> > The Focus estates/wagons are well known to be difficult to get good rear
> > alignment on. You have to shop around and locate a facility with state of
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>
> '01 wagon 1.6 liter 37K Kms on the clock
Semi-on-topic, ahmet's point: I just took my "new" 2004 (US) in to the
dealer for the 6,000 miles (nothing but the oil and filter change,
really... ) But they wanted to rotate the tires. ... Seemed silly, in a
way, and I turned them down--this time ... Any point to it, every 6k miles?
Any point in not doing it, every 6k ? (Very trustworthy dealer, but all I
could imagine was some unlikely screw-up on the part of some mechanic -- the
regular human oversight -- who happened to be in a hurry ... My superstition
about such things happening, probably.)
(And, oh yes, I learned my lesson years ago about my not ever, ever, ever
loosening the bolts -- on another car, when I had an unexpected flat. What
fun :( So am not against rotating them, at all. ... But does every 6k
help, hurt, or not make much difference at all?
Dave
dragon - 09 Feb 2005 08:29 GMT
> Semi-on-topic, ahmet's point: I just took my "new" 2004 (US) in to the
> dealer for the 6,000 miles (nothing but the oil and filter change,
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>
> Dave
Well Dave,
I think that rotating tires often does help because all 4 tires on my car
are evenly worn. The place where I live is quite hilly and I have to use the
brakes a lot making the front tires worn faster than the rears. By rotating
them, I get pretty even wear on all 4. Also, the Ford dealer I go to does
this for free!! They put the car on lift for oil change and take the tires
off for free brake inpection and dust cleaning.. Since the tires are off,
why not rotate them?
However, if you use you car for mainly highway driving, you may not need to
rotate them often.
Hope this helps.
Ahmet
Turkey
Wondering - 12 Feb 2005 13:53 GMT
I had the rear tire ware issue on my 2001 Focus Wagon. Left rear tire
started wareing bad and making noise. Three alignment shops aligned it
and said it was fine, even Ford took a shot.
The tire ware got bad, the noise got bad and finally I stopped at Twin
City Tire in Bloomington MN and had a new set of tires put on and an
alignment done by an alignment guy who told me, "don't worry, I can
fix this car". Bottom line - with the new tires and alignment the car
drives and handles like never before. I cannot say enough about the
cars handling now. The alignment guy did know what he was talking
about, the car does NOT jump sideways anylonger either, another issue
that no one could solve. I am very happy, very happy with my new tires
and alignment. The rear tires on the Focus can be aligned if you find
someone who knows what he's doing.
Gene
>> Semi-on-topic, ahmet's point: I just took my "new" 2004 (US) in to the
>> dealer for the 6,000 miles (nothing but the oil and filter change,
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>
>Turkey