Noise in back of Ford Taurus We have a 2002 Ford Taurus that we bought 4 years ago with about
54000km on it, sporting an almost new set of T rated Tiger Paw Touring tires (about 10,000km on them) The car looked and ran like brand new.On our first long trip (about 3000KM) with the car that first year I started hearing what sounded like a very minor rear axle bearing noise that got worse with a load and heat (after driving for some time). It continued to get worse as time went by. I replaced both rear bearings last year after another long (3 day, 3000km) trip - but the next time we had it out for a good run (several months later) the noise returned Sometime just before the second long trip I had a front tire damaged and replaced both front tires with V rated Tiger Paw Touring tires. This week I checked the rear tires and noted the sidewalls were getting pretty badly checked, with a "separation line" showing all the way around at the base of both treads. There was no detectable cupping on the treads, and with about 64000km on them there was still substantially better than half tread left.. I decided it was time to replace the tires before a 230km round trip this weekend, and I has another pair of the V rated Tiger Paw Touring tires installed to match the front. As soon as I left the shop with the car I realized the rear noise was GONE. The noise was due to the tires. The entire trip was smooth as silk
$375 Canadian installed and balanced compared to about $250 for a pair of the T rated tires - Definitely not high priced tires.
Re-enforces my conviction about quality I don't buy cheap, because cheap is overpriced at any cost. I don't buy expensive because it's just plain over-priced.