Tire Dragging

THIS FORUM IS FOR ANY QUESTIONS ON THE 7.25" IFS FRONT DIFF, CV HALF SHAFTS AND FRONT DRIVE SHAFT.

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safarigirl
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Tire Dragging

Post by safarigirl »

New to site so bear with me!
My passenger front tire feels like I am dragging a flat when I turn, mostly to the R.
It only happens most of the time, not every time I turn. Slippery conditions make it worse. My dad and I took both front tires off and could not find any play in the front end from tire to tire. My only thought is the steering box. I have some power steering fluid leaking but not a lot (fill it once every month or so). Any suggestions? Don't want to go through the headache some of you have talked about to change the power steering components if I don't have to. Thanks

LiftedAWDAstro
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by LiftedAWDAstro »

First off...Welcome! Glad to see it's posted in the right place! Second, we are gonna need more info such as year of van and RWD or AWD.
Current rides:
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Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
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safarigirl
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by safarigirl »

Sorry!! It is a 1997 RWD
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by MountainManJoe »

Your problem could be a few different things. Severely worn out bearings or CV joints, worn or out-of-alignment steering, tire separation etc. The first step in troubleshooting is isolating the problem, and to do that you need to reliably reproduce the symptoms. Here's what I would do:
- Jack up the front of the vehicle
- Turn the wheel by hand
- As you do that, have a helper slowly turn the steering wheel.

Hopefully, being closer to the action, where you can hear and see things better, will help you pinpoint the issue.

Good luck, and welcome to our forum! We love pictures.

Topic author
safarigirl
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by safarigirl »

My dad and I did this trouble shooting method on the weekend. We are stumped.
Most of the parts are fairly new. There is no play in the idler arms, ball joints, etc.
Tires are fine. Bearings seem to be good.
I turned the wheel as my dad watched for some sign of what could be wrong. I even tried jerking the wheel quickly in both directions. He saw nothing of concern. All fluids are topped up and all lines look clean, except for the small leak in the power steering fluid.

As for the alignment, we have had this checked a couple of times because the R tire gets chewed up on the outside more than usual.
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Smiliesafari
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by Smiliesafari »

It's quite normal in these vans. The noise is generated by what is called side slip. What causes it is the outside tire follows a different radius than the inside tire. Technical term is ackerman. The engineers have never been able to make it perfect. All vehicles do it. Some worse than others. It's just noise. Nothing dangerous.
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by MountainManJoe »

So just to clarify, when you have the front end in the air, did the wheel drag when you turned it? Forget I said CV joints... that's only AWD.

Topic author
safarigirl
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by safarigirl »

Tire did not drag when in the air that we could tell. I had mentioned in an early post that it does not do it all the time. At least once or twice per day, some days it is so bad it feels like my tire is going to snap off.

"Smilesafari" thanks for the tip but this is not just a noise. You feel it! Not just hear it.

LiftedAWDAstro
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by LiftedAWDAstro »

I wonder if the brake is hanging up in certain positions. I am thinking mostly along the lines of the rubber flex line(s) breaking down internally. As you turn you have slowed down and applied the brakes. When in a certain position maybe it isn't letting the caliper release until it is straightened out again.
Current rides:
2013 Toyota Tundra DC 4x4
2008 Dodge Nitro 4x4
2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8S Special Edition

Mileage spreadsheet

Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
2005 AWD, 4.10's - sold to skippy

Topic author
safarigirl
I am merely driving my van
I am merely driving my van
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:07 am

Re: Tire Dragging

Post by safarigirl »

Good point about the calipers. I do get intermittent squealing from the front and sometimes my brakes don't engage properly. We did inspect those as well and the pads, etc look fine but we didn't do a detailed inspection of the braking system. I will try that. Thanks for the advice.
I will keep you updated.
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by doyoulikeithere »

Agreed that the flexible rubber hose that connects the caliper to the rest of the braking system is a place where failure is likely.
The inner core of the tubing has a habit of separating and blocking all flow. I suspect that if it is only part way to fully failed, it could give you grief during turns.
I was puzzled why I simply could not bleed one of my front brakes (the one that squealed occasionally) when someone told me to replace the rubber line, it fixed it.
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Topic author
safarigirl
I am merely driving my van
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Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:07 am

Re: Tire Dragging

Post by safarigirl »

Okay everyone,
Again I thank you for all of your help. Unfortunately I did not get to test your theories.
Two weeks ago we had a bad storm and I fish tailed on a hwy while crossing a bridge.
Semi truck clipped my back driver side corner, tore off the bumper and crunched the corner from top to bottom. Luckily we were all okay. Bad part is insurance says it is not worth it to fix. I am taking the loss on the scrap cost so I can keep my van for parts. Now I have to find a new Safari.
Can anyone tell me what years will be compatible for swapping parts? The one for parts is a 97.
There is a 98 and 01 for sale near me right now that look decent. Thanks

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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by astroturf »

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Glad to hear everyone is OK.

Either of those vans should allow you to use quite a few parts off of your parts van.

Good Luck, Jim
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by doyoulikeithere »

Wow, the tire problem got fixed, just in a super unpleasant way! Yikes!
Certainly happy to hear nobody was hurt, but the poor van.

As for swapping parts. there are always lottsa parts from any year that can be used in another year, but if you have a 97, and see a 98, I would think the parts from the 98 might be more usefull. One big difference between an 01, and the older vans is the brakes and the number of bolts holding the wheels on. so tires/rims wouldnt swap for starters.
2021 Yamaha Tenere 700 - Blue.
2016 Yamaha XSR900 - Silver.
1990 Astro - AWD - Brown.
1987 Astro - With 5 Speed & 4wd - Silver & Blue.
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Re: Tire Dragging

Post by MountainManJoe »

doyoulikeithere, I think you mean 2003.

Here are the year-to-year changes:
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks. ... stro-7.htm

and
autos.ca wrote:Other recent milestones: 1997, standard speed-sensitive steering was added; 1998, PASSLock security system standard; 1999, an active transfer case on all-wheel-drive models replaces the electric shift transfer case; 2000, a significant electronics upgrade adds automatic headlamps, battery rundown protection, tow/haul mode and more; 2002, a new fuel injection system for the 4.3-litre V6 engine.
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