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1991 Blazer silverado front tire outer side is wearing off faster

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hussain allawi

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greetings and hello fellow petrol heads, i have a question and i hope you can help me.

the front tires on my blazer are wearing off from the out side, i took it for an alignment job and they told me that it cant be fixed by doing an alignment. instead they have to take the front differential out and do some pressing and then align it the fit it back on.

Is that true. and if so what is wrong it. as i have researching for few days looking for answers.

thanks
 
Assuming 4x4, there are two ways to adjust the camber:
  1. Offset ball-joints - the top adjuster sleeve is off-center, letting you adjust caster and/or camber a little on that side. Installation is like ball-joint replacement, so labor intensive. On the bright side it can be adjusted without taking everything apart again.
  2. Spindle shims. These go between the knuckle and the spindle and tip the spindle a bit. Depending on how you install, they adjust camber and toe. So if your shim is actually thicker than you need, you can rotate it a bit and compensate with the tie-rod adjustment. Installation is less work, but adjustment is more.

ACDELCO 45K6049 {#45K24003, 89033045} Professional Info
Front; 2 Piece Design; Threaded; Plus or Minus 1 Degree(s)

45K6049_Primary__ra_t.jpg

$15.29

ACDELCO 45K6046 {#45K6003, 88914022, 89033042} Professional Info
Front; 2 Piece Design; Threaded; Plus or Minus 1/4 Degree(s)

45K6046_Primary__ra_t.jpg


$15.30

ACDELCO 45K28010 {#88914469} Professional Info
Front; w/ 4-3/4 in Outside Diameter; Camber Plus or Minus 1-1/4 Degrees

45K28010_Primary__ra_t.jpg

$15.15

ACDELCO 45K28003 {#88914462} Professional Info
Front; w/ 4-3/4 in Outside Diameter; Camber Plus or Minus 3/8 Degrees

45K28003_Primary__ra_t.jpg

$15.16

It's possible that you're out so far that a standard part won't fix it. What kind of measurements did they give you?
 
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Actually, I have a better plan - jump the truck until the camber becomes neutral.
 
I'm curious on what the readings were too. Camber is normally not an adjustable setting without doing the modifications listed above. Which also means it's not going to move on its own unless the axle housing got tweaked.

Post up the readings if they gave them to you. I've got the specs at work as we just did my 91's toe adjustment Monday. If the shop is not willing to give you the readings be very skeptical. Ask for a print from their alignment machine. If they are unwilling to share, pay them for checking it and pull the truck. This is a pretty easy bs job that some less than ethical shops can play. They will tell you the settings are way out (when they may not be) and then say they need extra money for the kit to install to allow for the correct alignment. They don't actually do anything except set the toe and give it back to you.

We've got a local chain tire store in town that is always pulling this crap. They do free alignment checks and then they want to charge for a "camber kit" before they will adjust it. People end up calling our shop since it sounded fishy. Some people don't know any better and get screwed.

Get the readings and post them up if you can.
 
Good point. Wear on the outside of tires can also come from toe. You can also measure camber yourself with an angle finder. A couple degrees will be clearly visible just by looking at the truck.

Positive camber is rare in a square body unless parts have been swapped. Negative camber can/does happen from jumping.
 
It is possible for tires to wear on the outer edges (usually the passenger side tire) if the "toe out on turns" is off,due to bent parts--the toe in can be set perfect for straight ahead,but the "ackerman effect" that makes one tire turn sharper than the other during cornering will let the tread scuff off the outer edge of the tire..

Just about every GM 4x4 I've owned balds the outer edge of the passenger side tire,the drivers side never wears unevenly --probably just the norm for a solid axle--I had alignments done and it didn't help..

My '82 K2500 has worn the passenger side tire outer edges bald in just a few months,and I have checked the toe in,its within specs,and it goes straight ahead with the steering wheel pointing straight ahead,and no play in the ball joints or wheel bearings..doesn't appear to have positive camber either...

I also put 50 lbs in the tires (load range C) hoping it would make the center of the tread wear instead of the outer edge,but it seems to have no effect..one alignment guy said it could be the shocks--they are probably junk,they look to be very old,maybe even original,the truck has 43,000 on it now (and I'm fairly sure thats original miles ).
 
My square body has never worn tires. Unless the toe was out or bad front end parts. And I have had it for almost 30 years. WOW! I just realized it has been that long.
 
Maybe the Ball joints are old and needing replaced. What you can maybe do is jack your truck up on that wheel and give it a wobble with the tire on. grab the top and bottom and kinda push pull each in the opposing direction and see if you can feel it wobble some. Lots of these trucks have had big tires and stuff stuck under them (even more so than what they came with comparatively) and if your ball joints (and bearings) are worn out there is more than enough play in them to cause some really bad wear and make someone think the camber could be off. The good news is if its just bearings that is easier to fix and not really a need to yank stuff out of the diff. The bad news is if its ball joints then you gotta pretty much pull the stuff out as they mentioned but the upside is its nothing too wild to fix that a good chilton manual would help you with.
 
He did not but I don't think they had a Blazer Silverado package after 1991. I could be mistaken thoughe....
 
The original front axle in my K5 wore the driver's front outside the whole time it was in the truck, at least until it got flexible enough to "relax" the camber on that side. The axle was just a little off from the start and we managed it with tire rotations pretty effectively. But it can all be fixed right and you don't have to bend the housing to do it. That is a way but obviously not the only way or even the best way.
 
Joe In Montana said:
Did the OP say that this was a solid or an IFS front end?
Click to expand...
If it was an S-10 Blazer, that could be IFS, but again "Silverado" throws it off. Also, if it was a 2WD full-size. Since pressing the differential would not affect camber on IFS, that implies solid front axle (i.e. 4x4).
 
Stephen said:
The original front axle in my K5 wore the driver's front outside the whole time it was in the truck, at least until it got flexible enough to "relax" the camber on that side. The axle was just a little off from the start and we managed it with tire rotations pretty effectively. But it can all be fixed right and you don't have to bend the housing to do it. That is a way but obviously not the only way or even the best way.
Click to expand...

I've never really seen CAMBER do much to tire wear though. TOE is a lot more responsible for it I believe. There may be a diet-impared person sitting on one side though.

Another thing: a THRUST-ANGLE alignment may be the answer too. Many shops don't do them on 4wd's for all the hassle involved.

If he drives through here in Montana, I'll look at it for him - if he ever comes back. If.
 
Camber definitely can but as others have mentioned, it's set by factors that are not normlly or easily adjustable. If camber is off on a solid axle its because something bent (meaning it was jumped or you smashed into something rather large and immovable) or the ball joints, or bearings are bad. Generally if that happens it will be the ball joints if it is scrubbing the outside of the tire, because if its the bearings then the tire will get pushed out (think of toe out) and then the inner part of the tire would be scrubbing off.
 
Almost all front axles on early GMs had about 0.5º of + CAMBER with a full +0.5º to 1.00º CROSS CAMBER to them to keep the 'death wiggle' out of the front end if it hit a rock, curb, pedestrian or chuckhole at speed. I had three K5 Blazers, well one was a Jimmy - and they all came with some positive camber built into them.

Most GM specs call for at least some POSITIVE CAMBER.............
Alignspec1.jpg


I know what I'm saying here is purely anecdotal - but it's what's happening to me.

On all the solid axle ladder-type front custom suspensions I've built, I always put a degree or two positive CAMBER into it to keep things from wobbling, but it never seems to affect tire wear much - or at all, really.

My current K5 has a full +2.00º Caster and there is NO untoward tire wear. I keep it that way and also in my Isuzu Amigo too.

I never rotate any of my vehicle tires - (currently: 1986 K5 Blazer, 1989 K5 Blazer, 1989 Isuzu Amigo, 2000 Astro 2wd) they were equally worn all across the tread and in fact the Isuzu on 33/12.50R15 have over 58K miles on them and they are still good for another snow - after this season.

Anecdotal to say the least.

My '86 K5 still has the pips on the 255/75R16 tires, so they haven't seen any mileage at all so far, but the last tires just fell apart from sidewall cracks, but they were even at 40K un-rotated miles!

Again, anecdotally referenced here.

Having my own alignment rack makes it easy to keep things in check, and I'll be bringing mine up from SoCal in the Spring.

I still say that the one singular adjustment that affects the tires sideways scrubbing is TOE, and not camber very much unless it's stu-u-upidly enormous --- right after incorrect inflation.

That's for sure, anecdotal, again.
 
Radial tires are more forgiving on camber than bias - so they say. But look at TTB Broncos - as the springs settle, the camber goes negative, plus the camber changes continuously with suspension travel. They always took out the inside of the tires - so it still makes sense that positive camber can eat the outside.

Based on experience I concur that solid axle trucks only eat tires when ball joints or TREs are worn, toe is wrong or tire pressure is wrong. I can see 0.5 degrees positive, but 2 degrees is starting to look silly...
 
Blue85 said:
Radial tires are more forgiving on camber than bias - so they say. But look at TTB Broncos - as the springs settle, the camber goes negative, plus the camber changes continuously with suspension travel. They always took out the inside of the tires - so it still makes sense that positive camber can eat the outside.

Based on experience I concur that solid axle trucks only eat tires when ball joints or TREs are worn, toe is wrong or tire pressure is wrong. I can see 0.5 degrees positive, but 2 degrees is starting to look silly...
Click to expand...

I sold Firestone and BF Goodrich tires and I could not find a tread pattern that existed then to combat the Duel I-Beam front axle pieces of poop that Ford created. It was an engineering and owner's disaster and the tires just scrubbed off - not because of camber - but the constant moving sideways as the axles went up and down.

Yup --- I saw that shoulder-worn problem too - but it was ignorant owners who thought that the oddball tire destruction on those TTB Broncos was caused by over inflation. It was not. So - they dropped the tire pressure by 10# and just wore out the shoulders.

True - the INNER tread was safe now - since it never touched the ground!

One funny thing happened on some 7-2-1 Series tires that I got to try to combat this frustrating tire wear pattern on those d@mned Fords - and those tires lost every OTHER tread around the circumference - not even a shoulder was worn - nor the inside circumferential tread!

I still have a hate for all things Ford.
 
Funny you should mention the TTB F*rd stuff. My Parts manager is a died in the wool Ford nut. (ironic huh?) He's got a 95 F250 powersmoke with the TTB front end. He was in need of new tires as the last two sets only lasted 10-15k per set since the fronts keep chewing the edges off. He's rebuilt the front end completely and it still chews up tires. He seems to think based on what he's read some tires/tread patterns run better on the TTB setup than others so he switched to BFG all terrain K02's. I'm not buying that tires are the difference. A Ford D60 out of a F350 would fix his problem better than brand of tires I bet.

I'll post up a pic from our alignment machine from mine this week for an example.
 
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