Just as a quick note excessive negative camber would cause the "inside"
of the tire to wear, not the "outer shoulder" (assuming you mean the
"outside edge" of the tire by "outer shoulder")....
Craig
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jacksonj@cyberramp.net [SMTP:jacksonj@cyberramp.net]
> Sent: Saturday, February 14, 1998 10:30 PM
> To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
> Subject: DML: front-end problems
>=20
> Would like to hear from everyone who may be experiencing abnormal =
tire
> wear and=20
> otherproblems associated with the front suspension of the late series
> (97+) 2WD=20
> Dakota. I have one of the very first 1997 2WD Dakotas built, and it
> eats tires=20
> like they are make of butter. There are occasional sounds which can
> be heard=20
> emanating from the front end which are disconcerting. Sometimes the
> sound makes=20
> me think the coil springs are shifting, sometimes it sounds like =
loose
> (or worn=20
> out) wheel bearings, and other times maybe something from the brakes.
> Neither is=20
> the case, although the first report to the selling dealer led to =
their
> reinstalling=20
> the coil springs with new pads - didn't help. The vehicle has had 4
> front end=20
> alignments (in 12,000 miles) to no avail - it is always within specs.
> Two=20
> different dealers and one Firestone store have worked on it. The
> stock tires were=20
> worn out at 5,000 miles (outer shoulder worn to the steel belt). I
> have called=20
> several Dodge dealers around San Jose and Dallas about this, and only
> one seems to=20
> have heard of or seen the problem, and all assure me there are no
> recalls or=20
> maintenance bulletins on the front end.
>=20
> A small town dealer near Dallas says that setting the toe-in to zero
> solves the=20
> problem. The jury=92s still out. However, now that the toe is set =
to
> zero, the=20
> bump-steer is bad. I have been reading about the worn out upper arm
> assemblies=20
> some have experienced, but that hasn=92t happened to me - at least =
not
> yet (12K miles).=20
> The computer printout provided by a Firestone dealer showed some
> rather severe=20
> negative camber settings (which are non-adjustable). I just
> remembered that the=20
> service writer at the selling dealer told me (in October 1996) that
> Dodge designed=20
> the new Dakota front suspension so it could be easily lowered 2" =
using
> a factory=20
> kit - that if I planned so to do, to wait for the factory parts
> (probably will be 3=20
> or 4 years before they are ready though if the MOPAR Performance =
parts
> schedule is=20
> any indication). Might explain the radical built-in camber setting.
>=20
> An article in the latest edition of Truckin' magazine (p38 April 98)
> says that=20
> Western Chassis is building a new upper arm for this truck - and
> reportedly the reason=20
> is to aid in properly lowering the truck PLUS to "allow the truck to
> be aligned=20
> decently with no bump-steer". Will try to call them next week to get
> the technical
> scoop.=20
>=20
> There is the impression that a number of folk are aware of this
> problem. I would=20
> like to hear if the problem that plagues my truck has been solved, =
and
> how. Lowering=20
> the truck has always been the plan, and doing it right is the only =
way
> to go, so I=20
> have high hopes for the Western Digital product. Until they are
> available, it would=20
> be great to save the tires!
>=20
>=20
> =
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
> (__) ,---------. NOTE: The preceding message was sent via
> Jaek and=20
> (oo) | :\/: _ _ \ Jon's WWW mail cow gateway. That is to
> say, the=20
> /-------\/_/ : :: :: : ) person who sent this message could in
> fact be an =20
> / | MAIL|| \_ ' '`-'`-'/ anonymous prankster. Even though this
> message was
> * ||"" || \__________/ mailed to you from the cs.fredonia.edu
> domain, it=20
> ^^ ^^ could have been generated by anyone in the
> world.=20
> Please keep this in mind. Thank you! --Jaek (smit2204) and -Jon-
> (stei0302)
> =
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
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