Tire wear issue 94 850 T - common problem?

cyclmck · Post by **cyclmck** » 27 Oct 2007, 09:21

I guess I misread your first post. The wear pattern sounds like too much camber or toe, everything is within spec though and the suspension has been checked. You could have them put it back on the alignment rack and see what numbers they come up with. If the numbers are different then you know something is changing(worn suspension component.)

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 27 Oct 2007, 09:55

You do know that with a front wheel drive car, if you corner a lot and drive it hard, that the outer edges will wear more than any other part of the car...just a thought...but would like to see the degree of wear with your pictures.

tomellis · Post by **tomellis** » 30 Oct 2007, 16:16

OK, I've taken some photos of the tires. If I've done this right there should be three photos. Here are the photos

This is pretty representative of all four tires; the outside edge wear only seems to happen when the tires are in the front. Notice the heavy wear on the outside shoulder, clear past the tread. In the last photo you can see how little wear the inside edge shows; for that matter, how little wear everything but the outside edge is showing.
This tire has only 25k miles of use. My understanding from other users of this tire is the 50k is about average before replacement is needed. However, these other users are not driving the same model car.
After looking at numerous websites that discuss tire wear and possible causes I have to admit that I'm more confused than ever. Toe and/or camber are the most likely suspects, but both of those numbers are well within specs. I was hoping to get feedback form other owners of the same model Volvo to see if they also experienced the same uneven wear; if so then I could blame the problem on bad design, if not then I clearly have an issue that hasn't been discovered by the alignment shop people yet.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 30 Oct 2007, 17:52

It's not bad design...you do clearly have an issue. I still believe the toe-in is excessive. Have you tried a different alignment place?

tomellis · Post by **tomellis** » 30 Oct 2007, 18:10

I've been avoiding going to another alignment shop since I paid Firestone a one-time fee for lifetime alignments, and I hate to spend the extra bucks for a second opinion. But I think I'll at least try another Firestone dealer and see if they come up with the same readings, or if their techs spot something else that could possibly be wrong with the suspension.

tomellis · Post by **tomellis** » 06 Nov 2007, 13:52

OK, I just got back from another Firestone store after a new alignment. I didn't tell them up front that I suspected a problem, since if they couldn't look at the tire wear and figure that out for themselves then I figured they weren't competent anyway. After getting the car up on the rack and inspecting things they told me that the bushings on the lower control arms are worn, and that since these bushings can't be easily replaced that I needed new control arms.

More interesting is that the toe on both front wheels has changed quite a bit in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago the left toe was at .14 and today was at .26. Right front was .15 and today was .22. So either something is keeping the alignment from holding (which would explain the wear pattern) or the first Firestone store is totally incompetent.

Does the diagnosis of bad control arm bushings sound like it could be my problem? How tough is it to do this job myself? Firestone wants almost $700 to do the job, but I found the parts online for $65 a side (Scantech) or $105/side for Volvo parts. I'm a fairly competent back-yard mechanic, but don't know if this job requires tools that I don't have. All input will be appreciated!

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 06 Nov 2007, 14:40

Does the diagnosis of bad control arm bushings sound like it could be my problem?

It sure could be. If the control arms are moving at the bushings the alignment is constantly changing. The way to tell is to take a large pry bar and pry the back of the control arm. Look for movement at the bushing joints. There should be very, very little if any movement that you can detect.

How tough is it to do this job myself?

Very easy. Two bolts hold the control arms to the frame and the ball joint mates with the steering knuckle. Just soak everything down good with PB Blaster the night before.

Getting the tapered end of the ball joint out of the steering knuckle can sometimes be a challenge but you can always go after it with a "fork". The first thing to try is to smack the steering knuckle on the side where the ball joint comes in. In a perfect world the ball joint will just pop out of the knuckle.

Any auto parts store will have the fork for around $20.00 if you need one. It tends to tear up the rubber grease seal on the ball joint but that doesn't matter since you are changing them anyway.

Scantech

NO, NO, NO - 1000 times NO. I'm not sure about the Hamburg Technic arms - the reports have been spotty - but Scantech is a definite NO.

Other than the pain in the wallet you can't go wrong with OEM.

...Lee

tomellis · Post by **tomellis** » 06 Nov 2007, 14:45

Thanks for the input! I've used aftermarket parts many times in the past with good results, but I'm not familiar with ScanTech. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks than have to do the job over again way before I should have to!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 06 Nov 2007, 15:20

Great that you found your problem. I suspected something like this....just didn't make sense otherwise. And yeah,j Scantech is bad news for any and all front end parts on a Volvo- go with OEM and you won't be sorry later.

tomellis · Post by **tomellis** » 14 Nov 2007, 13:43

I just finished putting in the new control arms (Volvo brand) , and after getting the old ones out I can definitely see that the bushings were trashed on both sides. So hopefully I'll get the wheels aligned again and my tire wear issues will be a thing of the past!

The R&R of the control arms was quite easy; it took me a little over an hour for the first, and maybe 45 minutes for the second once I knew the routine. I'm still trying to figure out how Firestone was planning to hit me with almost $600 in labor charges. Regardless, I saved a bunch of money and learned a bit more about how to keep my car happy! But I think I'd better check to see if my wife is a more aggressive driver than I thought....

Thanks to everyone for their help, this forum is great!