2001 Scrubbing Right Rear Tyre

[weldit]

2001 Galaxy has scrubbed the middle to the inside of it's right rear tyre,the middle to outside is like new,the middle to insid e is badly worn,the inside edge is nearly smooth,been to the local dealer and they claim they have never fitted any rear bushes ever,the wheel bearing is ok and the left rear tyre is wearing normally,several people drive the Galaxy so no idea if the wishbone i damaged,not sure of next step,thinking of getting 4 wheel alignment done.

[Shabazmo]

Get the 4 wheel aligment done and post the results. Likely that you have a bent rear wishbone, but we need to see the results of the alignment

[sparky Paul]

I agree, likely to be a bent trailing arm, or possibly split bush/es, either as a result of a heavy kerbing at some point.

[Caff]

Interested to hear what the outcome of this was. We have the same problem with a 2000 model. The outside of the tyre had a thousand miles left on it and the inside had no tread at all.

[edatelder]

Both of my rears, AVONS, have no tread on the inner 1 inch but nearly as good as new on the rest!

[sparky Paul]

Scrubbing or 'feathering' of the tread indicates that a wheel is out of track, possible causes are mentioned above. If there is any suspicion of incorrect alignment, the best way forward is to get the alignment professionally checked, both track and camber.

 

If you are simply seeing excessive wear on the insides, rather than scrubbing of the tread, faulty or worn rear shockers is also a possibilty. Wear from faulty shockers is sometimes also accompanied by uneven wear of the inside edge of the tyres, or 'scalloping'.

 

It's not easy to tell the condition of the shockers on a big car like the Galaxy, apart from the instability of the rear in corners. The best diagnosis is made by unbolting the shocker from the trailing arm and checking them by feel.

Edited November 25, 2010 by sparky Paul

[dodalexander]

I'm also seeing heavy wear on the inside 2 inches of each rear tyre, but only when I'm running with the Galaxy loaded with holiday gear. The rear wheels are noticeably splayed out - is this likely to be down to shock absorbers?

[sparky Paul]

I'm also seeing heavy wear on the inside 2 inches of each rear tyre, but only when I'm running with the Galaxy loaded with holiday gear. The rear wheels are noticeably splayed out - is this likely to be down to shock absorbers?

 

The rear wheels do tend to lean in a little when heavily loaded, this is one of the characteristics of semi-trailing arm suspension and not due to shock absorbers. Running the suspension like this for long periods may well cause uneven tyre wear, but for the occasional times that the car is so heavily loaded it should not be significant. When unloaded, the wheels on this type of suspension should appear to lean out slightly, and overall the wear should even itself out.

 

That said, the lean on the tyres should not be immediately obvious, unless the rear suspension is compressed more than it should be.

 

Are you sure you are not overloading the car? When under heavy load, how far up into the wheelarches are the wheels? If the suspension seems to be deflecting excessively under the load, it might be worth getting the rear springs checked - in particular, look at the bottom ends of the springs, they have a habit of snapping the ends off, and this is not always obvious at first glance.

[dodalexander]

Thanks Paul, the load on the car is no more than cases and other bits and pieces for a week's holiday - I'd say less than having all 7 seats occupied by adults.

 

The lean on the rear wheels, especially the left rear, is pretty obvious when loaded. The wheels certainly don't look like they are disappearing into the arches though.