What to do before switching tire rotation

[sagaboy]

Yesterday, a tire supplier friend told me this; whenever we rotate the tires, the first thing to do is to clean the brake drum side that face the wheel rim and the rim side facing the drum. The reason he gave was that uneven surface rust, paint, etc., on the brake drum facing the rim and on the rim side after we bolt the rim down can cause the tire to wobble and causing uneven tire wear.

Logically, it appears to be reasonable BUT I don't think its that important... what do you think?

[Marc]

Sounds like he's anal-compulsive to me, there shouldn't be any rust to affect wheel lateral runout on either the rim or the drum if they've been bolted solidly together since the last rotation. It's good that he shows that much attention to detail, but if he's charging you any extra for this "service" I'd be looking for another tire guy.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Yeah; kind of anal but we used to do that… and more but that was back in the days of full service gas stations; it surprises me to hear of anyone going to that amount of work now days.

Lee

[theKbStockpiler]

If the tire wobbles it would not be balanced and your front end would shake. It would behave like having a broken belt. My drums/rotors always seem to rust evenly.