Tire Diagnosis - Waddle Complaint
Tire Diagnosis - Waddle Complaint
Tire Diagnosis - Waddle Complaint:
Tire waddle is a side to side movement at the front of the vehicle and/or the rear of the vehicle. Tire waddle can be caused by the following conditions:
^ A steel belt not being straight within the tire
^ Excessive lateral runout of the tire
^ Excessive lateral runout of the wheel
The tire waddle is most noticeable at a low speed of about 8 - 48 km/h (5 - 30 mph). Tire waddle may appear as ride roughness at 80 - 113 km/h (50 - 70 mph). Tire waddle may appear as a vibration at 80 - 113 km/h (50 - 70 mph).
Inspection Procedure
1. Raise and support the vehicle with safety stands. Refer to Vehicle Lifting.
2. Caution: Wear gloves when inspecting the tires in order to prevent personal injury from steel belts sticking through the tire.
Perform the following preliminary inspection:
1 Mark the tire with a crayon in order to note the start and the stop position.
2 Rotate each tire and wheel by hand.
3 Inspect the tire for bulges or bent wheels. Replace as necessary.
3. Use tire substitution in order to identify the faulty tire. Perform the following steps for a tire substitution check:
1 Use a comparable tire in order to replace each tire, one at a time.
2 Test drive the vehicle.
3 If the problem is tire or wheel related, you will eliminate the problem when you remove the faulty tire from the vehicle.