Wheel alignment with unevenly worn tires?

[lildobe]

I have a 2021 Lariat Tremor that I bought around Thanksgiving.

Since buying it, I've put ~4,000 miles on it.

Around Christmas time it started developing an oscillation or slow vibration around 35mph, and a straight-up vibration at highway speeds.

I took it back to the dealer for an oil change (They gave me two free oil changes with the purchase) and asked for a tire rebalance, but they said that the vibration was from uneven tire wear due to a bad alignment. I looked at the tires myself and can clearly see scalloping along the inner shoulder of the tire.

I declined the service at the time, with the intention of taking it somewhere that offers a "lifetime" alignment service, like Firestone.

Can I get this done before I replace the tires? I really can't afford to replace them at this time, and they still have a LOT of tread left. I realize that I'll still have the vibration, however my goal is to stop, or at least slow down, the damage to the tires.

I'm just concerned that the unevenly worn tires will throw the new alignment off, or make it hard for the shop to get the alignment correct.

Also... Is there any possible alignment for the rear axle? I know that on my 2004 Ranger you could only align the whole axle with the frame (and maybe caster?), but not toe or camber.

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[RedDakooter05]

If you can afford it, I would just get new tires before the alignment.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

You should always align with new tires. Any tire wear means your alignment is set to the miswear of the tires and will continue to cause problems. Honestly, run the tires until they are worn out and then replace them and get an alignment. I will say, cupping on the tires usually indicates a faulty shock.

Can you bounce the truck and see if the truck settles in 1 bounce? Does it feel bouncy when you drive?

 

[JasonTremor]

You can get alignment without replacing any tires. The alignment equipment attaches to the wheels themselves. They will just hopefully cross rotate the front tires to the back and pull the rears straight forward. Might be noisy from the tire wear pattern for a few thousand miles, but should smooth out any feathering with time.

 

[Rp930]

You can get alignment without replacing any tires. The alignment equipment attaches to the wheels themselves. They will just hopefully cross rotate the front tires to the back and pull the rears straight forward. Might be noisy from the tire wear pattern for a few thousand miles, but should smooth out any feathering with time.

^^This^^
And there is no alignment for the rear.

 

[Grandaccess]

just about 4000 miles after Mr.Tire aligned mine....
they can do a shitty job that costs you $1500 and just tell you not my problem

 

[Frenchy]

Without seeing the tire I can't say for sure. Also without knowing exact mileage(a 2021 with only 4,000 miles does not sound right to me) it is hard to say. If anything I can say that if tires are not rotated regularly(every oil change basically or every 5,000 miles) then this can happen as well.

 

[Rp930]

Too much camber or too much toe out or both. Do you have the specs they say they aligned it to?

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