'96 front end and tire wear

I have always had abnormal tire wear on the inside edge of my front tires. I've seen this on other Fords as well. When sighting down the tires from the front, they have always looked like the bottom of the tire was further out to the side than the top. It was aligned by the dealer and by various other front end people over the years and it always looked the same and they said it was within specs.

This time when I got new tires I talked about this problem. They installed new, more accentric "parts" (?? atop the upper ball joints) which allows more adjustment than the factory one. The front tires now sit perfectly straight up and down. Handling, cornering, etc feel fine and maybe even a little better. I'll be checking the tire wear carefully to see if this cures the problem.

Reply to
SkyOrDie
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Reply to
Fred

I live in southern California and it was done by a local front end/brake business. They have a "Tire Pro" franchise, but their quality is due to the individuals there and not the franchise. A lot of local businesses use them which is a good indication of their reputation.

I looked on the invoice and the parts are listed as "2.5 camber bushings." These bushings just allow more adjustment than the factory ones. The ball joints themselves were not replaced. Parts were $43 and labor $120 with a front end alignment on top of that. I don't know if that's a good or bad price, but I'm happy with the work and I figure I'm paying for their knowledge and expertise as well.

Reply to
SkyOrDie

Thanks, Jim. I wonder why the service guys where I do business (very satisfactory service, by the way) didn't suggest making that change when I questioned the "tilt" of the tires and had them aligned? Hmmm...

I'll ask about doing this, anyway, since I just put new tires on.

=Vic= Bear Gap, PA

Jim Warman wrote:

Reply to
Vic Klein

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