'98 Volvo S70 T5. I am showing wear on my drivers side tire. Actual metal threads on the outer edge. Tires are not that old, and no wear on the other side or rears hardly at all. So please, one of you brighter and more mechanically sound members please tell me what I need to do. Im sure it must be some type of alignment issue, but the car rides straight. I dont really feel much pull one way or the other. Any help greatly appreciated!!

 

I dont think it would be alignment, because if it was that sever you would notice.
Check to make sure the tires are balanced.
Replace that tire, if it starts to happen again, have the tires rotated(I know this wont solve the problem)

 

You need to take it somwhere and have the alignment done. Just because it's not pulling does not mean it's alignment is good. I just had the same problem on ome of mine, but I didn't let it go quite that far before having an alignment done. Soon as I saw the outer edge of oneof the tires wearing way faster than all the others I had an alignment done. If it's not too far gone I would put that worn tire on the back. When they do the alignment they will check to see if something else is wrong. Mine was way out, and it pulled only slightly.

 

Hi,

Sorry about the problem.

I have the same opinion as Jim does. I would havethe alignmentchecked on a laser-aligner that is usually found at dealers or high-end shops. Expect this service to be between $70 and $140 (I had mine done at a dealer, after I rebuilt the front suspensions). If you only want to do the fronts and don't want to spend $140 at a dealer, haveonly the frontsdone at a reputable shop, preferably at an independent shop that specialises in Swedish/European makes (though I believe any reputable shop* could do the fronts, as they are of ordinary McPherson set-up). If it were my car, however, I would still do the 4-wheel alignment. Balancing the tyres is a plus, as they are usually inexpensive. This is my personal opinion, and I'm assuming that the camber angle of the pax-side tyre may be off, making it too "positive" even though there is not much room for camber adjustment on the S70.

When you have the alignment done, make sure to receive the print-out from the aligner equipment (you need to request them to give you one). That sheet of paper tells you whether the wheels are within the specified limits.

And as Jim noted, have them do a thorough visual inspection on the suspension components for damage/wear. You could also do a visual inspection by yourself to see if there's something that doesn't look right to you.

Lastly, could you tell us the brand name of the tyre? There are some cheapo floating around (I won't say where they're made at, as it would be too obvious) and the tyre(s) might have been defective.

Will wait for your updates.


JPN