Chevy astro 1998 wheel alignment problems

Hi,

the tire wear can also be due to a tire not having enough air within itself. So, you might want to use a pressure gauge to check all of the air-pressure values for each tire and pump then to an equal pressure if they are not the same. Then, you might work with a local mechanic to get your golf car tires aligned properly.

Thank you.

I suggest a full front suspension and steering ball joint check including wheel bearings and cv joints
if all ok then have a wheel alignment as it sounds like a castor wobble problem

the off set of a wheel is the distance the centre of the rim is set from the face of the hub
it is used when the tyre fitted hits inside the wheel well and more space is needed to facilitate the turning before the wheel fits
IN effect it moves the load on the bearings from the larger inner bearing out towards the smaller outer bearing and that increases the load on the stub axle
medium off may be 1/2 inch out and high off set may be an inch
the gain is a wider track for better stability on slopes
the disadvantage is increased bearing failure , stub axle failure and tyre wear from wheel geometry problems ( wheel alignment)
there is negative off set where the centre of the rim is moved towards the vehicle
rim off set is what you want instead of spacer plates which increase the load on the studs causing them to snap off
Talk with a tyre shop to get the best for what you want

Hi Shane, It is possible that the tyre has been damaged. Take it to an alignment center and have them balance all the wheels and check the tyres. Regards John

In the UK we would say 'have the car tracked' .. the wheel alignment checked and adjusted, which is a relatively straightforward and easy job.

However, be aware that there are other causes of tyre wear which isn't rectified by having the wheels aligned.

A bent or damaged steering arm can cause tyre wear. I once owned an old Mercedes that quickly wore one front tyre. Despite having the wheels tracked - aligned - three times, the tyre still wore. It wasn't until I looked under the car myself and found a damaged steering arm ...

A worn ball joint or worn/soft rubber bush can cause tyre wear. Having the wheels aligned cures nothing without first identifying the fault. I own a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee which, I am aware, has worn rubber bushes in the front steering/suspension set up. The front tyres wear badly, caused by the worn bushes. The tyres need replacing soon anyway, but I'll wait to get the tracking-alignment- done until after I've replaced the rubber bushes/tyres.

You've had wheel alignment done a couple of times and the problem of worn tyres is still there. It's not the wheel alignment at fault .. there's some other reason such as worn ball joint/rubber bushes or maybe impact damage to a steering arm.

The best option is to get a workshop to put the car up on a hoist for inspection. Tell them that wheel alignment ISN'T the cause of your uneven tyre wear. Any half-decent workshop should be able to find the cause within a few minutes.

A car which has suffered severe side impact - and has been repaired - can have a twisted/misaligned body. This too can cause uneven tyre wear

front or rear wheel drive ,as only ones i havew worked on are rear wheel drive ,so do you mean the half shaft seal

Brad

1. It's hard to say without looking at the vehicle (and test driving it) but more than likely the front end is badly out of alignment. ( If the car has been in a significant front end accident and badly repaired then this could also be a source of the problem as the alignment may not be capable of being properly set).

2. The first thing to do is take the car to a specialist suspension and steering shop and have the wheel alignment checked and adjusted to factory specs. Normally this is not expensive for a straight forward alignment but price depends on the shop. A good suspension shop will also identify if there are any wear problems with the steering or suspension that need attention

3. Older drivers sometimes frequently hit kerbs when parking their cars. This will throw out the front wheel alignment every time (and damage tyres) so it must always be avoided. Scrubbed.scuffed tyre side walls are an indication of this as well as scratched wheel rim edges.

4. Some drivers never check tyre pressures. Low tyre pressures will cause much greater tyre wear as there is more friction. (It will also make steering heavier, place undue stress on the steering components, cause the car to handle badly and result in much higher fuel consumption).
The lady needs to ensure her car has at least 32 lbs pressure in both front tyres and at least 30lbs in the rear (which carries less weight). The pressures must be set with COLD tyres. Manufacturer optimum spec tyre pressures are usually set for comfort. These can be safely exceeded by a few pounds. It is far safer (and more economical) to run slightly higher pressures than a setting that is too low. (A good tyre will run all day with 38-40 pounds pressure and 36-38 is quite safe).

5. Worn out shock absorbers will also contribute to abnormal tyre wear. 70000 miles of average driving will see out a set of shocks. (Personally I would not leave them that long as the factory shocks are generally of average quality on this type of car)..

That's the best I can do Brad without seeing the car so I hope this helps some. Hopefully a good wheel alignment will fix the problem but make sure the tyre pressures are kept up as well. If the shocks are worn out they will also need to be replaced if the car is to be roadworthy.

Cheers Sean

First check your tyre pressures.If they check out ok, try wheel alignment.The fact that your steering wheel does not centre may mean its had new track rod ends or steering rack and hasn,t been aligned properly.

Uneven tyre wear can only really be caused by either worn suspension or steering components, or wheel alignment angles incorrect. The best way to check this out is to get a wheel alignment carried out by a reputable specialist, as they will (or certainly should) go over your suspension and steering first to make sure there are no faults before they reset the wheel alignment. The other thing to note is that if the uneven tyre wear is bad enough the wheel alignment won't fix the wear problem, just slow it down.
The shimmy could be caused by a couple of things (driveshaft out of balance, tyre fault, wheel balance) but the best thing to do initially is get the wheels balanced first and see if that fixes the problem, and then go from there.
The same company should be able to both the alignment and balance, and these jobs should both be done periodically (at least whenever you replace tyres) to improve tyre life and make the vehicle easier and nicer to drive.

Hope this helps,
Mark.