I have noticed a rythmic thump thump thump sound in my 01 4x4 Screw. I did a search and came up with two possibilities. Once is the tire cupping problem, and the other is a popped CV boot.

My RT/S tires are cupped, and that may be the cause, but I have decided to live with it and run the rubber off of my tires. I don't want to assume that it is the tires, and find out later it wasn't.

I'd like to describe it and get a second opinion or two.

The sound is soft, so i only hear it at 20 mph or so on a flat smoth road when coasting. At any other time the road/engine noise dround it it. I can feel the vibration on the floor board with my foot as a soft tap.

The rythmn is directly related to speed, and is very similar to a warped brake rotor except for one thing, it does not intensify, or change in any way when I apply the brakes.

I do belive that I notice a resistance the instance of the thump that would ever so slightly take the momentum out of a coast. This resistance is so slight, that it is hard to say it's real, and not in my head.

Lastly, my gas milage on this truck is a bit lower than I would expect from experience, and I don't know why. Truck details in signature.

What are your thoughts?

 

I too have the faint thump, thump, thump, in my '01 Screw, and in my case it is definitely from cupped tires. I say "faint" but it is enough to drive me nuts on a smooth road surface. I have the original General Grabbers, and I wish those things would hurry up and wear out. However, except for the cupping, they have good tread left at 53k, and it looks like I will get 65k+ out of them. Rats...but I guess I am enough of a tightwad that I can't justify replacing them yet just for the noise.

I had it aligned at around 18k at a Ford dealer, and he said I needed to rotate them more often. I had been more or less following the owners manual recommendations.

SM

 

Greencrew, I also have the thump, thump noise with my 01. In my case I hear it between 30 and 40 MPH. Most people that have been in my truck can't hear or notice the noise. Although it's minor problem it drives me crazy. When I had my front brakes changed the other day I asked them to check on the thump and they thought it was also coming from the worn tires. I have the Goodyear's that came with it. At this time it's got 36,000 miles but the tires still have alot of rubber left. Good luck

 

HMMMM,

Could the thumping also be described as a low non-descript rumble?? I thought wheel bearing but they're fine. I too have the GY OEM tires (RTS) in my case with 53k and I could say mine are cupped as well, though tread is not bad, just thinner in the center, say, 1/3 of the tire. It kinda seems that more road sensation is being transmitted thru the truck (steering wheel, seat, pedals) than I remember. I'll be changing shocks soon so I'll let yall know if anything changes. I'm trying to decide on the perfect replacement tire as well.

WT.

 

I agree, I would like mine to wear out too. I'm not one to spin the tires, but I have been thinking about it. Most likely I'll just replace them and be done with them.

I don't buy the idea that this was caused by lack of proper rotation. Looks more llike a front end alignment problem to me. I have only driven this truck for 2,000 miles. The tires were already cupped when I picked it up. I would have had the alignment looked at a long time ago.

I have an 01 SuperCab 4x2. I noticed the outside of the tires were not wearing normal at 5,000 miles. I took it back to the dealer and said it pulls to the right, and the tires have an abnormal wear pattern that you can see and feel.

They aligned the front end, and I rotated the tires. The truck no longer pulled and I was happy. I now have 25,000 on the truck and still don't see a need to rotate the tires again.

I have seen tires that need to be rotated, they wear on the edges in front, more on the outside. These are wore on and ange, more on the outside less on the inside.

My wife drove the truck home, she said it pulled the the right. My son drove it to Grandpa's house, he said it pulled to the right. Finally, I drove it and I said I'll take it in this week.

Yes, like you, I'l like to get rid of them, but there is still quite a bit of rubber on them.

 

I'm about ready to swap the tires between the two trucks and see if the problem follows the tires, or stays with the truck.

 

I just got my '02 SCrew out of the shop for the same symptoms. Results were that all it needed was a tire rotation. Rides like a champ even making those mind numbing right turns when it used to sound like I was running over lined up prairie dogs. Last rotation was at 10k and it has 16k on it now. Tires semed to be a bit chewed up but that could have been from my trips up Pike's peak and in the Snowy Mts.

 

I found the source.

I picked up a good floor jack and swapped all four tires between two trucks. The one with the thump sound is a F-150 4x4 SuperCrew with Goodyear Wrangler RT/S 265/75/17 badly cupped. The other one is an F-150 4x2 SuperCab with General Grabber AW 255/75/16 good condition. Here is the results.

Friday night I drove the 4x2 Supercab with the RT/S tires. The thump thump clearly transferred to this truck with the tires. I also noticed that my 4x2 rode like a 4x4. Mom always said she like the way my 4x2 rode. I always wondered what it was that gave the 4x4 such a still ride, and it turns out the RT/Ss are a big part of it. The big Lariat chromed steel wheels look great in the wheel wells, a whole new look.

Saturday morning I drove the 4x4 SuperCrew with the General tires. No thump found at any time at any speed. Much better ride on bad roads and good roads, almost as good as the 4x2 rides. The wheels looked a little small in the wheel wells, but ok.

I also noticed a big difference in the weight of these wheels. Those 265 Steel chromed Lariat wheels are heavy. I had trouble putting them back on the truck because I couldn't lift and align them. The 255 five spoke aluminum wheels I could grab and place on the studs with no problem.

Is a relief to know that I can solve this problem just by getting rid of the Goodyear Wrangler RT/S tires. I think I'll drive them this way for a few weeks. Hope I don't get a flat!

 

I had this problem with the GYs. Took the the truck to Big "O" tires and asked them to balance them to fix the thumping. The manager came to the showroom and asked me to come into the service bay to watch the tires on the balancer. One tire was jumping, during rotation, about 3/8 to 1/2 inch. The other tire was jumping about 3/16 to 3/8 inch. He said the Wranglers were famous for this. Rebalanced tires, smoother out considerably. Next week got Michlins all around. Had 5 Firestones blow off my old vehicle. No more Firestones. Now no more Goodyears!

 

I'm ready to follow that lead and get some Michelins. I think I will give Goodyear one last shot. I'll take the truck in and see what they can do for me to get credit on these.

I have 16 Goodyears in my driveway, not including spare tires. I always buy four Goodyear tires as replacements. Given my recent experiences over the past two - three years, I think it is time to take a look at Michelin.

My son drove the 4x2 this past week with the RT/Ss, and he noticed the problem on the first day. I now have moved those tires back to the 4x4 and doubt that I will tolerate them very long.

I'll let the local company owned Goodyear store help me decide if I go with Fortera or Cross Terrain SUV.

 

Also consider the LTX if you are looking at Michelin. I have never owned them myself, but alot of ppl I know use them and swear by them. I prefer the looks of the BFG myself, but to each his own.

Anyway, I would take a look at the LTX if I were in the market for a Michelin.

 

I just went thru the whole tire research process back and forth, back and forth.... I ALMOST got the LTX's but decided on the Bridgestone Dueller AT REVO. For me $450 vs. $670 and I love it. Wet handling and hydro planing performance may be , no IS the best I've ever had. I can't get the *** end to break loose in the wet without doing something really extreme.
They look like an aggresive tread but are the same or less noisey than the RT/S's. It's a new tire and is the recipient of all of Bridegstone's ready for prime time trickle down race (F 1) technology.
Only negative is that they may be hard to get and unscupulous dealers may over charge for them for those reasons.

 

Can't argue with that! Glad to hear you are happy with your tire purchase. Nothing makes a happy truck like a good set of tires that perform the way a truck tire should!

 

I'm looking for the best ride I can get out of a tire. I want the truck to ride like a 4x2. I need the 4x4 maybe 2-3 times a year. If I'm dissapointed 2 days a year and satisfied the other 363, then those are good odds.

 

Hey guys, my 01 supercrew is on its third idler arm, 1st one caused my tires to cup really bad before I could tell the slop in the front end was not normal wear, dealer drove it and said it was normal, tires got so bad I had to check myself and raise hell cause I thought the idler arm was going to fall off at about 18k miles........I blamed the goodyears but was not the case....grab the idler arm, shouldnt move up and down........I think mine is going again, keep it greased but hope moog designs an improved part soon........so I can replace it with an aftermarket part.