my tires are wearing on the outsides. i need the name of the bushings to be replaced to remedy this.
Asked by oldtimepam Jul 29, 2016 at 10:33 PM about the 1988 Ford Festiva
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
5 Answers
Auto_Centric answered 8 years ago
The front end needs to be inspected, before replacing anything, possible camber issue, tie rod ends, ball joints etc.
You sure the top hats weren't put in flipped? I did this and it adjusted the camber. Check out www.fordfestiva.com
Is your tire wear front or back, or both? festiva's don't have "radius arms". Maybe he means the control arm bushings. Did he mention anything on the condition of your ball joints? the ball joints are not replaceable so you would have to replace the entire control arm. You will also need to spray liquid-wrench/PB- blaster on the nut inside the rail and HOPE, HOPE, HOPE it doesn't spin the welded nut free from the body and hope that the bolt isn't seized inside the control arm. If all you need is the bushings, I would go with MOOG K9737 (they aren't under control arm bushings but I have these on my car and they are the best you can get). LINK :::::::::: http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1988,festiva,1.3l+l4,112 8079,suspension,stabilizer+bar+link,7580 :::::::::::::::::: Okay, and if you want to keep the car for quite a while (I'm a fan of that, just recently replaced complete suspension myself) you can price it out at parts stores if they offer lifetime warranties on said parts. MOOG is ALWAYS a great buy when it comes to the Festiva. I'm also going to post your question to the facebook page. I'd like some people who are more knowledgeable with suspension wear and how it transfers said wear to the tires to give some feedback and get you on the right track. Heck, if you get on the FB page and find my post, feel free to join and post (www.fordfestiva.com is on FB and on www) and follow from there. You'll get more answers, faster, and ~might~ find someone local that is experienced, will charge you a lot less than a mechanic, and will be more thorough and know what to look for. Keep me posted on this question, too, please :) thanks
Front tire wear on the outside, or inner, either one, is usually related to the "toe: alignment being out of tolerance. Inspect tie rods, inner and outer, control arm/lower ball joint, and bearings for slop/play, any of those will cause problems with Toe. If all are in good condition/no play when wheel is off the ground, have the alignment checked. Best toe is zero toe on a Festiva.