Clunk Near Side When Turning And Bald Outer Edge Of Tyre

[Welsh Al]

Hi,

Been a lurker for a while but after some info / advice is poss please.

I have a 2010 Mondeo 2.2 Diesel Estate, a couple of weeks ago i reversed off of my drive, stopped, put full right hand lock and started to pull away and felt a 'clunk' through my near side front wheel, at the time i thought i had driven over a stone or something, didnt think nothing of it. Yesterday it happened again and then again this morning although this morning it happened a couple of times. Seems to happen when first pulling off.

I have also noticed that the outer edge of the near side front wheel is bald. I check my tyres on a regular basis and didn't notice the worn tyre last time i checked my pressures maybe just over a week ago. The rest of the tyre has plenty of tread remaining, tyre is only a year old.

I have a feeling it maybe a CV joint but would welcome anyones thoughts / advice on this. Taking it too the garage later this week to have it looked at.

Many thanks

Al

[martyntdci]

Check for snapped coil spring

[BigD]

+1 for snapped spring (count the number of coils as it might otherwise not be so obvious).

Not sure that would cause uneven tyre wear. Your tracking could be off, and that could also point to a knackered track rod end.

[stef123]

my money is on a spring, its possible its affected the camber - explaining the tyre wear

[Welsh Al]

Check for snapped coil spring

+1 for snapped spring (count the number of coils as it might otherwise not be so obvious).

Not sure that would cause uneven tyre wear. Your tracking could be off, and that could also point to a knackered track rod end.

my money is on a spring, its possible its affected the camber - explaining the tyre wear

Cheers Guys, much appreciated - maybe the cause of one of the many potholes round here?!?

Alan

[FOCA]

The tyre wear and "clunk" may or may not be connected

The CV joint could cause the "clunk" but not the tyre wear

The clunk could be the suspension moving around due to a briken spring, or it could be an engine mount

The tyre may be due to underinflation, tracking out or very hard cornering (the "Shell grip" they put on junctions/ roundabouts can rip up tyres/ cause premature wear- nearside front is most heaviliy loaded in front engined, FWD car )

A tyre starts off with 8mm, if it has even 1mm of tread on the shoulder it looks ok, that last 1mm can wear quickly and look suddenly noticable when it goes "bald"

Modern cars often have very wide tyres,(especially if you have 18" wheels) these have tight tracking tolerances, the supplied (by Ford) tolerances may be for a different diameter of wheel/ tyre, - i had a problem with the tracking on my mk1, then mk2 Mondeo, When i got it checked they said it was ok or "in tolerance" so did not adjust it,(but my tyres continued to wear unevenly) years later i discovered the tracking settings were wrong for the size wheels/ tyres on the car, and it would have to be right at the edge of the adjustment tolerance

So the operator (tracking monkey?) beliened the machine and the settings supplied by Ford (that were wrong) and not the wear on the tyres in front of him

Another time an "expert" told me my tyres were under- inflated when he saw the wear on the shoulders of my front tyres, i explained they were pumped up at 40psi - he said that should wear the middle of the tyre, - i explained the middle of my tyres never gets a chance to wear (enthusiastic cornering / dont like motorways), and i like the feel of the tyres like that and it helps me get a better MPG

[Welsh Al]

The tyre wear and "clunk" may or may not be connected

The CV joint could cause the "clunk" but not the tyre wear

The clunk could be the suspension moving around due to a briken spring, or it could be an engine mount

The tyre may be due to underinflation, tracking out or very hard cornering (the "shell grip" they put on junctions/ roundabouts can rip up tyres/ cause premature wear- nearside front is most heaviliy loaded in front engined, FWD car )

A tyre starts off with 8mm, if it has even 1mm of tread on the shoulder it looks ok, that last 1mm can wear quickly and look suddenly noticable when it goes "bald"

Modern cars often have very wide tyres,(especially if you have 18" wheels) these have tight tracking tolerances, the supplied (by Ford) tolerances may be for a different diameter of wheel/ tyre, - i had a problem with the tracking on my mk1, then mk2 Mondeo, When i got it checked they said it was ok or "in tolerance" so did not adjust it,(but my tyres continued to wear unevenly) years later i discovered the tracking settings were wrong for the size wheels/ tyres on the car, and it would have to be right at the edge of the adjustment tolerance

So the operator (tracking monkey?) beliened the machine and the settings supplied by Ford (that were wrong) and not the wear on the tyres in front of him

Another time an "expert" told me my tyres were under- inflated when he saw the wear on the shoulders of my front tyres, i explained they were pumped up at 40psi - he said that should wear the middle of the tyre, - i explained the middle of my tyres never gets a chance to wear (enthusiastic cornering / dont like motorways), and i like the feel of the tyres like that and it helps me get a better MPG

FOCA,

Many thanks for the response.

Think it is the CV Joint or Spring, not an engine mount since it only happens occasionally and when i turn right plus checked under the bonnet as best i could yesterday and all looks ok. Tyre inflation is correct, i check regularly including yesterday and correct for my tyre size / car. The wear appears to have occurred over a very short period of time - only a couple or 3 weeks - since i do check my tyres quite often as i tow a caravan.

Will see what the garage finds.

Alan

[bladeage]

Tyre wear will probably be a bottom arm/balljoint.

[hubby1959]

I'd suspect the bottom ball joint, lower wishbone bushes or track rod end rather than a broken spring, all these would cause uneven tyre wear as well as the clunking you described

[Welsh Al]

All,

Quick update, i took my car into the garage and they gave it a good looking at and couldnt find anything wrong with the Springs, Ball joint etc. The near side tyre needed replacing so i took the car in to have the front tyres replaced and during this they checked the front tracking. The near side front wheel tracking was out by 0.65 degrees (which i gather is quite excessive?) so they corrected it and fitted the new tyres. The 'clunk' has gone, i think what was happening was when i had full wheel lock to the right driving forwards, because of the tracking being out, the near side wheel was being 'dragged' across the surface. Checked regularly since the tyre cahnge and tyre wear doesnt appear excessive.

I was always under the impression that tracking being out like that would be noticeable when driving but the car drove perfectly.

Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated.

Alan