tire catastrophe!

[freqsho91]

I'm having a recurring problem with my front passenger side tire which ends up in a blowout. Twice on 18's and once on the original slicer.

I've modded the suspension including tokico struts and intrax springs all new pvc bushings stainless brakelines.

There is no apparent wear on any parts to indicate rubbing

The tire looks like a knife was inserted halfway up the sidewall and cut the entire circumference of the sidewall causing the blowout

luckily I caught it this time before the actual blowout

the 1st time I was pulling into my driveway when the tire blew out
the 2nd time I was turning off a busy highway
and as I said earlier I caught the 3rd one before emminent incident occurred.

Any help at all will be much appreciated.

 

[Kens1992mtxSHO]

Is it the same kind of tire each time? Have you made any enemies that may want to cut your tires?

 

[Ishodu]

What size tires are you running on what off set? Its obvious that its hitting something if its all the way around the sidewall. This would be the inside right?

 

[Racer X]

Are your SS lines touching the tire?

 

[hawkeye18]

if your camber is off, and it very well could be if you haven't had an alignment since doing the tokicos/eibachs, it will rub the inside and make it look like somebody knifed it.

 

[Shoaz]

Also check for a broken spring on that side. If the car has very much rust, the springs become suspect and it is not unusual for a broken spring to puncture a tire.

 

[JEM]

if your camber is off, and it very well could be if you haven't had an alignment since doing the tokicos/eibachs, it will rub the inside and make it look like somebody knifed it.

The relationship between the wheel and the strut does not change with camber adjustment, as long as nothing's broken or severely bent.

Assuming we're talking about the inside sidewall here, my money's on the braided stainless brake line rubbing on the tire, maybe not when the wheel's straight ahead at normal ride height but during turns or suspension compression. This was a problem with my Baer setup, and required careful adjustment of the line to avoid tire contact. Some folks have used springs or wire-ties to tether the lines back so they won't rub.

It's pretty much the equivalent of laying a wood rasp against the tire. And, of course, there's also the potential for catastrophic brake failure if the line should snag and break.

 

[zak]

My money's on the sway bar end link contacting the tire under cornering. You need to fit an 8 mm wrench on the small part sticking out, mark it, Dremel it off (should be about half way) and round the edges.

Refering to the upper link to strut attachment

zak

 

[Racer X]

My money's on the sway bar end link contacting the tire under cornering. You need to fit an 8 mm wrench on the small part sticking out, mark it, Dremel it off (should be about half way) and round the edges.

Refering to the upper link to strut attachment

zak

Nah. If that were the case, it would touch the tire at all times, not just when cornering. Don't forget, that mounting point is welded to the strut, which means that it will articulate with the wheel during steering maneuvers. Unless something is worn or broken, there is never a change in distance between that sway link and the tire.

 

[93rev2sev]

Are your spring gaurds still in place?

It was a recall. There is a big steel plate bolted to the bottom of the spring perch that needs to be removed if you are going to use non stock tire sizes.

 

[Bizzy]

^^^^^What he said. That's where my money is.

Quoted from the NHTSA website (sorry for the caps but I'm not retyping all that stuff):

Report Date : July 20, 2007 at 12:14 AM
NHTSA Campaign ID number : 98V094000

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
FORD / TAURUS 1993
MERCURY / SABLE 1993

Manufacturer : FORD MOTOR COMPANY
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 98V094000 Mfr's Report Date : MAY 05, 1998
Component: SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 281000

Summary:
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF NEW YORK, MICHIGAN, OHIO, ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN, PENNSYLVANIA, MASSACHUSETTS, INDIANA, NEW JERSEY, MAINE, CONNECTICUT, NEW HAMPSHIRE, RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT, MINNESOTA, IOWA, MISSOURI, KENTUCKY, MARYLAND, DELAWARE, AND WEST VIRGINIA. THE FRONT COIL SPRINGS CAN FRACTURE AS A RESULT OF CORROSION IN COMBINATION WITH SMALL CRACKS IN THE SPRINGS.

Consequence:
THE FRONT TIRE COULD DEFLATE DUE TO A BROKEN FRONT COIL SPRING CONTACTING THE TIRE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy:
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A SPRING CATCHER BRACKET WHICH WILL PREVENT A FRACTURED SPRING FROM CONTACTING A TIRE.

Notes:
OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES RECEIVED TWO NOTIFICATIONS. THE FIRST NOTIFICATION WAS MAILED JULY 16, 1998, ADVISING OWNERS THAT PARTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE SECOND NOTICE WAS SENT (A POSTCARD) ON NOVEMBER 4, 1998, THAT PARTS ARE AVAILABLE. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673. ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Please note that Virginia is not on the list of states that are covered, but I believe that if you bought the car in one of the states that is listed that it would be covered. I'm not 100% positive on that though. If that's the problem to begin with.

 

[SHO Continental]

I had to pull those spring guards off to fit my 17s way back when, but even then it only rubbed the center of the guard, nothing that would slice the tire.

 

[freqsho91]

I think it's the camber even though I had it aligned after struts and springs I had an incident where I ran over a curb and probably knocked things out of spec.

 

[pjtoledo]

Nah. If that were the case, it would touch the tire at all times, not just when cornering. Don't forget, that mounting point is welded to the strut, which means that it will articulate with the wheel during steering maneuvers. Unless something is worn or broken, there is never a change in distance between that sway link and the tire.

Then why do some brake setups squeel on hard cornering as the rotor hits the brackets?
Parts and tires do deflect during strain. The end of the stabilizer bolt is known to cause problems.


Perry

 

[Racer X]

You're comparing 1/8th of an inch of deflection to well over an inch of deflection, Perry.

Unless your sway link bolts are 3" long, the tire shouldn't ever touch. If it does, then something is wrong. Furthermore, if we're talking about the upper sway link bolt that extends towards the outside of the car (and not the lower bolt, which faces inwards), even during hard cornering it would be near impossible for the tire to touch that unless, again, something is seriously broken or worn. The only time that wheel would see any appreciable deflection durnig hard cornering would be when it's the outside wheel during cornering. Under that circumstance, the top of the wheel will tend to deflect AWAY from the vehicle, and AWAY from the protruding sway link bolt.

I still fail to see how that bolt could ever contact the tire unless it were excessively long.

 

[LeddZepp8687]

Too stiff suspension causing the tire to take all the abuse?

 

[pjtoledo]

You're comparing 1/8th of an inch of deflection to well over an inch of deflection, Perry.

Unless your sway link bolts are 3" long, the tire shouldn't ever touch. If it does, then something is wrong. Furthermore, if we're talking about the upper sway link bolt that extends towards the outside of the car (and not the lower bolt, which faces inwards), even during hard cornering it would be near impossible for the tire to touch that unless, again, something is seriously broken or worn. The only time that wheel would see any appreciable deflection durnig hard cornering would be when it's the outside wheel during cornering. Under that circumstance, the top of the wheel will tend to deflect AWAY from the vehicle, and AWAY from the protruding sway link bolt.

I still fail to see how that bolt could ever contact the tire unless it were excessively long.

Please refer to the GOODY BOOK, The First Three Years. Page 90. It's just an example that tire to strut/bolt contact can happen.
With a stiff belted tire the entire tread deflects in the same direction. If the bottom is pushed in, then so too is the top, albeit to a lesser extent. The wheel, hub, and bearing deflects differently. In at the bottom can produce out at the top.


Perry

 

[zak]

To reinforce Perry's comments, and my own post above, this is almost certainly the upper attachment bolt for the sway bar end link. With the tire mounted on the rim and on the car, reach in there and feel for clearance between the end of the bolt and the tire. Different brands of end links use different bolt lengths. I had to cut the Ford OEM Windstar link I put on else I would have shreaded by 245/45/16 race tire (40 mm offset). While you are at it, make sure you can slip a couple of credit cars between the strut and the tire, else you may have rims with too small of an offset (e.g. 45 mm)

You need greater clearance to the bolt than to the strut, becuase a monentary strut rub there is not fatal, compared to rubbing the bolt.

zak