Hi:

I just bought new tires today for my 2002 2500HD D/A shortbed 2wd. I went with a "E" rated Cooper tire that looked good and stepped up from the stock 245s to 265s because of the extra 400lb weight capacity (I will be hauling a 5th wheel).

What concerns me is that I have been experiencing a sort of bumping/slight bucking on deceleration. Upon inspection of my stock Firestones, the tire technician and I both noticed that the rear tires had a wear pattern that showed that almost all of the tires wear and the weight of the rear of the truck was concentrated on the inner 3" of the tire, as if the camber/toe-in of the rear wheels was way off.

I have been trying to get to the dealer but the only Duramax mechanic at the local Chevy dealer took a few days off because his wife was having baby and now he has a backlog so the soonest I can get in might be the end of next week.

Do you have any guesses if this sounds like a warped brake rotor issue, a u-joint/driveline issue or ?

I would just like a place to begin to look. The truck is smooth and drives fine on acceleration, it's just this weird sort of "unsure/rough" feeling on low speed deceleration. Does this sound like an emergency situation or just a routine maintenence/adjustment issue?

Also, what is your opinion of switching to 265 tires? Is it okay, I know it puts the speedo off a few mph, which is no big deal, I have a LS so no computer, etc. 265s aren't going to cause any ill effects to the transmission are they?

Thanks for any advice,

Dan

How much air are u running in the rear?


Loaded and empty?


Sounds more like over inflation.


265s work good on them, speed is off about 2 mph at 60- 65mph.

If you are saying the wear is on the inner edge of the tires then most likely it was caused when they were on the front and you should have the alignment checked. If they are wearing on on the center of tire then it's overinflation.


Unless the tires have a chopped pattern I don't think they are the cause of your rough feeling.

Sid is right on. Radial tires that have been run on the front while out of alignment will not correct themselves on the back. Same with bumps caused by balance or worn shocks. It is possible to have a bent third member but that will usually take out a wheel bearing. The NASCAR guys used to play with rear wheel camber. It usually caused them to break. You don't need a Duramax mechanic to do a four wheel alignment. Later! Frank

Hi guys:

I did take my truck to the dealer and had them do an alignment.

They gave me a nice printout of the alignment adjustments.

The front camber, caster and toe were all out by noticeable amounts. The rear cross camber, total toe and thrust angle were all within spec.

I think you were right, the funky wear pattern was from when the tires were in front, then they were rotated.

Thanks for the advice,

Dan