need to confirm with others whether or not my Durango has a rear tail handling issue. My ride pretty much has stock tires and suspension -- mileage is around 55k miles. Tires replaced 10k miles ago -- shocks replaced in June of 2005 -- front ball joints serviced under early 2005 recall. Tires kept at manufacturer inflations -- 41 psi in rears, 36 psi in fronts.

Wife and I have both noticed SUV seems to be more tail happy than when new. Rear end seems to break loose more easily under wet conditions. Wondering is something else in the suspension has changed to cause this issue? We don't tow anything and vehicle has the 4.7L engine.

Any other D owners care to comment? Thx.

 

Does you Durango have a limited slip in the rear. I have noticed that mine loves to fish tail around the corners even with no gas, but then again the roads out here are totally covered in ice. Something that you just get used too over time.

 

You say that you changed the tires 10k ago. are they the same tires or a different brand. Tires can be different from brand to brand in the same size. not only looks, tread pattern, but rubber compound sidewall make up can all be different. Also you may want to check the max cold pressure on the tire it may only be 35 psi cold for the tire you are running, if your running 41 psi cold in a tire that has a max pressure of 35 you may be running on the canter of the tread giving you less contact with the road surface.

 

Check your tire specs. You shouldn’t have a D or E rated tire on your truck that can handle towing unless you put them on. Sounds like you have too much air in the tires and have not enough tire footing on the ground. The more air the more the tire stands up and round the less foot print you have on the ground. The less PSI you have the greater the foot print on the ground. This is why when you up in the hills it is good to deflate your tires for more grab and less punctures. When I go in the hills I deflate my tires about 10 to 15 PSI. Just don't drive around on the roads like this or you will sacrifice your tread life.[sm=chattypair.gif]

 

Glad you agreed with me on the tire pressure. I don't see where he said anything about having a D or E rated tire on his durango.

 

Thx guys -- been away a few days for the holidays. I'll get out to the truck tomorrow and verify the exact tire specs. I'll likely also try running with reduce rear tire pressure and see how that feels.

 

Here's the specs on the tires I'm using:

Goodyear Wrangler RT/S, M&S, Range Type=C, 31x10.50R1SLT, 50 PSI max rating.

Have reduced rear pressure from 41 psi down to 36.5 and running the fronts at 35 psi. We have some wet days coming up here -- I'll see if this helps?

 

I have found that running at 35 PSI is alright. You don't need to run the back tires with more PSI than the front. Remember you have the engine in the front, so more air PSI in the front is needed. Now the only reason they say to inflate the rear with more PSI is so when you tow so don't sacrifice tread life. Run both at between 35 to 38 PSI according to your tire wear. Also the Goodyear Wrangler RT/S has hard side walls so they bounce more. I don’t really like them.[sm=burnout.gif]

 

Thx again -- I did get to run it in the rain yesterday evening. Definitely saw an improvement with the lower pressure.

Mr. Hydrashocker -- what all season (M&S) tires do you recommend on the Durango?

 

I am sure this isn't the problem as you said the PSI helped out. However I went offroading and got stuck on a mogul steep loose hill, ended hearing some bad sounds from the suspension (creeks and one big pop). Noticed nothing for days until I was on pavement and gunned it around a corner, rear end broke loose when it normally wouldn't. Had fun with the Durango until the next offroad trip, heard another big pop followed by air releasing quickly from a tire. Found out my leaf spring snapped in half and a flat tire. Drove home of the busted leaf spring (really long drive, no further damage). Put a leaf spring on and everything is solid again and has been solid for a couple years.