OT Exploding tires

[shane]

I know this isn't the correct forum but I need some help. I am a member with a highway rescue unit and we are having some problems on our Ford. It is a 2000 F550 4x4 CrewCab with the 7.3 diesel. Problem is since day one we have had problems with the tires (only drivers outside dually) blowing out the sidewall. I have been to Ford about a recall on the valve stems which can cause this and they inspected the truck and said that this truck was not affected by the recall.

We have blown two tires, blew one valve stem right out of the rim and had a tire just go flat from sitting for about a week. All this and we only have about 4500 km on the truck (2.2 km = 1 mile). We have paid out of pocket for all repairs and I have even taken the truck in to a heavy duty truck shop to have a four corner alignment done as well as inspecting anything under the truck to see if anything is loose.

Ford finally replaced the one rim that we were having all the trouble with and now (get this!) we haven't blown a tire, now we somehow managed to find more air pressure!! The truck is supposed to have 95 psi in the rear when cold, after driving down the highway for 30 km the pressure was over 135psi !!

What the hell can be causing this?? I think that it is the General tires but I`m at a loss right now. Any input you have would be appriciated.

Thanks,
Shane



Just keepin it Canadian

 

[newyorkin]

Cause it's a ford? LOL, Just kidding...

Doesn't the tire pressure increase when the tires are hot, as the air expands? I'll check mine tonight after I drive it home and let you know.

hmmm...

Ratch
**<A target="_blank" HREF=http://k5.8m.com>http://k5.8m.com</A> What more is there to life?**

 

[Grim-Reaper]

AZBlazer how about some help. Keith your might be needed also.

Tires are always supose to be checked cold. When the tire is run down the road it will heat and the pressure rise. 135 seems excessive I will admit. I would have expected maybe 10 to maybe 20 concidering the weight not 40. The load is also going to effect the amount the tire. Heats. 550 is a big heavy beast. With the gear you carry and the body put on the truck your probably into some serious weight. Have you weighed the truck? Could you be exceeding the max load of the tire? When I mean weigh you should get a overall weight and a each wheel weight. It is possible the vehicle is built heavy to one side and only be exceeding the tire max on just those driverside rears. Now the DOT here (US) has mobile wiegh stations for checking semis. They are basicly a pad that the truck rolls up on. Might check with your local DOT (department of transportation or what your government calls it) and see if they have these and can swing by. These guys may also have some ideas to help with the vehicle and be able to give it an inspection. Get some of the interdepartmental stuff going.
Now are you checking this all the time with the same gage? maybe you have a defective gage and your over inflating to begin with causing the failure.
As to the rim...possibly the valve stem hole was drilled to the wrong size accounting for the blow out once the tire reached temperature.
Another issue is the vehicle sounds faily new but, how bad are the inside tires worn? If you had a worn inside tire and put a new tire on the outside the radius of the 2 tires is different and this will accelerate the wear on both tires and could raise the temperature since both tires are going to be sliping on the pavemet. With new tire on the outside it is going to take the brunt of the load if the inner tire is worn a significant amount. Tires on a dually should really all be changed out at the same time on the dual wheels to avoid these sort of situations. I know the bean counters at the city sure don't want to hear about it but that is the best thing to do.
I'm not a big fan of General tire. I had generals on a work van and the stunk. You really get what you pay for in a tire and believe me the manufacture is going to put the cheapest tire on they can in most instances. We now have Michelins on that same van, same load, and the Generals were done at 20k (thousand miles), Dunlops were done at 30k, The The Michelins, other than a one being slashed, we have got over 40K out of. If you do the math here, even though the Michelins were more expensive, we have got many more miles out of them so they have in the long run cost us less to run.
Last thing that you may want to concider is changing the air. Serious! Run nitrogen or CO2 in the tires. Those 2 gases are less subject to expanding with heat so your not going to see that huge psi increase. My bet is you have the CO2 available you just need to get the regulator to get it down to 150PSI.
Hit the Pirates of the Rubicon site and I think they have a listing on how to convert a CO2 tank into a onboard air supply and a list of parts needed and the places you can track them down at. http://grimsk5s.coloradok5.com/

 

[tRustyK5]

Shane...just splitting hairs I know but 1 mile = 1.61 kilometers not 2.2.

Rene

<font color=red>If at first you don't succeed...skydiving ain't for you!</font color=red>

 

[89Blazin]

Another thought....if the outside dual blows, the force, weight, momentary wobble can bust loose the belts in the inner tire. With the weight you have, I'd change the inner tire also.

85 Burb and an 89 Blazer
One just for fun, one simply for pleazer

 

[Pugsley]

F550's do that with the pressure - It's got something to do with the construction of the tires. Our brush trucks did it until we axed the Generals in favor of Michelins.

I'm not creative enough to comeup with a new signature

 

[shane]

The truck is definetly not overweight. I had the truck weighed and we are about 2500 kg under the limit. The tires are all new as we only have about 4500 km on the truck.

The tire pressure is supposed to be 95 psi on the back when cold and 75 psi on the front. After driving the pass side of the truck is about 98-99psi and the drivers side wasa way higher than that. The truck is balanced fron side to side so I`m baffled.

All I know is if I have one more problem with these stinking tires I`m going to make Ford pay for new tires. I`m looking at Toyos. Anyone have any other opinions?

You can see the truck at http://www.highwayrescue.ca
I made the side and am in the process of updating it so please forgive the red

Thanks everybody.
Shane

Just keepin it Canadian

 

[Pure Insanity]

i work at a ford dealer(i know i know!!)but ill check in the puter tommorow for any recalls or bulletins,regarding this.

BTW im a body man not a mechanic,and body men dont specialize in any particular vehicle.i just happen to work at the ford store cuz they have a lot of work.but i work on all makes and models.

PURE INSANITY
86 blazer see it at:<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.zing.com/album/pictures.html?id=4292792569>http://www.zing.com/album/pictures.html?id=4292792569</A>

 

[shane]

I have already had the 550 in for a recall on the valve stems, apparently the valve stems could have been damaged upon instalation and they could leak allowing the tires to run under inflated. This would cause the sidewall to blow out, I know all about it - I have two tires sitting in the bay that we paid about $300 bucks each to replace. Ford has said they will reemburse us once we can figure out what is wrong.

I`ll try to give a run down on what has happened so far.
1. Drivers outside dually blows a sidewall when we getting the truck delievered from Vancouver where the box was built. We paid to have the tire fixed as it was on a sunday and we had to switch our gear over to the 550 and be ready for a call. Cost us just under $300.

2. About 500km later we go on a call and when I was turning the truck around on the highway the chief noticed the drivers outside dually rolling under. We check and the damn thing is flat. We drove about 40km back to town and figured we needed a new tire. Turned out we blew the valve stem right out of the rim. We paid for this one too. About $100.

3. Not even 400km later on another call the tire goes flat and this time the sidewall is gone again. We paid for this one again as it was about 3:00am on a friday. Cost us about $300.00 again.

4. After getting the tire fixed I was regularly checking the tire pressure and the truck had sat for about a week or two and I checked the tire and it was totally flat! Took the truck into ford and they inspected the tire and could not find anything wrong. However they replace the rim and the valve stem just to be sure. Finally this one didn't cost us anything.

5. Now I figured that we had the problem fixed, life was good. Then last saturday we went on a call and the damn truck started wiggling around again like we blew a tire, I check the tire and the damn thing was almost 140psi!!! Not impressed. We go from blowing up to increasing pressure??

6. I call ford and talk to the head mechanic, he is stumped but suggest we take it to a heavy truck shop (as ford doens't have a heavy enough lift) and have a four corner alignment done. I also had the tire shop swap the outside drivers tire with the outside pass tire to see if it is the tire/rim combo or if it is the corner of the truck. The shop doesn't find anything wrong and charges us $95.

7. So here I am, $160,000 dollar truck that we can't drive. I am totally stumped as to what the hell is going on. I feel in my bones that it is the General tires but Ford since the Firestone fiasco will not put a tire on a Ford vehicle unless Enginerring has specifically authorized it. Guess what? There is two tires approved for the 550 and both are Generals!!!

I don't know how I can prove this to Ford but we'll probably have to buy new tire and hope like hell that it fixes the problem so I can go back to Ford and get reembursed for the approx $3,000 it is going to cost us.

Funny thing is after all the fundraising for the new truck we had a little money left over so we bought an 1986 Chevy 3+3 4x4 with a 454-T400 and a PTO water pump. This truck only cost us $15,000 and runs and drives like a caddy

For the extra money of the 550 we could have bought a used chevy for every member almost!!!

So this is were I am, frustrated, mad and really, really , really pissed off. It is so hard to walk into Ford now as when the service manager sees me he ducks into an office and tries to hide, it is so funny!!! And to think I only threw the keys at hi 0m once!! I told him to take our box off, pull all the communication equipment and the lights and put it on a chevy at their cost. Damn you should have see his face!!! ROTFLMFAO

Shane



Just keepin it Canadian

 

[CV202]

I'm sure Ford could hook ya up with some cheap Firestones!! LOL

Why do people keep calling it a Bronco!!!!!

 

[Pure Insanity]

yea we have stacks of firestones laying arond!when the tire guys take em off they have to drill a big hole in the side wall to keep anyone else from using them.ok i asked around and noonene had heard ofany bulletin or recall like yours.and i dont know how the ford computer works or where to go so i wasnt able to get into it.i was hoping to get someone to go in for me but it was hecktic all over the dealership.our dealer sells and services big trucks like 550-650-and 750 so i figgred if there was anything wed know. ill try to get into the puter at ford tho.

PURE INSANITY
86 blazer see it at:<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.zing.com/album/pictures.html?id=4292792569>http://www.zing.com/album/pictures.html?id=4292792569</A>