I recently posted an inquiry about tire options for the XJR because I seemed to have gotten some bum tires. I spent a little over $300 per tire for Michelin Pilots earlier this week and thought I was extremely disappointed with the performance of these tires I had spent quite a bit of time researching. "They" transferred road vibration, like driving on a very fine washboard- especially above 33 mph. Sooo, I decided I needed differend tires and I shouldtrythe Bridgestone Potenza Pole Positon tires - which must be better....

Well...... I went to Tire Kingdom early this morning (this time in Gainesville, instead of my long-time shop in St. Pete which installed the Michelins) and the techsaid that my front wheel bearings were shot. WHAT??! Obviously, this couldnt be since mycar has only just turned 53K miles..... Oh, yeah? I went to a localmechanic who had worked forever at a Jag dealer in W. Palm and he said thatthis was a common thing. The car went up on the lift, spun the wheel and you could actually FEEL the vibration in the lower control arm from just spinning the front wheel by hand! Imagine that at 35mph? So, the Tire Kingdom tech was right! As it turns out, I dont have a tire issue, I have a wheel bearing issue. Unfortunately, it seems you can't just replace (or even repack) the wheel bearings like you can on my '60 VW Kabriolett. You have to get the wholefront wheel hub assembly. Thank goodness I have the Jaguar Extra Mile Exclusionary policy. I took the car to the dealer in St. Pete and it will be covered. My rear diff is also leaking a little, so they will do that, too. My J.E.M. warranty is up in late Sept and I think this underscores my decision to renew my Jag warrantywhen it's due to expire. The front wheel hub ***'y is only $495 PER wheel!! Who knows what the differential seal (or whatever it needs) would cost me. The dealership will also run a complete diagnostic on the car (including a compression and leakdown test) while it's there. Since my deductible is $200 per visit (as opposed to per ITEM) I figured this would be best. May as well fix anything/everyting all at the same time!

BTW, did I mention I LOVE this car??

 

Are you paying for the compression and leakdown test?

 

I figured I would have to. However, the service writer said that they would check all the car's vitals while it was there anyway. Years ago when my Vanden Plas was in for service I was advised that they had done a compression check (as a matter of routine)and discovered that one of the cylinders was a tad below spec. They pulled the head (it was a 4.0L inline six) and honed each cylinder, replaced all the rings and I think they gave me one new piston. The car was only about two and a half years old with around 25k miles so it didnt cost me a dime. Even if I am charged this time for the compression/leakdown check, any problems would be covered by my Jag Extra Mile Warranty - so I dont mind paying for the check. We'll see if they charge me for it this time or not. As with all my cars (past, present and future) I want them to be in top condition - whether I have to pay out of pocket or if it's warranty work.

 

A note on the bearings:

You can replace just wheel bearings. Most guys are not skilled enough to press them in to the hub so they opt to replace
the whole hub assemby.
You are better off that way anyway, at least you know it was pressed right from the factory.

Allways request to have an experienced tech work on your car.

 

I had to replace both front wheel bearings (1998 xjr) recently - the wheel/tire guy was fairly skilled, and manged to press them in without replacing the hub assembly, but it wasn't cheap (spent about $700 total, $350 each). I guess it took him a while to figure out how to do it properly.

 

Sammy, your car looks spectacular. Nice photo.

 

I agree about the photo - looks like brochure quality

 

I would recommend you buy the tool. We sell it for $150. I've seen people split the ABS nut trying to hammer it off.

 

What the easiest way to check for wheel bearing problems? I have been feeling a bit too much of the road through my steering wheel lately and I'm wondering if this is the cause. Thanks.

 

As with older style bearings, get the wheel in the air and check for play by pushing and pulling at 6 and 12. With these, you will hear a grinding noise if they get really bad.