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Hello All:
My '92 245 (137K mi) is wearing the front tires on the outside edges of both wheels. I jacked it up and tried to find the free play that would explain this wear, but there really wasn't too much. Both outer tie rod ends are about a year old-- the car was aligned after that.
I checked for in-out play and found virtually none, so the wheel bearings are probably fine.
I push/pulled at 3 and 9 o'clock, but got only a very small amount of play, presumably from the inner tie rods. It really didn't feel like much-- no clunking or clicking or grinding.
The final suspect is the ball joints-- I don't get any movement push/pulling at 12 and 6 o'clock. Do you need to compress these joints to check for play, or is it sufficient just to push and pull on the wheel?
It also appears that this car has a slight toe-out when the wheels are straight ahead. I don't remember this being the case before, but I must admit that I haven't paid much attention to it, given that I always have alignments done at a shop.
Any suggestions for sorting this out would be appreciated-- once I diagnose it correctly I will order some parts and get it straightened out...
--
Herb Goltz, Aurora, Ontario, Canada '92 245 w/130K mi, '92 945T w/200K mi
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Toe-in is easy to check if you use the rear wheels as a reference point. Imagine if you sight along the outside surface of the front tire towards the rear, the outsides should line up if 0 toe-in and rear width is same as front.
If you do the geometry, and remember that the rear track (width) is less than the front on these cars, you will find that the line following the outside of the front tire wall falls to the outside of the rear wheels. Put a spacer of the right width resting against the rear tire and sight to this, and you can set the toe-in.
You can just sight from the front sidewalls to the back (at the height of the wheel centre). Do this on a flat smooth surface, and rock the car back & forth a bit to remove any tension in the steering gear.
On my 89 240 the toe-in spec is 1/16 +- 3/64 at the wheel rim. This calculates to 2.187 in max at the back (max toe-in) and 1.51 min (min toe in). For years i used a 2x4 (1 3/4 in thick) resting on the back wheel. Do same for both sides - you can even centre the steering wheel perfectly this way. One bad professional alignment, and I have done my own ever since.
89 240 wagon 430K km, 90 740 200K km
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My previous 87 245 was also wearing the outer edges of the front tires. The front end was pretty tight though. Interesting theory about a worn rear wearing the front tires.
I've read somewhere that the 240 power steering has something to do with tires wearing like that. Unable to confirm.
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Hello Herb,
The procedure shown in the Green Book for checking ball joints is to jack up the control arm as close to the ball joint as possible, block of wood on top of the jack to prevent damage, then pry ( they show a tire iron)up and down and back and forth at the joint without damaging the rubber boot and check for play.
Spec is max 3mm axial and .5mm radial play.
Your excess tire wear may just be that it is aligned to spec. Book spec is 1 to 1 1/2 degrees positive camber, which will wear the outside edges of the tires.
Have it re-aligned with zero, or just slightly negative camber, and then re-set toe.
--
Gary Gilliam Sumerduck VA,' 94 940 Regina, '86 240GL
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Hello Herb,
Let me clarify the check procedure. I wrote this on a dead run, and assumed that one would already have the car weight supported ( by jack lift points or center of front crossmember) before taking weight off of the ball joint by lifting the control arm. If I state the obvious, I am just being through to make sure someone does not dead lift the arm with car weight.
--
Gary Gilliam Sumerduck VA,' 94 940 Regina, '86 240GL
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With a tape measure and an assistant, measure the toe-in. The closer you can get to parallel tracking, the better the tires will wear. However, most cars will tend to "hunt" about the road a bit as you approach zero toe-in. I think a lot of alignment shops will crank in more toe-in than you really need, and they can probably show you some sort of published spec that justifies it. Personally I try to keep it to a minimum, like less than 1/16" - as close to zero as possible. Also, keep plenty of air in the tires.
--
Chris - 1990 740, 1973 1800ES (Non-running), 1993 Dodge Dakota (Still has a little paint left on it)
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I noticed the same on my 90 240. I suspected that it like me was developing a sagging rear end thereby lifting the front and changing the camber or something. Can't report yet, after installing new rear springs and shocks I still don't have the clutch change done yet so can't report but the rear is noticibly higher than before.
Brian Mee
90 240
91 240 DL
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Here's the Me-Too response. Same deal on my wagon. Although, the passenger front is a bit more worn that the drivers front.
My rear shocks are totally shot, but wouldn't have suspected that they would provoke front tire wear. Interesting.
Let us know what you find.
-Greg
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1984 245GL 96,600 original miles
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Toe-out would tend to wear the inside edges of the tires (and make the steering feel weird)
Most Volvos tend to wear the outside edges of the front tires. Underinflation and hard cornering make it happen faster, as do undersize tires, which most 245s end up with. The correct size for a wagon is 185 R 14, which is pretty much unavailable nowadays, so most people use 185/70 R 14, the standard size for sedans. These have the same section width but a lower profile, and lower weight rating. A 195/70 or even 205/70 would be a better choice.
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