I've got a 08 Suburban, and one of the tires is not centered in the wheel well. Let's say a perfect centering is 50/50. This one is like 75/25. Is this an alignment problem? It does not pull.

thanks

Got a picture?

not centered like, inside/outside or front/back?

The 94-96 Caprices had a recall because some rear ends were installed in the wrong bolt holes on the frame. Is this a repeat?

And I agree, more details.

If it is way off from the wheel on the other side, you may have a real problem.

I'll have to get a picture it's hard to describe.

is it a 4x4 suburban?

is it a front tire?

Maybe this is one of the vehicles that "crabs" down the road. The front and rear wheels do not track behind each other. I usually see this with pickup trucks - I suppose they were crashed and repaired (badly).

Front wheel, 2wd.
The passenger front wheel is around 1.5" closer to the wall of the wheel well than the driver's side. It probably just needs an alignment.


That's funny Spice.

Sounds like you hit something.

Spice is serious, I've seen it.

Maybe time to walk the lots of the Dealership and see what new burbs look like, sounds like way too much Negative Caster...

Glad it's under warranty.
Thanks for the info.

1Ags could be right about the problem. But it could also be a major factory defect. A guy I graduated from A&M with in 1980 had a Pontiac (I don't remember which) that would rub one of it's front tires in the wheel well on sharp turns. It was not repairable. It was a major defect in the frame/front suspension. He had a big long fight with GM to get a new car.

BTW - and this is anecdotal - most of the vehicles I see "crab" down the road are older Chevy/GM pickups. I notice it when I'm following. I think I'm imagining it - and then it is easy to confirm the front wheels are on a different track than the rear. I'm sure handling and tire wear are completely screwed up.

[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 9/8/2008 2:05p).]

I hate it when you shart in turns

FWIW, YZ250 has a lopsided Silverado

if the wheels are all oriented correctly they won't wear funny and you will hardly even notice if you own vehicle is "crabbing" down the road.

Most of the time this is caused by a slightly bent frame that was "straightened". The straightening only brought the axles back into parallel, but did not bring the wheels back into the same plane.

If it's just one, check the vertical. You may have a bad ball joint or a missing bushing.

I am still not clear on if the problem is side to side or front to back.

TexasRebel - vehicles with parallel axles but offset as you said may not have uneven tire wear most of the time. But if you tow anything the vehicle will try to "straighten" itself and the wheels will no longer be tracking straight.

The vehicle will also have different handling on left vs. right turns no matter what.

definately, but how many of the people that you see crabbing down the road do you think tow something heavy enough to straighten the vehicle...

if they even notice, they probably use the non-centered hitch holes in the bumper to tow a trailer that's WAAAAAY to heavy and overloaded. The condition would encourage wobble if the trailer is incorrectly loaded (too little tounge weight), but more than likely wouldn't even be a problem on a gooseneck or 5th wheel trailer (hitch point between the axles).

as for the turns...chances are the shocks and springs are none too fresh and the vehicle rolls into turns regardless of the alignment...

GM 3/4 and 1 ton 4x4's with the older IFS (89 to like 99 I think) have a track wider in the front than the rear...at the right angle they do look like they are crab walking...

Whenever I see a vehicle crabbing I usually check to see if what I'm seeing is a track difference. It almost never is.

Did they finally stop that, Cat?

I know it went well into the '00's I believe I saw it on a 2005, and I drove a 2003 that had a wider track in front by 2 inches or so.

Dunno...the IFS was just made that way back then, pretty sure the new ones don't do it...unless you get a cheap lift kit that widens the front a little, I have seen that too.

quote:

---

GM 3/4 and 1 ton 4x4's with the older IFS (89 to like 99 I think) have a track wider in the front than the rear...at the right angle they do look like they are crab walking...

---

This was the case for the solid front axle trucks too (at least for the 10 bolt and D44 fronts, not positive about the D60s). There has to have been some reason for this given that it persisted through several generations of 4wd front end design.

When folks with 73-87 4wd 1/2 tons or K5s want to swap the rear axle with a 14 bolt for durability off road, many like to try to find a 14 bolt full floater from a 1 ton G-van. Those are wider and make the track width the same front and rear.

the '03 I drove was stock...company truck.

Different tracking widths allow both sets of wheels to cut different ruts. while still following each other for the most part. The alternate way to do this is just putting wider tires on the rear. The fronts will cut ruts, then the rears still have something to bite without digging deeper.