Do I Need new Shocks???

[avp12304]

hey guys, I have an 05 1500 4.7l and my driverside front tire is not wearing evenly at all, almost bald on the side of the tire closest to the engine... the passenger side front tire is wearing evenly, and both back tires are perfect. the truck does pull to the right slightly when driving. Do I need new shocks or would an alignment fix this problem? When changing the shocks (I'v never done it before but am told its fairly easy) should I might as well change the shocks on both sides? thanks yall

 

[Harley Harrold]

I would be checking that front hub, and the ball joints, and I am sure you need a front end alignment. Bad shocks on the front end are indicated by the tire cupping. It will look like someone was cutting slices around the outer perimeter of the tire.

 

[avp12304]

dang, is there a way to know for sure if its the hub? I can post a picture of the tire if that would help? or a picture of anything else?

 

[EWC88]

My tire did that and it was the ball joints and tie rod end. I ended up replacing all on both sides. Mine is a 02 and I get lovely salt on roads during winter here so over the years that helped it to be a real B***h to get off.

 

[avp12304]

ball joints and tie rod end you say? dang, that's 3 things it potentially could be then...

 

[EWC88]

That's what my case, may not be yours. What you can always do is go to a mechanic shop and have them look at your truck to see what's wrong. Then when they tell you just say ok you can't do it now because your tight on money or whatever and have them print out the quote and then off you leave knowing what is fully wrong without being charge lol.

Like I said though your ball joints and all may be good. Check them and the tie rod out and see if any of the boots are torn. I replaced mine with MOOG I also can grease them whenever I need to which I like.

 

[avp12304]

EWC that's a great idea I think I'm gonna do that this weekend, thanks dude! either way I have never done this before on a truck, but that's what YouTube and ramforum.com is for right?

 

[EWC88]

Lol I do it all the time, I'm surprised they haven't caught on yet lol. And yup YouTube and ramforum are the best! Don't be scared because mine was a b***h, yours is newer then mine and you may not have the weather conditions as me. Mine were the stock ones and like I said they were caked with all the salt and what not that let it all corrode together.

 

[avp12304]

ok so I snapped a few pictures of the balljoints, again this is the driver side. is there any visual indicator to tell its bad? also took a picture of the tire and how its wearing....I'm gonna upload the pictures now, if I can figure out how..

 

[avp12304]

heres the pics

 

[usaf2006]

Just curious, how many miles on it?
When you're driving over 55mph, when you brake pretty hard, does the truck shudder in the steering wheel or anywhere else, or not at all. Mine shudders and after searching on the internet, there was one of those TSBs out saying the LCA bushings can cause what I've described. The fix was to replace the bushings on both sides (4) and do an alignment. After tax time here I'm thinking about upgrading my whole front end. My truck pulls slightly to the right, barely, while driving. My daily commute never goes above 45mph so I don't get that shudder ever either. First time scared the crap out of me tho lol. My struts are shot too and I'm replacing those in a few weeks.

 

[EWC88]

Third pic, I believe that's the upper ball joint, is that boot ripped?

 

[NYCruiser]

Better to jack up the truck and pry on the tire to see if they have any play. Hard to tell from a pic.

I would bring it to an alignment shop and see if they can align it. They will tell you if any parts are shot because it will prevent them from aligning it.

 

[avp12304]

usaf-I'v never experienced any of those symptoms at all, my truck has almost 99k on it, what indicates your struts are bad?

EWC- yeah sorry I didn't label the pictures, but yes that third pic is the upper, and it does appear to be ripped, I'm going to look at them closer today now that the sun is up.

NYCruiser- so if I lift that tire off the ground and just try wiggling it, that could be an indicator of a bad ball joint? should I replace the ball joints (if that's what is needed) AFTER getting an alignment?

 

[jwheeler]

You need to jack it up and check for loose parts. Take it to a shop if you are not comfortable doing that. That tire wear in the pic is not caused by bad shocks. It is camber wear or toe. Hard to tell by the pic. It can be cause by excessive play in the ball joints, wheels bearings and tie rod ends.


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[usaf2006]

Well if you can bounce your truck up and down a decent amount with one or both hands they're probably bad. If they're black in color, they're probably stock lol. As mine are.

 

[avp12304]

if it was the tie rod end on this side, would it still only cause wear on this one tire? cause the other front tire is perfectly normal

 

[EWC88]

Yes, now I don't know if just the tie rid end would cause that or if it'll be both the ball joint and tie rod end on that side.

 

[xb1230]

That kind of tire wear is definitely due to an Alignment issue. That being said, it does not mean there is anything to be changed, it could only be a simple case of wear and needs to be corrected.

When doing an alignment the tech will check for worn parts in the suspension and steering system which includes the following (Listing for a 1500 with Rack n Pinion):
- Upper/Lower Ball Joints
- Upper/Lower Control Arm bushings
- Inner/Outer Tie-Rod ends
- Stabiliser bar bushing
- Stabiliser bar track link and bushings
- Rack and Pinion Leaks
- Shocks Absorbers (for leaks)
- Struts upper mount and bushing
- Front Hub/Bearing Assembly

If any of these components are bad it is useless to perform any alignment work as it will have to be performed again once the parts have been replaced.

Signs of wear leading to replacement on those parts are as follow :
- Torn rubber boots
- lose or wiggly assembly

If you can wiggle the tire around it means on the parts listed above is worn and requires a replacement. (the wiggle can be very subtle so pay attention to clicking noise) None of them can be rebuild/repaired they need to be replaced.

There are some suppliers that have complete kits for fairly cheap, I have found complete front end kits for under 200$ shipped, which is very not expensive. Maybe not the best quality, but if you short on cash and need a secure truck in proper running condition it will get you back on the road.

Also from a safety standpoint think about changing those worn out tires.

Good luck on finding what is wrong.

 

[Trenton]

That kind of tire wear is definitely due to an Alignment issue. That being said, it does not mean there is anything to be changed, it could only be a simple case of wear and needs to be corrected.

When doing an alignment the tech will check for worn parts in the suspension and steering system which includes the following (Listing for a 1500 with Rack n Pinion):
- Upper/Lower Ball Joints
- Upper/Lower Control Arm bushings
- Inner/Outer Tie-Rod ends
- Stabiliser bar bushing
- Stabiliser bar track link and bushings
- Rack and Pinion Leaks
- Shocks Absorbers (for leaks)
- Struts upper mount and bushing
- Front Hub/Bearing Assembly

If any of these components are bad it is useless to perform any alignment work as it will have to be performed again once the parts have been replaced.

Signs of wear leading to replacement on those parts are as follow :
- Torn rubber boots
- lose or wiggly assembly

If you can wiggle the tire around it means on the parts listed above is worn and requires a replacement. (the wiggle can be very subtle so pay attention to clicking noise) None of them can be rebuild/repaired they need to be replaced.

There are some suppliers that have complete kits for fairly cheap, I have found complete front end kits for under 200$ shipped, which is very not expensive. Maybe not the best quality, but if you short on cash and need a secure truck in proper running condition it will get you back on the road.

Also from a safety standpoint think about changing those worn out tires.

Good luck on finding what is wrong.

X2