any chevy gurus in the house?

[musclehead]

I'm having wear problems with my steer tires on my 2003 silverado dually. i replaced the tires last year but didn't have the cash to delve into what was causing it. now it's time to get it fixed right. there is an intermittent vibration mostly felt on the left front side at times it completely goes away. when they were new there was no vibration. the tires are wearing FAST on the far outside tread.

so i'm going to get new tires, balanced and aligned. what else might cause the problem? shocks? suspension components?

TIA

[Hooter]

Alignment, new tires, and check the wheel bearings. Shocks might be an issue too? All of it is connected. Definitely the first two.

[musclehead]

cool thanks. 107,000 on the clock. 6.5 L duramax,  LT body style (if it makes a difference)

[Jess Tolbirt]

yea, on a large truck you may not notice problems with shocks but they are cheep enough and will do wonders for the ride..also shocks can cause tire wear without you noticing it.
when you get it aligned they will try to sell you everything under the sun, have them show you whats bad,, ball joints are a problem area also,,

[cookiedough]

At 107K it may be time for new shocks.

I'm sure you checked the obvious = tire pressure.  If wearing on the outside for a rear tire, it is probably alignment since rear tires usually wear just fine for me it is the front tires that wear abnormally usually outside edge of tire wearing down a little more than the rest. 

I had an issue with all 4 of my truck tires wearing down terribly ONLY in the middle of the tire and the outsides were 70% tread left vs. inside only 20% at most.  I was horribly shocked at my first tire rotation around 14K miles to see such odd wear ONLY on the middle of each tire.  The only thing I can attribute to that is I always kept my 1/2 ton truck tires inflated to 38-40 psi vs. 33-35 as is normal/spec.  But, those tires are the ONLY ones ever to have wore down so fast ONLY in the middle tread of all 4 tires.  Since then,  I have been keeping my tire pressure to 35-36 psi only about 3 psi above spec.  Reason for higher tire pressure is I always believed higher psi (although mine was not excessively high over spec)  would increase gas mileage and less rolling resistance which in theory really does.  Those are the only tires ever in all my 1/2 ton trucks I have owned that even with 38 psi all around vs. 33 as normal caused huge abnormal wear ONLY in the middle of the tires.  What I do know:  all tire mfgs. and tire models even within the same mfg. wear and ride differently.  Overall,  have had better luck with Michelin brand tires over Bridgestone and BFgoodrich and others for longevity and tire wear.  The Goodyear tires I have had in the past grip very well but don't last long and neither did my BFgoodrich and Bridgestones and Yokohamas but all 4 of these tires were OEM tires from the factory and I know for a fact car mfgs. put so-so at best tires just to last 36K and they are shot.  I never had a set of OEM tires brand new on any new vehicle I have bought that lasted more than 40K miles. 

One thing I can say which is obvious when getting new tires, get a 4 wheel alignment (if needed but I would anyways all the time if not recently done) and of course make sure all 4 tires are balanced going on.  I had a newer chevy impala and around 26K with tread slightly over 1/2 gone one of my Goodyear Eagle front wheels developed a shuddering in the steering wheel and for whatever reason one of the front tires became unbalanced in those 2 years of driving it when new no wheel weights lost and had to re-balance the front 2 tires.  Maybe your wheel weights fell off one of the rear dually wheels causing the shuddering effect as well but is a lot more noticeable with front tires thru the steering wheel?

[Charlie McCready]

I have a '92 Chevy dually with 129,000 miles on it. A few years ago it developed a vibration when braking. This was felt in the steering wheel. After searching everywhere I could think and replacing ball joints and control arm bushings I discovered a badly worn idler arm. I replaced that too and cured my vibration.  Check it out.

[cookiedough]

Wait a minute,  you say the tires are new last year and developing a shudder thru steering wheel guessing tires are fairly new only 20K on them or so?  If so,  if they ran good/no shudder until recently, it may be a simple fix.  I'd first make sure all your tires have the outside wheel weights on the rims for balancing.  If you see imprints of where one weight was,  there is probably your problem.  Then,  of course check tire pressure that is obvious but also (see my posting below) but very well could just be for no apparent reason one of your (hopefully front) tires became out of balance and try balancing your 2 front tires.  Why replace all 4 tires fairly new when a simple 20 dollar investment balancing the front tires might work?  My local tire guy in town has been doing tires for over 40 years and has seen it all and is cheaper than anybody else around by a few bucks.  He's pushing 65 now and smokes daily one right after the other so don't know how much longer he will be running his gas/tire station.  Never know, might be like George Burns and still going into his late 70's, working that is?

At 107K it may be time for new shocks but doubt that is the issue, is more than likely balancing and/or alignment in 1 or more tires.

I'm sure you checked the obvious = tire pressure.  If wearing on the outside for a rear tire, it is probably alignment.  R ear tires usually wear just fine for me it is the front tires that wear abnormally usually outside edge of tire wearing down a little more than the rest. 

I had an issue with all 4 of my truck tires wearing down terribly ONLY in the middle of the tire and the outsides were 70% tread left vs. inside only 20% at most.  I was horribly shocked at my first tire rotation around 14K miles to see such odd wear ONLY on the middle of each tire.  The only thing I can attribute to that is I always kept my 1/2 ton truck tires inflated to 38-40 psi vs. 33-35 as is normal/spec.  But, those tires are the ONLY ones ever to have wore down so fast ONLY in the middle tread of all 4 tires.  Since then,  I have been keeping my tire pressure to 35-36 psi only about 3 psi above spec.  Reason for higher tire pressure is I always believed higher psi (although mine was not excessively high over spec)  would increase gas mileage and less rolling resistance which in theory really does.  Those are the only tires ever in all my 1/2 ton trucks I have owned that even with 38 psi all around vs. 33 as normal caused huge abnormal wear ONLY in the middle of the tires.  What I do know:  all tire mfgs. and tire models even within the same mfg. wear and ride differently.  Overall,  have had better luck with Michelin brand tires over Bridgestone and BFgoodrich and others for longevity and tire wear.  The Goodyear tires I have had in the past grip very well but don't last long and neither did my BFgoodrich and Bridgestones and Yokohamas but all 4 of these tires were OEM tires from the factory and I know for a fact car mfgs. put so-so at best tires just to last 36K and they are shot.  I never had a set of OEM tires brand new on any new vehicle I have bought that lasted more than 40K miles. 

One thing I can say which is obvious when getting new tires, get a 4 wheel alignment (if needed but I would anyways all the time if not recently done) and of course make sure all 4 tires are balanced going on.  I had a newer chevy impala and around 26K with tread slightly over 1/2 gone one of my Goodyear Eagle front wheels developed a shuddering in the steering wheel and for whatever reason one of the front tires became unbalanced in those 2 years of driving it when new no wheel weights lost and had to re-balance the front 2 tires which fixed my steering wheel shudder.  Maybe your wheel weights fell off one of the tires causing the shuddering effect as well but is a lot more noticeable with front tires thru the steering wheel?

[Patrick]

It could be almost anything. Have someone you trust really check the front end, the complete front end including drive shaft/joints.  You mentioned the outer wear, but, is that all? Are the tires chopped or feathered edged at all ? Is the tire wear all the way to the edge, or, is it limited to just the second/inner thread ?

[czuch]

You need to replace some parts.
Front end inspections are usually free and they should do it before an alignment.
After they install the tires. That way they gotcha.

[Hooter]

It could be almost anything. Have someone you trust really check the front end, the complete front end including drive shaft/joints.  You mentioned the outer wear, but, is that all? Are the tires chopped or feathered edged at all ? Is the tire wear all the way to the edge, or, is it limited to just the second/inner thread ?

Vibration could definitely be a "U" joint if it doesn't go away after the front end is done.Typically they will squeak, snap and pop if going out. He should hear it??

[qc-teky]

I,ve got an 04 Chevy dually 4wd (8.1 gas burner) and first off, I and some of the other dually owners at work think duallys just don't like turning - we all have outer front tire wear no matter what make. After the original tie rod ends went bad, I've had a hard time finding any others that would last more than 7-8 months. Evan got Moog for the last ones about 6 months ago - need some more now. When they start going bad, I get a "shimmy" in the steering wheel. I just got in some "Rare Parts" that I' gonna put on this weekend. Got some good reviews from the forums on these, and there are others out there as well. (sorry for no links but I'm at work and it's kind'a tough to do here). I've also done the upper ball joints and idle arm, and that helped the fast wear on the outside of the front tires, but didn't end it completely. Something else I've done is take the "dually" set-up off of the front and I'm running 16x8 rims with 245/75-16 tires - like a 2500. Of course, now, I don't rotate tires any more, but neither do any of the other dually owners were I work. We all just replace the fronts when needed, and get great mileage on the back tires. Most of the dump truck and cement mixers around here are running wider tires on the front now - that's were I got the idea from. I'm thinking it may be time to do the lower ball joints and control arm bushings on mine too. From what I've read on the forums, it seems that the oem replacement parts are just not made well enough for these heavy trucks, and you have to find "better" stuff. I found one post that listed Spicer part numbers for ball joints. I think I may look those up again as I believe that the uppers I replaced 1 1/2 years ago are going bad again. Good luck and I hope some of this might help.  John

[old2soon]

When ever you find out what is wrong with your truck and have it repaired may I suggest balancing beads instead of the typical lead weights?? One of the companies I drove for used the beads in the steer and drive tires with VERY GOOD results. Part of the reason I use the beads in my Phatt Ghurls tires.  RIDE SAFE.

[Varmintmist]

Run your paw over them and see if they are cupping. If they are, I would go with shocks first, but have everything else checked.

I am a fan of replacing shocks. I used to run the hide off of pickups and after 2 sets of front tires with weird problems, I replaced the shocks. Monroes for a hundred bucks. Stopped going through front tires. Now they get replaced at 30K. Its 8 bolts, just do it.

[flcjr]

Idler and pitman arms are famous on these for being loose. Ball joints usually hold up well on this model but is possible. vibration could be any of these or steering damper is shot. I would have who ever looks at show you what is loose unless you trust them. tire shops have a bad rapp for selling you stuff you don't need for good reason. I am sure its not everywhere but it happens and gives the good guys and bad name too. The good guy will have no problem showing you whats wrong.

[musclehead]

It could be almost anything. Have someone you trust really check the front end, the complete front end including drive shaft/joints.  You mentioned the outer wear, but, is that all? Are the tires chopped or feathered edged at all ? Is the tire wear all the way to the edge, or, is it limited to just the second/inner thread ?

all the way to the edge, I'd post a pic but dang I'm tired 

[fudgie]

Tire wear will help. I replaced my shocks at 92k on my Z-71. Made a huge diff. Jack it up and see if the tire moves left to rt and up and down.

[Patrick]

OK, then its probably not the tires. These trucks can be tough on steer tires and therefore on related parts especially if equipped with a limited slip rear axle . But, still, knowing the full condition of the tires helps with diagnosis. The same still goes though, have a good shop that you trust and know has a good reputation look at it.