Excessive Inner Tyre Wear - Xsara Estate

[dandare1980]

Hi,

My ageing Citroen Xsara estate is currently off the road due to a sudden rapid wear of the inside tread of both front tyres.

I first noticed that something was wrong when the car felt like it was steering unevenly, but was shocked to find that the inside of both front tyres was literally down to the steel banding. The outer part of the tyres was not excessively worn and the tyres themselves were no older than around 18 months.

Several weeks prior to the first signs of trouble, my wife had borrowed the car for the school run and mentioned something about mounting a kerb, then crashing down into a pot hole.....

I swapped the rears to the front and put 2 spares on the rear to get it driving again, but the steering didn't feel quite right.

Could anyone suggest what may be up? I have read that it could be play in the bottom ball joints or possibly a bent suspension component?

The wear to both tyres seemed equal, which I thought was odd as if only one side was damaged you would expect to see the issue there?

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Regards,

Dan.

[Harlequin]

tracking?

[dandare1980]

The tyre damage appeared to happen so quickly and within very little mileage, so I feel it is too severe for tracking alone. The wear suggests the camber of the wheels has been put out rather than the toe, but I am not an expert on this of course.

The car is currently SORN'd and has a resale value of zero, so I am trying to figure out if it is worth me taking a punt on changing some low value items to see if I can make it roadworthy.

I would be happy to swap the bottom ball joints, lower suspension arms, drop links and track rod ends, then get it tracked to see if that sorts it.

If however the fault may be related to the springs, shock absorbers or something else more expensive, then I might not bother.

The only other thing that has been wrong for around the last 12 months is the front off side wheel bearing has been groaning, but there hasn't been any obvious play on the wheel. Could this have had an impact?

The tyres were identical in brand, albeit cheap £45 jobs from Blackcircles.com

Are there any other reasons for such bad tyre wear, other than the steering and suspension components?

Any ideas will be gratefully received.

Dan.

[ekjdm14]

I would start by having the tracking actually checked since this will tell you what is actually out, toe or camber etc. Also it's likely a decent garage will find any other issues when they come to adjust it. Anything suggested before the alignment is checked would be guesswork really.

You'd be surprised how quickly tyres can be destroyed by excessive toe, and toe out would potentially just make the handling feel a bit wandery & reluctant to turn in sharply. Hope this sorts it

[Timmo]

A clonk with a curb is enough to punt the tracking out significantly, definitely worth getting it checked, most places dont charge if the car is within tolerances,

[mickeymoon]

If a kerb hit has put the tracking out, something is bent or damaged. Hitting a kerb can't screw a track rod end in or out..

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[ekjdm14]

This is true, but again once it's on an alignment machine It'll give a better indication of whether the best course of action is repair/replacement parts or an adjustment.

If there's an obvious bend in the track rod then it'd be wise to replace it and set the tracking up after, likewise if there's a problem with the camber then likely parts would be needed to put it right. That said, I have "got away" straightening a bent track rod and adjusting the toe afterwards on an escort years ago but I wouldn't recommend it.