jeepdreamer

Here's a weird one for ya folks...I was looking at the front tires/wheels on my 01 XJ and noticed there is something "off"....I could use some thoughts on whats up.
With both tires pointed straight they lean in at the top. The toe in was set when I did the lift so I'm pretty sure that's not the issue but there is DEFINITELY something off. The tires are now wearing pretty heavy on the outer edge only on both tires. I had it on the lift and tried my best to find a loose ball joint but saw no play anywhere.
Thoughts?
I'm running 3" springs, ACOS, RE adjustable upper and lower short arms with RE drop brackets. HP 30 from a 96 or 97 (my XJ was 2wd originally) and i've looked long and hard but don't see anywhere its bent. So I'm kinda at a loss...Where do I start to trouble shoot this to stop eating the outer part of the tires.

*strange side note, no death wobble at all!?! Weird. Haha*

mcguyver_xj

what your referring to is called camber and if your camber is off you have 1:bent axle 2:bad ball joints 3: bent inner c's/ knuckles...

to check ball joints put a jack under lower control arm jack it up enough to stick a big prybar or something under the tire to pry up on the tire and you do little up and downs with someone watching the balljoints and feel for it in the tire...not my video different truck same concept

jeepdreamer

Thanks Mcguyver... im pretty sure its not a camber or caster issue since toe in was set (caster) with 1/8th narrower up front and camber is rotation of the axle as viewed from the side relevant to ball joint center line/pinion angle (my simple description). Your point on the ball joints are where ill start tomorrow. The inner c or axle tube being bent would (IMHO) account for the look but I honestly have no idea how to check the c or the axle for being tweaked. Any idea how to check those?

Bustedback

Nope. Caster is the tilt fore and aft of the ball joint centerline when viewed from the side of the vehicle. Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the wheel when viewed from the front of the vehicle.

jeepdreamer

Yup... stand corrected. Long day... lil. Thanks for putting me back on track. Forgot to call toe in toe in. :-) So ball joints, bent tubes, and bent inner Cs can cause camber to be off,right? Could the adjustable ball joints help this? How would you check the Cs and tubes?

baseballplaya2369

If you have checked your bearing and your ball joints, take it to an alignment shop and have them set it up on the machine to see what your readings are!

jeepdreamer

I'm heading over to the auto shop on base so I can put it up on the lift. I'll check it out there and see what I can find. I can't see how the axle was bent because the jeep that donated it was literally owned by a little old guy and had probable never been off paved roads. Oh well... I'll let you all know what I see... Back later.

Bustedback

It's probably only an optical illusion making it look like there is negative camber. The curve of the wheel opening curves out at the top and fools the eye into thinking there is a camber issue. Now since the tires are wearing on the outer edges, I would suspect the toe was never adjusted after the installation of the 3" lift. The toe will change anytime you lift an XJ.

Kingfisher

A lean in at the top would cause an inside tire wear

jeepdreamer

Holy crap... good point kingfisher. Hmm...no idea why I never xaught that before.

mcguyver_xj

adjustable ball joints only help a little

jeepdreamer

Tsaani97xj

Alignment check so you can actually see what is off and how much. Go from there.

Jeep48

Good Pictures! To me it looks like you have too much toe in. Notice how in the pictures your tread appears to be shifted outward from the center of the vehicle. In your pictures I am assuming you backed into that spot causing your tread to grip the pavement and spread outward due to the toe in. In that same manner when you drive forward the tread is pulled inward causing the tire to put more pressure on the outer edge hence the wear. Hard to describe but compare it to riding skis or roller blades. When you toe in it pulls your feet together. That is the cause of your wear, or at least part of it. Worn ball joint that i have seen cause the inner edge to wear. You can put down a large piece of paper and drive the front of the jeep over it to check your alignment. if the paper rips you got something off.

XJRed96

you may need to fuss with the toe adjustment more. if it's toed to to much it causes the outside of the tires to basically drag along sideways or if its toed the other way it will cause the inner part of the tires to drag. jeep prefers between 0-.45* toe youll have to convert degree to inches but it should probably be less than 1/16th inch closer on the front edge of the tires to the rear edge of the tires