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Thanks for the heads up on alignment...I learned something today!
Just bought the van a couple of months ago...i will definitely stay on schedule wrt rotating tires.
Astro vans are notorious for wearing out idler arms (it has two) which causes toe problems, in turn leading to tread wear problems.
A worn idler arm will affect the caster, not the camber.
It MIGHT be as simple as an alignment, but given the model you're dealing with and the age of the van I would be surprised if the ball joints aren't shot. Unfortunately, $1500 is a pretty close estimate if all four of them need to be replaced.
1. make sure you rotate tires routinely
2. bad shocks and sagged springs will cause tires to - how should I explain it - to "go higher" into tire well. As tires move in an arc in that plane, around imaginary center of rotation that is at where the straight lines, drawn through the control arms, meet, as tire goes up, it also leans upper end inward, increasing camber angle. Basically, sagged suspension results in increased camber under load.
3. bad steering idler, along with pitman, should you have paralellogram steering, not rack'n'pinion, will cause "snaking", or unintended vehicle movements side to side.
4. I know little about you van, but know some about that type of steering and suspension. You may not have a lot of camber adjustability in the front. Depends on upper CA design. Sometimes they have to shim things.
Anyhow, considering age and mileage, and that alignment was checked and is up to spec, I'd lean towards sagged front end suspension.
The inner part of the tire wearing down prematurely indicates camber wear. Just take it to a shop and get an alignment as a first step. Camber being out of spec would not cause the vehicle to pull to one side or the other.
Negative camber would make the wheels look like this /---\ if you were looking at it.
What about when it pulls to the left when you let go of the wheel? What causes that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr
That's just misalignment between the front wheels, one or both of them is out of spec.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StealthRabbit
Being in PERFECT alignment, yet high INSIDE EDGE tire wear / and or
Torque steer, or (pulling one direction when under acceleration (FWD) or braking) can indicate a worn bushing in A arm / suspension component.
You can have someone watch your wheel position (front to rear) as you brake / accelerate.
I fought this tire wear issue for several yrs and MANY tires before finding a simple $6 rubber bushing was the culprit.
I must be a simpleton, the first thing I thought of was a low tire on the driver's side.
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