Tyre squeal when turning

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

snowwolf

snowwolf

10 Year 15 Year 20 Year
Joined
Nov 9, 2004
Threads
121
Messages
590
Location
Kent England
I don't know if this is normal, but when I am on smoothish tarmac and turn left or right, my tyres squeal so much, and I am only moving very slowly with only half the turning lock on, and it seems to be getting worse.

I have checked out the tyres and they look ok, as anyone any thoughts on this.
 
Check and see if your center diff is locked up
 
Tire pressure...
 
tire pressure

tire pressure...that's all... mine does it, my buddy's does it.... my GF's heep does it...actually...now thast I think...most full time awd trucks i've been in do it @ some point...
 
I would also check the toe, if the last person to align the truck got overzealous or it the tie rod is bent it can cause the same symptoms.
 
It does this to me on that surface also. You are talking about that nice blacktop on some parking lots correct? Cause thats when it happens to me.
 
snowwolf said:
1996 sure last time I was doing the front brakes, I could not turn the wheel
Click to expand...

Snowwolf, I dont think hes refering to the wheel. To check if theCDL is engaged jack up the front like Curtis said and try turning the driveshaft to see if it is locked together with the rear one. IIRC you would need to have it in neutral also.
 
Jason and Snowwolf,

I just thought this through, and then even went and did it myself to make sure; took less than five minutes total.

1) Have the tranny in park, TC in 4hi, and parking brake on.

2) Jack up one front tire. It should not spin, but you should be able to see the front driveshaft trying to rotate. (The tranny in park is preventing it from spinning; good catch Jason.)

3) Now put the tranny in neutral. Do nothing else: the single front tire you have lifted should rotate freely, or you've got a problem.

Cheers,

Curtis

Edit: In case it matters, this is on a 91, so no viscous coupler.
 
Last edited:
I just got my LX today and noticed that slow-speed steering (in a parking lot) was noticeably more difficult than I was used to with other vehicles. I also heard the squealing rubber.

I checked the tire pressures and a couple tires were significantly underflated. I aired them up and don't hear the squealing as much, but I do still feel similar resistance with slow-speed steering, which makes me still wonder about the CDL.

I'm gonna bring the LX to a brake shop to assess the brake life on the vehicle. Is there a way to check the status of the CDL if the entire vehicle is lifted?

If the CDL is fine, is this just how a full time 4wd vehicle steers (a little more effort than normal).

Yeah...I'm a newb.
 
You guys are hearing hoof beats and looking for zebras. Most likely it is just horses. If he had his CDL engaged he would have broken something in his driveline when he hit pavement that was not smooth and provided good traction. I have inadvertantly hit the cdl switch working on mine in the garage and I notice huge binding and increased need for gas pedal pressure just to move before I even finish backing out. Mine has done a bit of squeal as long as I have had it on smooth polished surfaces with the tires turned, ie parking lots, and with the toe in a bit excessive (confirmed by alignment shop) it increased for more noise and at a slower speed.

I agree with Capocaccia it is a tire issue on straight axle rigs that varies with different tires tread patterns and rubber compounds. Even Heeps. To be sure you can do a ballpark on the toe with a tape measure and a friend.
 
I know if it were mine I'd be checking it. Neither of my 80's makes any noise while turning, unless it happens to be on a particularly smooth surface like a gas station cement drive.
If I caught stripes out of the corner of my eye while hearing hoofbeats, you can bet I'm gonna be straining for a better look.

-Spike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom