The dark AT wheels were silently changed so you don't know what you need/are getting

[SwampNut]

Sigh...

So I've spent days and many hours trying to figure out whether the truck had significant suspension/drivetrain damage from getting hit, or not. Since the at-fault person is under-insured, this would make a massive difference in how it all works, plus the repair timeframe.

Symptom: A wobble in the steering wheel, and slight pull to the right.

The tire had obvious damage, so clearly, it's one of the following:

Tire problem.
Wheel bent.
Stub axle bent.

I had the tire changed out. This all coincided with having a cracked wheel, so I didn't have a usable spare set. I had to get the spare tire put on the potentially bent wheel. Problem stayed.

Bent wheel or bent axle now.

Get another wheel, which I needed to do anyway. Had that swapped in.

Problem stayed. Bent axle, right? Massive hit to cost and time.

Or...

I still had a gut feeling that this didn't make sense. What if the other tire had a problem? I once had a car that suffered separations on both front tires during an emergency braking event.

BUT... Separation-related pull normally pulls towards the bad tire side, not the other way. So logically, the left tire can't be the problem?

On the way home from the tire shop I got on the phone with my brother, who is a mechanic, and we talked through ideas and symptoms. This prompted me to really think about them deeply. The right pull from a left tire could make sense is the pivot point of the steering is laterally inside the wheel, and the tire has a problem on the inside area. So it would be to the right of the pivot, and pull right. The Rivian has crazy-ass suspension, with the lower ball joint inside the wheel.

So maybe. Also, during the call, I went through the sweepers in/out of my neighborhood, and notice a HUGE clue... The problem stopped when I was turning and going around 55. That's gotta be a rubber problem, or a super fucked up ball joint. The latter would have other symptoms, so not logical.

I get home and figure out how to put the right front tire in the air, and free the parking brake, to check for out-of-round. It's fine.

So what's next...inspect the left front tire. Nothing obvious. So I get out the jack pucks, and use them for the first time ever. Had to also cut a 4x4 spacer for my small jack. Remember I currently don't have a working spare, so I need to swap front to back tires.

Fixed.

It was the left tire all along.

I'm happy, but also pissed that I went with the engineer brain of "this shouldn't happen" instead of the practical brain "weird shit happens."

Oh, and now I really want the amber-colored stripe that matches the calipers and valve covers, not the original stupid yellow that matches nothing.

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[jrmbadger]

I always just thought that the yellow tags on the wheels used to be orange to match the calipers but faded! If that's the original color - yeah, that's dumb.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm not a believer of coincidences, but this is weird. Glad it's fixed, but man it was a journey to get there.

 

[SwampNut]

I always just thought that the yellow tags on the wheels used to be orange to match the calipers but faded! If that's the original color - yeah, that's dumb.

Not faded, I looked at original photos from the early releases and they were the weird yellow. And get this...the Rivian site STILL has both colors on it right now. LOL! Clowns.

PLUS...the color of the "dark" wheel portion is different. At least this is obscured by how shiny they are and reflect the environment. If you look closely, the old ones are dark silver, and the new ones are a slightly darker slight bronze color.

This is a photo from 2022, on a brand new truck, still has the stickers on it. Bright yellow.

Here's an ad right from this forum showing the bright yellow instead of matching amber, on unused wheels.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/for-sale-20-in-all-terrain-dark-wheel-and-tire-set.24705/

 

[SwampNut]

I'm not a believer of coincidences

I am strongly opposed, but in this case, that made me waste time by mentally excluding the possibility.

 

[jrmbadger]

Not faded, I looked at original photos from the early releases and they were the weird yellow. And get this...the Rivian site STILL has both colors on it right now. LOL! Clowns.

PLUS...the color of the "dark" wheel portion is different. At least this is obscured by how shiny they are and reflect the environment. If you look closely, the old ones are dark silver, and the new ones are a slightly darker slight bronze color.

This is a photo from 2022, on a brand new truck, still has the stickers on it. Bright yellow.

Here's an ad right from this forum showing the bright yellow instead of matching amber, on unused wheels.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/for-sale-20-in-all-terrain-dark-wheel-and-tire-set.24705/

Yup, my 20" dark ATs have the yellow version rather than the amber. Glad you got the wobble sorted - so it was a bent wheel?

 

[SwampNut]

so it was a bent wheel?

Sorry if I was unclear. It must be a tire, probably a separation. I believe it happened during the emergency braking. That happened to me decades ago also, both front tires developed a separation after a full emergency stop from 50.

Funny thing is, after the move to the rear, I can't feel any problem at all, at least in my test at 35 MPH.

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