I am trying to trouble shoot cupped front tires and a front end rattle, and would welcome any feedback or experience you all have. Here is some relevant info:
Truck: 2018 Raptor, 23k miles, bought new, no modifications, original tires rotated three times over course of 23k miles, sees mostly pavement, some gravel roads and some genuine 4WD/Offroad.
Symptoms: Cupping on inside of front tires (at least I think it's cupping, they are wearing more on the inside of the tread than outside, and it seems like every other tread block on the inside is worn more. It's hard to capture in pics but I'll try in a follow up post). There is a metallic rattle which is getting progressively worse, sounds like it's coming from the front end.
What's been done so far: Dealer has acknowledge the cupping and front end rattle, and they had it in for a day this week but they are saying they are still "unsure" what the issue is. They tell me they are taking it up with Ford and it will take a few days to hear back.
On the dealers inspection the alignment was spot on, no adjustment needed. The tires were slightly out of balance, but they did not think enough to cause the tire wear. I never felt any imbalance. The mechanic put chassis ears on it and thinks he has isolated the noise to the front shock assembly. There is nothing loose underneath (I don't know whether they tested both under load and unsprung), there is no seeping from the shocks. The shocks seem to be performing fine on road and off, no porpoising or excessive bounce. Also, no noise from the suspension when it's compressed smoothly over road undulations. Everything feels solid, but it doesn't sound it. The rattle only happens when you hit a seam or harsh bump. Offroad or on washboard gravel it sounds like I'm storing bolts in the skid plate.
Anyway, I'm waiting for the dealer to get back to me but I'm... skeptical, shall we say, of the dealer.
I would love to have my own theory to test moving foward.
What say you Raptor experts?
Truck: 2018 Raptor, 23k miles, bought new, no modifications, original tires rotated three times over course of 23k miles, sees mostly pavement, some gravel roads and some genuine 4WD/Offroad.
Symptoms: Cupping on inside of front tires (at least I think it's cupping, they are wearing more on the inside of the tread than outside, and it seems like every other tread block on the inside is worn more. It's hard to capture in pics but I'll try in a follow up post). There is a metallic rattle which is getting progressively worse, sounds like it's coming from the front end.
What's been done so far: Dealer has acknowledge the cupping and front end rattle, and they had it in for a day this week but they are saying they are still "unsure" what the issue is. They tell me they are taking it up with Ford and it will take a few days to hear back.
On the dealers inspection the alignment was spot on, no adjustment needed. The tires were slightly out of balance, but they did not think enough to cause the tire wear. I never felt any imbalance. The mechanic put chassis ears on it and thinks he has isolated the noise to the front shock assembly. There is nothing loose underneath (I don't know whether they tested both under load and unsprung), there is no seeping from the shocks. The shocks seem to be performing fine on road and off, no porpoising or excessive bounce. Also, no noise from the suspension when it's compressed smoothly over road undulations. Everything feels solid, but it doesn't sound it. The rattle only happens when you hit a seam or harsh bump. Offroad or on washboard gravel it sounds like I'm storing bolts in the skid plate.
Anyway, I'm waiting for the dealer to get back to me but I'm... skeptical, shall we say, of the dealer.
I would love to have my own theory to test moving foward.
What say you Raptor experts?