Explorer tire rotation fail?

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Just had the Explorer in signature taken to the shop where I purchased 4 new GoodYears last year for 6000 mile tire rotation at no cost. This was done on Monday and my GF ran it down because I had prior obligations. Took the Explorer to the doctor last nite and it "drastically" pulls to the right. I plan on taking it back to the shop today when I get done work and telling them just exactly how now all of a sudden it pulls to the right out of nowhere. What could have possibly happen at the shop that all of a sudden its pulling hard to the right from just getting the tires rotated? I asked my GF if she hit anything after the rotation and she said no!!
 
Yes, Radial pull in one of the tires! I have had this a lot with G/Y Tires. Switch them from one side to the other and it'll pull the other way!

If this is definitely the issue(radial pull), switching the tires will help rule out other factors. This will certainly show up on the front and[almost] not even noticeable in the rear.
 
When I bought my DD 2 years ago, it needed 2 tires. I put the rears on the front and the 2 new ones on the rear. It immediately started pulling to the right and making that tire-on-pavement "whirring" sound. I switched the fronts side-to-side and now the car tracks straight and the noise is greatly reduced.
 
Originally Posted By: thorromig
I plan on taking it back to the shop today when I get done work and telling them just exactly how now all of a sudden it pulls to the right out of nowhere. What could have possibly happen at the shop that all of a sudden its pulling hard to the right from just getting the tires rotated? I asked my GF if she hit anything after the rotation and she said no!!


This is most normally no fault of the tire shop, so let's throttle back and look at the big picture. On a predominately rear wheel driving vehicle the tires will be rotated across and not just front to back. As others have mentioned, with some tires they will develop a radial pull within the tire, it's the nature of the beast. So go back politely to the shop, tell them the tires are pulling and if there is no warranty to replace a pulling tire, have them rotate them back to their original respective sides and only have front to back rotations done.
 
Roadforce balancers, notably the GSP9700, have a feature called straight-track that will measure this and guide you as to where to mount each tire to account for this when new. But I've always wondered how this works when you rotate tires...
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Yes, Radial pull in one of the tires! I have had this a lot with G/Y Tires. Switch them from one side to the other and it'll pull the other way!

If this is definitely the issue(radial pull), switching the tires will help rule out other factors. This will certainly show up on the front and[almost] not even noticeable in the rear.


+1 Never been a big fan of GY tires anyways but have heard this was an issue too.
 
Was informed I need a new ball joint severly on the right side front. Had the left front ball joint replaced last year for inspection. Like mentioned earlier -- did not do this until tires were rotated. Always something!!
shocked.gif
 
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When you replace the ball joint, keep us posted on whether the PULL goes away. I don't think so but, let us know!
 
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