Tire wear

[alvald83]

Can anyone identify what is causing this wear on my front tires? I did have a front end alignment 2 years ago on my '69 f250. I have trouble finding many choices for having an alignment done in my city. Thanks Al

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[jzjames]

So it looks like it’s wearing on the inside edge, so that would be negative camber, right?
(Bottoms of the wheels leaning outward)
I’m having the same problem but with positive camber - top of wheels leaning out.

What I’ve come up with is check the toe-in first as this could be a cause.

[DisneysPatB]

As they say in NASCAR, toe in.

[basketcase0302]

Agree with above on the toe in.
You can do a quick check on it yourself with a 2nd set of hands and a tape measure, (have heard of some guys using a straight rod or tube) to measure.
Measure the front versus the rear and you'll prob find the front measurement less than the rear measurement if the toe in is too much.

Both tires are wearing like that correct, or just the DS?

[alvald83]

I forgot to mention that ive had a camper on it for the past 5 years. Im not sure if that has something to do with it.

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[MadMike]

Static alignments can be a poor way to adjust toe/camber on an older(worn) vehicle as the wheel is affected by forces when driving.

Can anyone identify what is causing this wear on my front tires?

Looks like a bit of negative camber wear across the whole tire as well as some heavy feathering/scallop skipping.
Normally a toe will cause feathering of every tread block. In this case it looks like several blocks are skipping. Normally I've found that kind of wear to be from worn or sloppy front wheel bearings.
Put a floor jack under the I-Beam and raise the wheel up enough to allow it to spin freely.
Grab the wheel at the 12 O'Clock and 6 O'Clock positions, there should be no slop in the wheel bearing.
If there is, remove the hubcap, dustcap, and cotter pin.
Snug up the castle nut til there is no more slop in the 12 O'Clock and 6 O'Clock positions. You don't want any slop, no clunk, no clinking. Lot of factory literature will have an arbitrary way of adjusting the castle nut with 'hand tight'. Adjust til there is no slop, but you don't want any preload either. Once there is no slop, verify there is no binding and spin the wheel. Install the cotter pin and check the other side.

If there is no slop in the wheel bearings, move on to the I beam bushings.
Pivot bushing and strut rod bushings will affect toe and camber if they are worn out.
If the Pivot bushing is worn the weight of the truck will cantivlever over the spring, pushing the wheel UP and the pivot point down. This will cause unwanted negative camber.
If the Strut rod bushing is worn it will cause toe issues as the I beam will move fore/aft, this movement will cause self steering.

If there is no slop here now it's time to verify the BJ's on the steering linkage are not sloppy causing toe changes.
If there is no slop from above, verify the springs are not sagging or incorrectly sized for the load the truck is using. A non-camper truck with a camper will sag under the added weight, which will cause unwanted negative camber. Even if it was originally a camper the springs may have simply sagged a bit over the past 50years. It happens. I've replaced several sets of springs on various cars due to spring sag.

And when going for an alignment, have the truck loaded in the way it would be normally driving, including with driver, or at least the drivers weight in the driver seat.

You're in San Jose, plenty of truck shops in Hayward, San Leandro, and even Oakland. There should be a place within 30miles of you that can handle your alignment needs.

[alvald83]

Great information!! I guess ill just try to find a shop to go through the whole front end. That is out of my skill level. Thanks Again.