Bad shocks and cupping tires

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Taco Jackson

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, IA
Bought our 04 ST with 14k on it. Rotated the tires at 15k and 22k. This last rotate the guy at the Fod dealership pointed out some uneven wear on the inside of the [now] front passenger side tire. He attributed it to "the previous owner didn't rotate the tires from 1-14k miles". Being a vehicle neophyte I didn't argue. The road noise is annoying.



Well today I stopped at my old garage mechanic, good trusted guy. He said "cupping is caused by bad shocks, or misalignment, it doesnt just 'happen'". He then proceeded to bounce my front end (well my ST's front end, not MY front end ;) and showed me how it took like 6-7 cycles to settle down. He said shocks should have stopped that bounce in 2, so "the shocks are bad".



My questions are:



1. Does that sound right? 22k miles on my ST and the shocks are bad and caused the tires to cup?



2. When I take it back to the dealership tomorrow and show them this will it be under warranty?



3. If it's under warranty, will they replace both the shocks and the tires? (factory tires still on it right now with tons of tread left)



4. Will I have to fight them to do this if it's warrantable or will they be happy to?



I guess I'd have thought they'd have figured out it was the shocks and told me to have it warrantied when I had them rotated, why didn't they? Why did the dealership just tell me it was lack of rotation, are they idiots?



Thanks for the input, I love this board. I'd buy another ST just for the user community.

 
Could be shocks...but based on my own and other ST owners.....it is one of the quarks of the ST. To keep this from happening you must rotate and balance your tires every 5000 miles. Otherwise any tire you put on will cup and cup badly before you use up the tread life. Best bet for you is to put the worst tires on the back and get used to the thump thump sound till it is time to buy new tires. Then replace the shocks and from now on make sure you rotate and balance every 5000 miles.



My first set of GoodYears cupped badly, thought it was the tires, Then my REVOs cupped and now my second set of REVOS do fine as long as I rotate and balance. I replaced my shocks after the first set of tires. I now have 136,000 miles on my 2002 and the cupping problem has been solved.
 
As far as I know, yeah one way of testing the quality of shocks is how many "cycles" it takes to settle after bouncing. You won't find many fans of the original shocks our STs come with and at 22K miles many will say you should've replace them long ago (me included). Aftermarket shocks like Monroe Reflexes will turn your Trac into a new beast.
 
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My 04 has cupped tires. I bought it new and rotated the tires at proper intervals. The tires cupped quite early (about 15k kms). I live with it, hope to get an 07 in a year so I won't have to buy new ones.
 
you'll find plenty of info. Basically, Ford installs undersized shocks that need to be replaced very early in the life of the Trac (like mile one if you listen to some here).



I had the same issue with our '01 and lived with it for way to long. After finding this site, I realized that I needed to break down and spend the money to resolve the issue. We replaced the shocks with Monroe Reflex's, replaced the cupped Goodyear’s with BFG LongTrail TA's and had the front end aligned (bought the one year warranty so I can have it aligned every 3-5k for the next year).



You wouldn't believe the difference in the ride ... It's amazing.



Next up for me is the Explorer Express (EE) Swaybar, which should put the final touch on it.

 
Are the shocks on the 05 any better then what Ford put on the older models?

I have 3500 miles on my 05 and just took a 210 mile road trip yesterday all interstate. 65 miles per hour cruising speed. I thought it was a smooth ride. I have the Michelin Cross Terrain's that came on it. Quite tire smooth ride. I just did the cycle test, one cycle in the front and the back. Is that because it is still almost new? Will it get worse fast. Should I rotate tires every 5000 miles. I usually do the SHO every 7500 to 10000.



Mark S
 
Thank you for all the input, though no one seemed to address the warranty point. Are the shocks being bad at 22k covered under warranty? I agree that maybe different tires and shocks would be a much better ride and stability, but I like "free". If they'll warranty them Ill take the free ones then replace them with my own after 36k. Just want to know what to expect them to say tomorrow...
 
I replaced the shocks at 15K and the stock tires still badly cupped by 20K miles. The dealer said it was because of a bad alignment. So I had them realign the front end and rotate the bad tires to the rear. We'll see what happens.
 
I tried going to three different dealers with my shocks. None of them would replace the shocks. One even told me it was "normal" for the ST to bounce uncontrollably when hitting bumps. After nearly having three accidents, I paid out of my pocket to get them fixed at 11,000 miles. :angry:
 
For all Trac owners, unless you like the floating ride. For safety sake get rid of the factory shocks. The ones the dealer will put on under warranty will be just as crappy.



Monroe has a buy 3 get the 4th free. The reflex is a good stiff shock but not harsh. The sensatracs are good for those that want a softer ride but more controled than the factory ones. Both monroes are self adjusting to road conditions.



I replaced mine at 1500miles with Rancho Rsx. I do all street driving, very pleased. They are the same shock as the Monroe reflex. The monroe is cheaper, $$ wise. When time to replace, I will go with the monroe reflex, bc of the $$ diff......
 
Why have them replace the bad shocks with "bad" shocks. OE shocks are garbage. They were bad when they took them out of the box to install them on the production line.



Get some good shocks and be done with it.





Tom
 
Have them check the Toe on the fronts. After the accident, Ford aligned it to "Specs" without taking into account the lowering, and the tow was out almost 1 degree on both sides of the front, cambe however wasnt and issue at all!
 

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