2014 2500 6.4 Alignment Issue?

[Hurst89]

Hello everyone! First post here, but I have read through this forum for a while, especially when I was deciding on my truck! I have a 2014 2500 (bought it in Dec. 2014, so just over a year old and under 9400 miles on it). I got it serviced at 7500 miles back in November for its first service and when I got it back, the dealer didn't rotate the tires because their service just includes an oil change, but I could take it back to them and pay for a tire rotation... That's when I found what I think is a problem. My right front tire is wearing the outer edge of the tire more than the left tire, probably 2-3 times faster. For those that have Transforce A/Ts, after 7500 miles up front, the front right tire was almost worn down to the second stage of the tread bar (the part that is about half the height of the full tread). That tire got put on the left rear and now has about 1 inch of tire that doesn't contact the ground.

The truck drives perfectly straight, returns to center, no bad bump steer or death wobble ever. The driver's tire is wearing great on the front. I figured I would give the rotation a thousand miles and watch closely to see what a different tire did, just to rule out the possibility of a bad tire. Well, the tire now on the right front is doing the exact same thing at the exact same rate, and the drivers side looks great, just like it did before the first rotation. Has anyone had anything like this on their truck? I guess I am outside of the 12 month rule for Ram covering an alignment check, but if it is caster, then is there really anything in an alignment for these trucks that will correct it? Wouldn't it have to be a bad ball joint, wheel bearing, or else an axle housing that was out of wack from the factory? I don't drive the truck hard, it is all stock (as you could probably guess since I'm still running the stock Transforce AT's.. ) I saw some stuff about an eccentric sleeve in the top ball joints on older Dodge Rams, do the newer trucks have anything like this?

I guess I'm wondering if I should even bother with a dealer on this (i.e. will Ram/Mopar help me out on this in anyway with Warranty?), and I'm hoping someone else has resolved this same issue first and can give me some pointers.

 

[Hootbro]

The stock Transforce tires suck but your wear issues does not sound right. Until you have it on an alignment rack to see what the numbers are, the rest is speculation.

Me personally, I would bite the bullet and have the dealership do the alignment check. If there is something external like a worn ball joint or other suspension component, they usually will cover the alignment check gratis under warranty. If is is just an adjustment only, then you are on the hook.

 

[SupermanWV]

The rear tire outer inch not contacting the ground is rear tire pressure. My brand new BFG KO2's did it as well straight from the tire shop till I lowered the air to 69 pounds. Now full contact. When you run above that (80 psi is what factory calls for), the center of the tire balloons out and causes that inch of tire to not make contact.

SupermanWV

 

[mtofell]

I think I just realized an actual benefit of the absolute CRAP stock Firestones - a real time alignment barometer

Sorry OP, not trying to make light of your situation at all. It's just that these stock tires totally SUCK so at least rest easy that whatever problem you may have you aren't ruining a good set of tires.

I'd probably rotate and pay attention to learn whatever you can. At some point either get your dealer to pony up for an alignment check or just bite the bullet and pay for it yourself. Definitely get it solved before you put real tires on.

 

[Steel Curtain]

The only thing I have noticed is my steering wheel is not centered. The truck seems to go straight and I haven't had time to take it in to have it fixed. I will check my tires this afternoon though to see if I have any wear issues.

 

[MADDOG]

I'd definitely get the alignment checked. Normally Ram won't warranty alignment or the tires (which are warranted by the original manufacturer) so I'd suggest you pick what shop you want to do business with. If there is a defective part up front then Ram should be on the hook for the repairs needed unless the part defect was caused by accident, abuse or some situation beyond Ram's control.

If you are running the required pressures on the Transforce tires (I agree with the assessment of those tires wholeheartedly - they suck) then that can cause some premature wear but I would say your wear is not caused by tire pressure issues.

There is a solution to the ridiculously high tire pressure settings in the TPMS system. You can find that information here:

http://www.ramforum.com/f158/hd_tire_pressure_monitoring_system_reset-70913/

 

[Hurst89]

Went to the dealer today finally, as I figured I would at least get peace of mind just to have it on an alignment rack. It turned out the alignment has been off quite a bit, probably just poorly setup at the factory? I emailed Chrysler asking if they would help me out with the cost of the alignment since it is covered by their 12000 mile/ 1 yr warranty and I am at 9475 miles but just over a year and the tires have been wearing noticeably for a while since I noticed the wear at the first oil change. To add more insult to injury, MOPAR's website was showing a 20% off coupon for any service performed at this particular dealership before the end of the month, but when I presented it to the service manager before the service was performed, I was told that he had no idea what it was and had never signed up for this promotion, so would not accept it (he was nice about it and I left it there for him to give to his local MOPAR rep and ask "what the heck?"). So I asked MOPAR if they couldn't help me with the alignment, maybe they could help and honor the coupon for me since the dealer was not aware of the coupon and would not honor it.

We'll see if they will at least honor their 20% off service coupon if nothing else. I'm wishing I had realized alignment was covered under the 12k/1yr section of the warranty, as I would have had it checked at the first oil change before the truck was a year old.



Hurst

 

[mtofell]

I've heard vehicles can get their alignment out of whack while on ships/trains/trucks due to the bouncing around. I'm not sure if I believe it or if it's just a dealer trying to make excuses. I suppose it's possible.

 

[Hurst89]

I can definitely believe they would get knocked around during shipment if they are not secured correctly or the driver jars them quite a bit! I just hope Chrysler/MOPAR will help make this right. We've had Fords on the farm for years and never had one come from the dealer lot with a bad alignment, nor any of the cars the family has owned. Maybe it will be my last one for my lifetime that I run into this problem?