up and down if theres play. same with the tie rod ends but easier. just have someone move the tire at the 3 and 9 oclock positions. if they are worn you will see them move up and down rather than turning the steering parts. if it has more than 100k on it they probably need replacing depending if they have been greased regularly. after that get it aligned. cheaper to fix it instead of eating up tires avery 10k miles. might want to check your bearings for play wjhile youre at it.

sad to think you think you are so smart.

[desertguy61]

Originally Posted by sonofmayhem

sad to think you think you are so smart.

You obviously haven't read some of these lamebrain responses...or you yourself fall into the same category. This is a forum for people to ask questions and get help with a problem. Some of these responses are know-nothing answers and I would suggest people do a google search before spouting off. if you have a problem with this theory....too bad

[ToyotaTechGeek]

seriously, take a look at your steering stabilizer. it seems to be the answer (at least partially) for the bumpsteer that i'm experiencing. in my research, however, seems that shimmying (whether it's felt or not) can be corrected by a steering stabilizer. it doesn't say whether you're on a larger set of tires or not. i am. i went from a set of 31's to 33's on a stock suspension. i would also check to see if Road Force tire balancing is available in your area. and a good alignmnet should be done. good luck!

[99Taco2]

thanks for the answers guys! I went over everything last night again.. all I found was the lower rubber bushing where the strut mounts to the LCA was kind of "swedged" on both the drivers and passengers side. I replaced the struts back in Jan. Everything else was tight. Going to have it aligned next week. We'll see what happens. FWIW, the tires are the same size that came stock, 31x10.5 Yokohama Geolander AT's..