Blown Tire - never had one like this!

[Dans 68]

The truck was a '98 Silverado, 3/4 ton, heading back from Fresno to the Bay area on Sunday. Wife driving it while following me in a moving van. She had to call me to tell me she stopped due to the flat (that story is for another time). She said the tire just broke (my term), with no noise or ruckus. She drove on it slowly for maybe a few hundred feet to get off the road. 30 min later we're back on the highway.

I guess the radial separations in the sidewall were due to riding on the rim for a bit. My mechanic said there is really no way to tell what caused it to go, but in his opinion tire quality has gone down these past years. Had about 60 psi in the tire, maybe 10k on it. I'm picking the truck back up later today with a new skin.

Dan

[Dino]

On several occasions I've seen the sidewall separate from the threads, but I've never seen one that looked like zombies have been munching on it.   

If that's a sign of degrading quality I'm going to become a bit nervous driving anything.

[Dans 68]

I would have gone with trolls, but I know what you mean. 

Dan

[bristol]

What is the date stamp on it?

[myk]

What is the date stamp on it?

That's what I'm wondering too.  A tire may have low mileage but be on the verge of breaking apart if it's old enough; rubber does go bad eventually.  Personally, I never wear out the tires on any of my cars, as I only put about 3,000 miles annually on each one of them.  However, after four or five years I usually start to see cracking on the treads and sidewalls so out they go, despite how good they look...

[ACUDANUT]

Your lucky the tire did not explode and tear apart your fender or quarter panel. 

[Dans 68]

What is the date stamp on it?

When I get it back tomorrow (now) I'll check the date on it's mating tire.

Dan

[bill440rt]

Man, the treads in the pic sure look quite worn. 
It really only had 10K on it?? 

[Dans 68]

Man, the treads in the pic sure look quite worn. 
It really only had 10K on it?? 

A bit of an optical illusion. Maybe 15K... I'll post a pic of the left side rear, same tire, same time installed, when I get the truck back tomorrow. 

Dan

[JB400]

Please tell us you replaced the left side rear while you were at it.

[myk]

Burnout competitions?

[el dub]

It probably looked like this just before it blew.

[Stretch]

Driven on low air pressure until it over heated and failed. I've seen that so many times over the years.

[Dans 68]

Folks,

I apologize for the late replies. I got the truck back Wednesday morning and I spent the rest of that day preparing for Thanksgiving (we were hosting).

What is the date stamp on it?

"1913", meaning it was manufactured the 19th week of 2013. Or in other words the second week of May, 2013.

Man, the treads in the pic sure look quite worn. 
It really only had 10K on it?? 

I've attached a photo of the left rear (now rotated to the left front) showing the treads.

Please tell us you replaced the left side rear while you were at it.

No, after talking to my mechanic, whom I've known a very long time, we decided that there was not enough of a reason to change it out. Time will tell....

The new tire has a date stamp of "4314", meaning it came to be the last week in October 2014. Good to know.

Driven on low air pressure until it over heated and failed. I've seen that so many times over the years.

Interesting observation, but I keep the tires in the truck at 65 psi. The air pressure gets checked at least once a month, and only the left front was known to ever lose a bit of pressure. All I can think is that the right rear developed a slow leak over the travel weekend (daughter's Marching Band State Finals in Fresno), and failed as you said.


Needless to say I will be keeping two eyes on these tires from now on. Thanks for the comments.

Dan