Square Tires !!
my son has a 97 Chevy 4WD Pickup. He needed some new tires and decided that he could find a good deal on Craigslist. The goal was to find some “take offs”…..tires and wheels that someone had removed from a newer truck to install a custom / larger tire and wheel package. Many of these sets are barely used and can be had for a fraction of the new price. Seems like a solid plan. A smart college student trying to save some money.
He finds a nice set….18” Chevy Wheels and tires in good shape with plenty of tread. We meet the guy across town and exchange cash for wheel and tires. All good.
My son puts the new tires on the truck…takes it for a test drive. They run great until it gets to about 50 mph. Then the truck starts to shake violently. Death Wobble! Not safe. Not drivable. Bummer. Back to the shop Tries to rebalance the tires….they don’t want to balance very well. Hmmmm. After messing with them for hours, we finally determine that the tires must be flat spotted from improper storage. Bummer. Expensive lesson. $400 down the tubes….expect the wheels are nice 18” Chevy wheels that are worth something. Tires must be square – ish.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and he takes the set to a friend of his that works in the shop at a nearby Chevy dealer. After they mess around with the set for a while, they can faintly hear water sloshing when the move the tires side to side. Now, these tires and wheels together probably weigh about 80 lbs. each. Not easy to slosh back and forth.
It turns out that the tires are each filled with about 2 gallons of water! They were not flat spotted, but somehow got filled with water. I know that some water can come from “Wet” compressors…..but, unless these tires were underwater and “off bead” if would be hard to get that much water.
Upon close inspection, by an expert, it was determined that the tires are safe to use and not damaged or degraded. Water must have been in there for a very brief time.
So, lessons are. Craigslist is sketchy (I knew that). Tires can fill with water and seem like they are “flat”. It at first you don’t succeed, try something else.
HuckFinn
He finds a nice set….18” Chevy Wheels and tires in good shape with plenty of tread. We meet the guy across town and exchange cash for wheel and tires. All good.
My son puts the new tires on the truck…takes it for a test drive. They run great until it gets to about 50 mph. Then the truck starts to shake violently. Death Wobble! Not safe. Not drivable. Bummer. Back to the shop Tries to rebalance the tires….they don’t want to balance very well. Hmmmm. After messing with them for hours, we finally determine that the tires must be flat spotted from improper storage. Bummer. Expensive lesson. $400 down the tubes….expect the wheels are nice 18” Chevy wheels that are worth something. Tires must be square – ish.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and he takes the set to a friend of his that works in the shop at a nearby Chevy dealer. After they mess around with the set for a while, they can faintly hear water sloshing when the move the tires side to side. Now, these tires and wheels together probably weigh about 80 lbs. each. Not easy to slosh back and forth.
It turns out that the tires are each filled with about 2 gallons of water! They were not flat spotted, but somehow got filled with water. I know that some water can come from “Wet” compressors…..but, unless these tires were underwater and “off bead” if would be hard to get that much water.
Upon close inspection, by an expert, it was determined that the tires are safe to use and not damaged or degraded. Water must have been in there for a very brief time.
So, lessons are. Craigslist is sketchy (I knew that). Tires can fill with water and seem like they are “flat”. It at first you don’t succeed, try something else.
HuckFinn
