[blondbroncobimbo]

Ok, so I don't know what flaming means exactly but it sounds quite sinister so please don't do it to me.
So i need to pick your brains as this is the best place to be - If you want to learn about God, go to Church. I will preface by saying that i am NOT a complete moron (I understand how a combustion engine works and can even change-out certain parts) When it comes to tires and numbers, I have a mental block and get in a panic because i am the numerical equivalent of a dyslexic. Before you get annoyed with me, I have scoured your wonderful forum for clue's on my tire situation, but it literally is like a foreign language.
Anyway, If you are still with me,i have just bought myself a 1993 Ford Bronco which i love.
HOWEVER, i have a major situation with the tires. For a start, I know i need to get my wheels aligned because my steering is a little saucy (steering wheel has to be about 2'O'Clock to go in a straight line)
I CANNOT afford brand new tires. The front two tires are in excellent condition as far as i can see. I don't know if when they them off they are going to inhale sharply, whistle and say, you need new wheels baby. The back tires are slightly bald on the outside. And you can't swap them over can you?
My question is this.
My Front Left is a Good Year Wrangler AT 31x11.5OR15LT and the Front right is P265/75R15 but a Good Year Wrangler RT/S.
And my rear tires are Dakota RVT 31x11.50R15LT.
So i learnt from this site that they are 15inch?
I just went to Justtyres and they said i needed FOUR new tires costing me 347.36 not including alignment. Now i know i have to throw some money at the problem but i can't afford that much. When they see me coming (i do look like a blond bimbo) they practically roll their eyes so i need your advice so i can go in with guns blazing.
Sorry if this is long and waffly.

 

[Kingfish999]

that P265/75R15 is a metric tire and its about 30.5 inches where all the others are 31 inches. 31x11.50R15LT means that the overal tire size is 31 inches tall, 11.5 inches wide, and the rim is 15 inches tall, and the LT stands for Light Truck which is the type of tires we use. you need a front end alignment however our trucks are very hard to get it right and usually they will give you a list of stuff needing to be replaced before they can do that they will be able to mostly fix the steering but its harder and more costly to effectivly fix our tires from looking like __/ /===o=\ \ __. jsut say no i dont want all that work done and have them do the best they can and it should help alot however prices are usually 75-120$ for it from what ive seen. if your front 2 tires are indeed in excelent condition and the rear are bald, i would get a new Wrangler AT 31x11.5OR15LT and a new P265/75R15 Wrangler RT/S to replace the rear tires. have both the 31" tires in the back and both P265s in the front because it kinda looks stupid with bigger tires in the front. its generally not a good idea to have 2 different sized tires on but if you have both sides the same and only the front and back are different, it should be fine if you dont use four wheel drive on hard surfaces. yes you can swap any of those tires around however its better to have more tread in the front because it wears down faster from turning.

 

[psychlopath]

Maybe get two used tires from a used tire dealer and an alignment...

 

[FordTrucksEveryday]

If you cant afford new tires i would try to find some used ones on craigslist, but be careful as many people overestimate how much tread is actually left
your 265/75/R15 tires is 30.6in tall and 10.4in wide, about the same size as your other tires
regarding tire sizes i'm pretty sure; the first number is how tall the tire is, the second number is how wide the tire is, and the third number (the one after the R) is your rim size.... Something like that

 

[blondbroncobimbo]

THANK YOU

Thanks so much guys.
I did look on Craigslist but I didn't know what i was looking for so that didn't help much but now I do. I think. And yes you are right, there are some blatant liars on Craigslist so i will be careful.
One more stupid question - when i said swap the tires i meant can i swap the two rear tires over with each other so the balder bits are on the inside? I am going to keep the front one's where they are like you suggested.
No doubt I will be back on here asking ridiculous questions but I appreciate you being patient with me and making me feel welcome!

 

[Alvin in AZ]

<----Where you at? Fill out your stuff.

The steering wheel is crooked but how does it handle?
Does it kinda wander back and forth?
Or pull to one side a little?
Or pull to one side a lot?

x2 everything said so far.
{oops, post #5 popped up ;}

Alvin in AZ

 

[Alvin in AZ]

One more stupid question -
when i said swap the tires i meant can i swap the two rear tires
over with each other so the balder bits are on the inside?

Stupid questions are good, I can sometimes answer those. LOL

Yes you can swap 'em like you're {wanting} except they have to be taken off
their wheel and flipped over and put back on. For us guys that fix or own
flats it's cheap and easy but for others, it costs the same a flat? (I guess)

Alvin in AZ
ps- Where you from Canada or England or where?

 

[78-79FordMan]

and we need pics of ya bronco and pics :thumbup

 

[blondbroncobimbo]

Pics...hmmm

Let's just say she's a fixer-upper! The lady i bought her off got squashed by a bus. And something else. So the passenger door has a ginormous dent and so does other parts of her body. It is only cosmetic. And only 130,000 on the clock.
Damn, she is a beast. But tomorrow i shall take a picture as i don't think there is any judgement on here.
I am from London but I live in Los Angeles so i WILL fill in those details. I have always lusted after Bronco's and I love trucks. I also volunteer in animal rescue and I have 3 big dogs so it is perfect.
Times are hard though so i had to sell my old car and my motorbike and i only wanted to spend $1000 and i got her for $800 i think that is quite good no?
When I look at the photographs of some of the Bronco's on here i literally turn green with envy.
Oh and i forgot to mention (probably should have) that the sway-arm bracket was broken so I took a really fun drive up to Sun Valley and went into every single salvage yard and the last one i went to had one.

 

[blondbroncobimbo]

and by the way...

I have spent much time in garage's just helping with the basic stuff but i never could work those frigging machine's to get the tire on and off the wheel. Well i could get them off, but i couldn't get them back on to save my life.

 

[blondbroncobimbo]

Alvin..

in answer to your question with the steering wheel in neutral it pulls to the right so to correct it i have to have the steering wheel at 2pm.
I wasn't going to say this because i didn't want everyone to get angry with me but i drove in the wet the other day...lets just say i got a bit of side-ways joy. I have had some circuit racing experience in the UK and have provoked a car to do that (UK roundabouts, got to love) so i was able to correct her but still i felt like a bad person.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

with the steering wheel in neutral it pulls to the right
so to correct it i have to have the steering wheel at {10:00?).

Either way doesn't matter tho.

If you let go of the wheel, it'd drive off the road right quick?

You should have at least two tires that are same in the front and
should have 4 tires that are the same all-around for good handling
on a Bronco.

The advantage of knowing where you are is, I got extra tires and
wheels and I'm sure I'm not the only one out here in FSB Land.

Just need someone close by, they could also look at it for you and
help with any repair decisions.

---------------

One thing I noticed the first time swapping tires on and off an alloy
wheel is how extra shallow the center dent is and that makes it a
much tighter fit than on the old steel wheels.

Other than a bead breaker, there's no special tools needed it's all
just tire irons and thinned down dish washing soap. LOL

{and ether-based starter fluid to seat the bead on them dangged
ol' 16.5" tires, they suck in every direction you look}

Alvin in AZ

 

[StemCellResearch]

hit craigslist or local used yards

 

[miesk5]

yo,

Tire Diameter/Circumference & Air Pressure Differences;
as KINGFISH & ALVIN advised:

Tire Circumference Differences, Rear, Could Cause Pulling Problems, Ford 4x4; "...One that I've heard of through Ford sources is measuring the circumference of the rear tires and comparing them to each other. Tires, if it's in four-wheel drive, the four tires need to match. I know that sometimes it's a real tough sell to tell a customer that this is what he needs before you can accurately diagnose the problem, and sometimes you have to do the best you can with the hand you're dealt. But we all have dealt with the reality that even a set of high quality new major brand tires can affect vehicle..." Miesk5 Note; Do not just compare tire sidewall labels, you must measure each tire around the center of the tread. A stagger gauge will let you do this with the vehicle on the ground in 5 minutes. The tires must match in size to ¼” (.250).
Source: by miesk5 at FSB


"...You will recall that at the beginning of this section, we mentioned that we had made sure that all four tires on our truck were the same size, were worn the same amount, were inflated to the specified pressure and were subjected to reasonable loading. Avoiding driveline windup was the reason for this. Figure 18A shows that tires of even slightly different size roll different distances every revolution. Figure 18B shows that the same effect is true for tires that are the same size but inflated or loaded differently. Operating a 4 x 4 in 4WD with tires of different size or inflation will produce driveline windup, even when driving straight ahead! If the vehicle is being driven in 4WD on dry, hard pavement, the driver will notice drag and may experience the hop, skip, bounce effect as the front or rear wheels release the windup..." in Four Wheel Drive (4X4) General Information, Operation & Troubleshooting TSB 92-1-8 for Bronco, F Series & Ranger (COMPLETE); Includes Electric Shift On The Fly (ESOF) Troubleshooting & Hub Operation; see page 4-6 & Figures. miesk5 Note, The tires must match in size to ¼” (.250).
Source: by Ford via Chilton


Tire Circumference Differences; "...The ability of four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles to divide the engine's horsepower between its four tires is especially useful on loose or slippery surfaces such as sand and dirt, as well as on wet, icy or snow-covered roads. However it's important to remember that in order to transfer this extra power, the four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicle's driveline mechanically connects the tires so they work in unison. Four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles are equipped with additional differentials and/or viscous couplings that are designed to allow momentary differences in wheel speeds when the vehicle turns a corner or temporarily spins a tire. However, if the differentials or viscous couplings are forced to operate 100% of the time because of mismatched tires, they will experience excessive heat and unwarranted wear until they fail. This necessitates that four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles use tires that are very closely matched. This is because different diameter tires roll a different number of times each mile as a result of the variations in their circumferences. Tire diameter variations can be caused by accidentally using different sized tires, tires with different tread designs, tires made by different manufacturers, different inflation pressures or even tires worn to different tread depths. As an example of different tire diameters resulting from tires worn to different tread depths, we'll compare two 225/45R17-sized tires, a new tire with its original tread depth of 10/32-inch and a second tire worn to 8/32-inch of remaining tread depth. The new 225/45R17-sized tire has a calculated diameter of 24.97", a circumference of 78.44" and will roll 835 times each mile. The same tire worn to 8/32-inch of remaining tread depth is calculated to be 1/8" shorter with a diameter of 24.84", have a circumference of 78.04" and will roll 839 times per mile. While the difference of 1/8" in overall diameter doesn't seem excessive, the resulting 4 revolutions per mile difference can place a continuous strain on the tires and vehicle's driveline. Obviously, the greater the difference in the tires' circumferences, the greater the resulting strain. This makes maintaining the vehicle manufacturer's recommended tire inflation pressures and using "matched" tires on all wheel positions necessary procedures to reduce strain on the vehicle's driveline. Using "matched" tires means all four tires are the same brand, design and tread depth. Mixing tire brands, tread designs and tread depths may cause components in the vehicle's driveline to fail. Mismatched tires or using improper inflation pressures for all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles can also result in immediate drivability problems. Some Control Trac equipped vehicles in 4Auto mode may exhibit a shutter on acceleration and/or a noise from the front driveline and transfer case while driving. Some all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles may exhibit axle windup or binding while driving. Some four-wheel drive vehicles (manual or electronic shift) with a two-wheel drive mode may refuse to shift "on the fly" into 4x4 Auto or 4x4 High at highway speeds..." read more, esp. Matching Tires By Shaving Them to Maintain Equivalent Tire Tread
Source: by tirerack.com @ http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=18

 

[FirstPriority]

There are lots of scammers on CL but you can find good deals. My take is you just got to be patient.