Front Alignment and Tires

[drkknight196]

At 14.5K miles, the insides of both of my front tires are all but gone. Dealership has checked and/or adjusted alignment several times since new. Checked on Friday, but noted they were using the 2002 Grand Marquis specs. Found the 2003 MM specs for them (in their library!) and they will realign correctly Monday and replace both tires; however, the specs aren't significantly different from the requirements for the GM. Anyone else having issues with premature tire wear due to alignment?

Also, center of rears almost gone at 14.5K. Looked like overinflation, but that's never happened. BF Goodrich agreed to pay half for new tires and I've had new ones installed; however, I don't want to be in this position at 29K! Suggestions and insights welcome!:confused:

[RCSignals]

That seems like unusual wear for that mileage. BFGoodrich, or Ford under the bumper to bumper warranty, should be covering that I'd think

[drkknight196]

Ford's picking up the cost of the fronts; BF Goodrich paid half for the rears. I'm looking for causes and fixes.

[mungce]

Usually, wierd tire wear indicates a front end, ball joint, or maybe bent rims.......check it out

mungce
Ft.Worth,Tx

[Murader03]

Odd tire wear. Hum! I've jsut past 22.5k on my tires. They have been rotated (side-to0side) every 5K since I bought the car. My tires appear to be wearing as they should, nothign unusual that I can see. Alignment hasn't been touched since new as I haven't felt any need to have it checked. Steering is still on center, and as I stated, I don't see any odd wear pattern.

[drkknight196]

Mine tracks like an arrow and like I said, alignment has been checked/corrected twice since last September. All front end suspension parts are good to go ............. ??????????????

[mungce]

I have beeen unfortunate and had to get three wheels replaced ( the pats guy tells me that thse MM wheels,and parts in general were the higest in his insurance book) and had to get a front end alignment with less than 8K on the car.....but she still tracks great....especially at speed....80+////// I just love my Marauder......

mungce
Ft.Worth, Tx

[mungce]

AM I correct in the dealer is totally responsable ( warrenty ) for a front end alignment if the car is under 12K, as I was told by the Ford Body Shop Manager at Texas Ford Moters, in Ft.Worth, Tx ????

mungcFt.Worth, Tx

[MitchB]

Odd tire wear. Hum! I've jsut past 22.5k on my tires. They have been rotated (side-to0side) every 5K since I bought the car...

I don't know if you really want to do this. When you rotate the tires from side-to-side, you end up reversing the rotation. And what is the benifit?

Mitch

[mungce]

Hey 03Marauder.....you say you rotate side to side ??? We know that the 50s on front and 55s on back was a Mercury managmanet decision for the extra bucks......... I am also pissed that they were so damn chep they ( Mercury ) didn't even polish the spare rim !!! And I bought mine sight unseen, in advance..( didn't even test drive it )......

mungce
Ft.Worth,Tx

[RCSignals]

Originally posted by mungce
AM I correct in the dealer is totally responsable ( warrenty ) for a front end alignment if the car is under 12K, as I was told by the Ford Body Shop Manager at Texas Ford Moters, in Ft.Worth, Tx ????

mungcFt.Worth, Tx

According to the warranty as I read it, that's correct

[drkknight196]

I must have lucked out after all ......... my spare wheel is just as shiny as the ones on the car. Side to side rotation provides more even tread wear, though I'd prefer a four wheel rotation as I believe that would have minimized my wear problems. But that can't be done without putting the same size all around.

[Thomas C Potter]

MM has neg 3/4 deg camber, at this I would expect some inner tread wear. I would recommend having camber set at neg 1/4 if dealer/shop will do. Some won't because it out of manf's 'specs'. I have modified several rwd full frame cars and set camber at neg 1 deg, tire's inner tread get chewed to hell in 15k, but handles better, and on a toy car this is tolerable, your MM as daily driver- this is likely not tolerable.

[Bigdogjim]

drkknight196: as far as your rear tires go what pressure are you running at? You did not state that? Just a thought.

[drkknight196]

35 lbs

[mtnh]

Drkknight,

is there anyone else using your car?

My LS does that to the rear tires as well. Other LS owners have seen the same, and some have not. My theory was that it was due to under-inflation. The way that I see it, and this could be all hogwash, (but it's due to something, we would all agree) it is that the pressure inside the rear tires is not sufficient at holding the shape of the tire at higher speeds, and actually allows the tire's contact patch to shrink at those speeds that are above the posted limits, leaving the center of the tire to do most of the work. Since the rear tires are the driven tires, the job of keeping the car at those speeds is being done by the center of the rear tire tread only, thus the extra wear. My experiment involves the tires on the LS to be inflated to around 38 psi, to help hold the sidewalls out, instead of allowing them to flex to a thinner cross-sectional width. One note of data is that the tires, mounted on their rims and inflated, will actually allow light to pass under the center of the tread, when unmounted from the car and standing on a flat surface. How in the world would that be possible, if it isn't from what my theory describes? The LS uses 235-50/17 V-rated Firestone Firehawks. The LS also is frequently cruising at or above 80 MPH, and sees the occaional fun run up to triple digits and beyond. Does your Marauder see those types of speeds by any of its drivers?

Mike

[mdmarauder]

I have the same problem with uneven tire wear. My rear tires are almost done in the middle of the tread. I have 13,000 miles. I'll call the dealer and see what they say.

[drkknight196]

mtnh:
Interesting theory and might explain the problem. Yes, I cruise at speeds of 84-88 mph and into triple digits whenever it's safe to do so. So you're recommending a tire pressure of 38psi?

[deerejoe]

Thx for the 'heads up' on this alinement issue...just from eyeballing the front camber, it would appear that I might also be in line for wearing the inside area more...but with 2K miles to date, its not evident yet on tire wear. Something else to watch for.

[Ray Snyder]

I have the same inside wear on the front and the center of the rears are about gone, after only 10,000 smiles, yes I meant smiles.

[Paul T. Casey]

I also have "thinness" in center of rears. mtnh theory makes sense. I noticed in the literature at the tire shop, BF Goodrich says if you expect to do "extended high speed driving", I believe their number was 100 mph, they suggest raising the pressure to 40 psi for the reasons stated by that smart yankee.

[Hemlock]

26,000 MILES NOW WITHOUT ANY ADJUSTMENTS . 40% TREAD LEFT , I WILL REPLACE ALL 4 AT 35K.

[jgc61sr2002]

Aggressive driving = Premature tire ware.

[drkknight196]

Aggressive cornering = excessive tire wear outside edges of front tires
Aggressive acceleration = excessive tire wear across the rear tread if properly inflated
Excessive tire wear inside both fronts in identical patterns = probably misaligned.
Had mine realigned to MM specs vs. Grand Marquis yesterday. Can already notice a difference -- seems to track even better.

[Warpath]

Originally posted by Thomas C Potter
MM has neg 3/4 deg camber...

The spec should be -0.5 degrees for camber.

[Pantherman]

Rear center wear is classic overinflation. Front inside wear is too much toe out or, more likely, too much negative camber. When was your dealer's alignment equipment last calibrated?

[JLHARVEY1]

What are the exact specs for alignment for the Maruader? (Not the GM)? Just like to know,I suspect mine might be off a bit. Like the have the specs in hand before I go to have it aligned.

[drkknight196]

As I said, the specs used (until two days ago) to align my MM were for the 2002 Grand Marquis, because that's the most current programming in the machine. I can post the correct specs or you can have your dealer get them from the "Ford Motor Corporation" produced shop guide titled "2003 Grand Marquis." Go to the alignment specs and immediately below the figures for the Grand Marquis and Police model, you'll find the specs for the Marauder. I had to go find the book at my dealership and help them find the data. Then the alignment tech will have to manually input the data prior to doing the work.

Also as I said, my rears were NOT overinflated. Please see previous posts.

[TAF]

Man...I've got to say I'm really confused with all these extraordinary tire-wear reports. I'm at 13.5K and all 4 of mine look as good as the full-sized spare in the trunk. Running 32lbs at all 4 corners. I would think that you should get at LEAST 25-30K out of these tires...am I fooling myself?

[Thomas C Potter]

TAF, each car is slightly diff, you're a lucky/good one.

Right out of manual, which may have been updated but likely not for alignment specs;

CV/GM(air) MM
Caster +6.2 +/-.75 +5.5 +/-.75

Camber -.70 +/-.75 -.70 +/-.75

I still recommend if inner tread on front is wearing, go to -.25 camber.

[Thomas C Potter]

That looks goofy!!

MM Caster +5.5 +/-.75

Camber -.70 +/-.75

I still recommend if inner tread on front is wearing, go to -.25 camber.

[drkknight196]

The specs you quoted are for the Grand Marquis, not the MM. Although the specs forthe camber are the same, specs for caster ARE DIFFERENT. Please see new thread where I posted MM specs from the shop manual.

[prchrman]

old thread, but, today I drove the MM to work (wife has taken it over) parallel parked and noticed the inside of the front tires were bald...called local Ford dealership...SM had me bring it down to get tire size and odometer reading...11363 miles...that was close...12000 is cut off he said for replacement...he asked if I had rotated the tires and I says nope...and he says thats right you cann't because they are different sizes...I tell him I am wanting to go to same size all way around to be able to rotate and was thinking of 235 40s and would that void my warranty? he said it would not void the warranty and they would change the computer setting to match the tires for me...he was happy to order tires and to change me out to new ones no cost to me...he said he got paid 25% over for doing this so it helps his bottom line...yeehaw...just put this out so others approaching the 12000 mile mark would check their tires...my SM was all to happy to order the tires and they will get to it next week sometime...so ladies and gents check those front tires...willie

[jgc61sr2002]

prchrman Thanks for the heads up that's good info.:up:

[mungce]

If you check your owners manual, Marauders are to get a wheel rotation at 15,000 miles check up. The dealer just changed my oil........... The dealership I bought from had changed owners. Although the same guys were kept on , I will be changing my dealer to John Eagle in Dallas. I havn't had any tire problems with the OEM BFGs, just got lighten up on the right foot.......

Jim Williams
Ft. Worth, Tx