My upper ball joints were both leaking.  Also I needed an alignment; the
camber was off after I replaced the front springs 20k miles ago and I never
got it aligned.  Dumb.

I was surprised at how fast the outer edges wore out.  Now my only question
is, do I move the good rear BFG's to the front and put the Grabbers on the
rear, or vice-versa?

On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 8:52 AM, Shawn Wright <vwdiesels@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Joe,
>
> Thanks for the tip. The tire shop I got the BFGs from suggested a tire like
> this, maybe the same one. I'll check it out again, and see if they can get
> the BFG in the new size also. I have outer edge wear on my fronts also, but
> assumed my alignment was off. Are your ball joints loose? I replaced an
> upper a few years back (I think), but have two new lower joints ready to go,
> so maybe now is the time, while I'm doing the brakes. My problem is that I
> drive the van so little, if I don't write down what repairs I've done, a few
> years go by, and I can't remember. I'm considering just replacing all the
> bushings, etc. in the front end, just to be sure, as wearing out tires gets
> expensive. My fronts have maybe 20k kms on them, but the outer edges are
> nearly gone. :-(
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 7:10 AM, joe trussell <vanagon85@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Shawn,
>>
>> I have a similar problem...I'm also holding out for a new wheel/tire combo
>> and have a full set of BFG's like yours but my two fronts have serious outer
>> edge wear due to bad ball joints and not enough rotating.  I know, I know.
>> I'm too lazy to own a Vanagon.
>>
>> I''ve replaced my ball joints and am I'm thinking of picking up two
>> General Grabbers for the front.  They come in 27x8.5R14 and have a
>> very similar tread pattern to the BFG's.  And they're only $89/each at
>> TireRack:
>>
>>
>> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Grabber+AT+2&partnum=785QR4GRAT2OWL
>>
>> I'm thinking they'll hold me over until the perfect 15" wheel/tire combo
>> arrives.
>>
>> Joe T.
>> Denver
>> '85 Wolfsburg Westy Subie 2.2
>>
>>   On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:53 PM, Shawn Wright <vwdiesels@gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Neil,
>>>
>>> Thanks, great news about the new size, although I'd prefer they'd keep
>>> the
>>> taller 27.5 size and just add the extra 200lb load capacity. I like the
>>> larger size, but find them a little soft when the van is loaded up. I may
>>> see about getting two of them to keep me going, as the plan is to upgrade
>>> to
>>> 15" EV rims eventually.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 2:06 PM, neil n <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Hi Shawn
>>> >
>>> > On the Samba there's a thread about a very similar tire recently
>>> > re-issued by BFG. Re-issue is in the US only AFAIK.
>>> >
>>> > You never know. Someone might not like their new purchase. There
>>> > "loss" etc. But that would be in the US of course.
>>> >
>>> > Road trip.   :)
>>> >
>>> > Neil.
>>> >
>>> > On 4/6/10, Shawn Wright <vwdiesels@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> > > Hi all,
>>> > >
>>> > > Just throwing this out there in case anyone has a pair of 14" BFG A/T
>>> > > (27.5x8R 14) tires in decent shape they don't need. I have 2 good
>>> ones,
>>> > but
>>> > > my front Yoko Y370s are nearly worn out, with uneven wear patterns.
>>> I'd
>>> > > rather grab a pair of BFGs to run with while I wait for the right 15"
>>> > > wheel/tire combo to come along...
>>> > >
>>> > > I'm near Victoria, BC.
>>> > >
>>> > > Thanks
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"
>>> >
>>> > http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
>>> >
>>>
>>
>>
>