1994 Ford Ranger

DROVE MY TRUCK ONE DAY ALL WAS FINE. DROVE IT THE NEXT DAY AND FELT A STRANGE VIBRATION. WHILE DRIVING I NOTICED THE TRUCK WANTED TO KEEP PULLING HARD TO THE RIGHT. INSPECTION OF TIRES REVEALED THE LEFT FRONT TIRE WAS WAS NOT TOUCHING THE COMPLETELY IN CONTACT WITH THE ROAD. TREAD IS GOOD. LOOKS LIKE BELT FAILURE. SCARRY. HAVE PICTURES. IT IS A CORNELL 1000. P215-70R14.

FUZION TOURING TIRES P195/70R14 91T TREAD SEPARATING AT <14KMILES. I BOUGHT THIS SET OF TIRES AND RIMS USED FROM A FRIEND WHO HAD BOUGHT THE SET OF TIRES FROM ON ONLINE TIRE RETAILER, IN EARLY 2013 (TIRE DOT CODE JEFJ CAN 4412 MADE IN CHINA). THE RIMS AND TIRES WERE INSTALLED ON A 1996 FORD RANGER 2WD INITIALLY AND THEN ON MY 1994 FORD RANGER XLT 2WD. FRONT TWO TIRES BEGAN TO FEEL WOBBLY AND VIBRATE EXCESSIVELY. UPON INSPECTION, THE TIRES WERE DISFIGURED AND OUT OF ROUND. UPON CLOSER INSPECTION BOTH FRONT TIRES APPEARED AS IF THE INNER BELTS HAD PEAKED IN THE CENTER OF THE TIRE ON THE TREAD SURFACE (LIKE THE TREAD SURFACE HAD BEEN FOLDED AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE TIRE), BUT NOT ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TIRES. THIS WAS THE OBVIOUS CAUSE OF THE VIBRATION. TIRES REPLACED AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE. THE REPLACEMENT TIRES WERE PUT ON THE REAR AND THE TWO REMAINING FUZION TIRES WERE MOVED TO THE FRONT. A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER, ONE OF THE FUZION TIRES NOW ON THE FRONT REPEATED THE SAME PROBLEM I HAD WITH THE OTHER TWO. OBVIOUSLY THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE TIRES FOR 3 OF 4 TO GO BAD IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY WITH IN SUCH A CLOSE TIME RANGE. THE 4TH TIRE APPEARS TO BE OK, HOWEVER DUE TO THE PROBLEM WITH THE OTHER THREE, I AM REPLACING IT TOO. IF YOU HAVE THESE TIRES AND EXPERIENCE VIBRATION, IMMEDIATELY INVESTIGATE THE SHAPE OF THE TIRE TREAD SURFACE FOR DISFIGUREMENT - IF YOU FIND ANY, IMMEDIATELY REPLACE THE TIRE. I CAN PROVIDE PHOTOS AS NEEDED. *TR

I WAS CHECKING FOR RECALLS ON MY 1994 FORD RANGER AND WAS SURPRISED AT HOW MANY RECALLS. THE REASON BEING THAT, MY FAMILY HAS OWNED THIS VEHICLE SINCE FEBRUARY 1994, WE'VE ONLY RECEIVED THE FIRESTONE RECALL NOTICE. IRONICALLY, I HAVE HAD AND STILL HAVE SOME OF THE LISTED COMPONENTS THAT WERE RECALLED AS WELL AS AS SOME UNLISTED COMPONENTS SINCE 1996, THESE PROBLEMS HAVE COST MY FAMILY ANY WHERE BETWEEN $1000.00 - $2000.00, EVERY YEAR JUST IN REPAIRS ALONE. THE VEHICLE BARELY HAS 147,000 MILES ON IT AND IS ONLY USED TO COMMUTE TO ANF FROM WORK, AND OCCASSIONAL DRIVES TO L.A. COUNTY. SEE LIST BELOW.... 07/2002 - VEHICLE OVERHEATED RETURNING HOME FROM L.A. COUNTY, CRACKED CYLINDER HEAD - COST $1200.00 02/2002 - BROUGHT VEHICLE IN FOR OIL CHANGE & ALIGNMENT, AND FOUND THE BRAKE SYSTEM AND FUEL SYSTEM WERE BAD, REPLACED BRAKE ROTORS, CALIPERS, GASKETS, SEALS, AND HOSES WERE LEAKING, THE FUEL SYSTEM WAS LEAKING AND TO THIS DAY, I STILL SMELL GASOLINE EVERYTIME I PARK . COST - $950.00 07/2001 - BROUGHT VEHICLE IN FOR TIRES, AND FIND THE RADIATOR NOT WORKING, AND THE COOLING FAN WAS CRACKED ALL THE WASY AROUND ON EVERY BLADE, HAD TO REPLACE RADIATOR, FAN ASSY AND ALL HOSES & CLAMPS. - COST - $ 800.00 01/2001 - FRONT BRAKE DISC ROTORS WERE BAD, REPLACED - COST - $ 300.00 03/2000 - ROUTINE 30K SERVICE + VEHICLE WOULD VIBRATE AND SHUDDER WHEN BRAKING, SO REAR BRAKE ROTORS & DRUMS WERE SURFACED AND/OR REPLACED, + REPLACED THE FOLLOWING GASKETS, SEALS, & PLUGS BECAUSE OF MAJOR LEAKS; WORK BY FORD DEALER, #FOTZ6710C OIL PAN GSKT, INTAKE MANIFOLD GSKT & VALVE COVER GSKT, #F5TZ9439A MANIF. GSKT, #F87Z6584AA COVER VALVE ROCKER ARM GSKT, THERMOSTATIC INSERT, , VALVES, OIL FILTER, AND THERMOSTAT - COST - $ 1425.00 SEE WHAT I MEAN...

I PURCHASED THE FIRESTONE WILDERNESS AT TIRES AT THE TIRE STATION IN SACRAMENTO, CA IN JUNE 1997. THE FIRST PROBLEM I HAD WITH THE TIRES WAS A BLOWOUT OF THE REAR LEFT TIRE TRAVELING AT 60MPH ON INTERSTATE 5 FROM CALIFORNIA TO OREGON. DURING MOST OF THE LIFE OF MY WILDERNESS AT TIRES I WAS LIVING IN BISHOP, CA AND YUCCA VALLEY, CA, WHICH ARE BOTH HOT DESERT CLIMATES, WHICH I UNDERSTAND ARE WHERE MOST OF THE OTHER TREAD SEPARATIONS HAVE OCCURRED. THE TREAD SEPARATION OCCURRED ON THE LEFT FRONT TIRE AS I WAS TRAVELING DOWN A HILL ON HWY 62 FROM YUCCA VALLEY TO PALM SPRINGS, CA. I BARELY KEPT CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS SIMPLY A FLAT TIRE, BUT THE TIRE PEOPLE SAID THEY COULD NOT REPAIR IT BECAUSE THE TREAD HAD SEPARATED, AND THEY SHOWED ME A LARGE BUBBLED UP AREA OF THE TIRE. BECAUSE I HAD HEARD OF SIMILAR INCIDENTS WITH WILDERNESS AT TIRES INVOLVING FATALITIES, I OPTED TO REPLACE ALL FOUR TIRES (THOUGH I STILL HAVE A WILDERNESS AT UNDER THE TRUCK AS A SPARE). I REPLACED THEM WITH BRIDGESTONE DUELLERS BECAUSE THEY HAD A BETTER REPUTATION FOR QUALITY, AND I HAD HEARD AT THE TIME THAT THE REPLACEMENT TIRES FOR THE FAULTY WILDERNESS AT'S SHOULD BE THROUGHT FIRESTONE OR BRIDGESTONE. WHEN THE RECALL BECAME OFFICIAL, I OBTAINED A LETTER FROM THE TIRE PLACE NOTING THE TIRE SEPARATION SO THAT I COULD BE REIMBURSED FOR THE FAILED TIRES. SHORTLY AFTER OBTAINING THE LETTER, NOT KNOWING WHERE TO SEND IT, MY JOB TRANSFERRED ME TO CHEYENNE WYOMING, AND I ONLY RECENTLY RELOCATED THE LETTER, AS WELL AS LEARNED THAT THE WILDERNESS AT TIRES THAT I PURCHASED WERE OFFICIALLY DEEMED AS FAULTY AND UNSAFE. I WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE INJURY, BUT I ATTRIBUTE THAT TO MY EXCELLENT DRIVING SKILLS - THE TIRES TRULY CREATED AN UNSAFE SITUATION FOR ME.*AK