Wandering Jag
#21
Hi
Hi, I hope someone can help me. My lovely XK Convertible seems to have a mind of it's own and will happily step out of line to follow white lines or minor road undulations, sometimes quite severely if you don't keep a tight grip on the wheel. I've changed both front tyres and had the car 4 wheel aligned but it's still the same.
The Garage I use can't find anything wrong other than a slight misting on the nearside front damper (CATS). There are no clunks or other noises and the car will drive perfectly straight at high speed with no wheel vibration whatsoever. One of the rear dampers also has a slight oil leak so I've ordered 4 replacements to change them all but wondered if there was anything else I should change as a matter of preventative maintenance whist it's being worked on. The only odd thing it does is if you have the car on full lock and you drive slowly forward, it does feel as though the front wheels are being pushed forwards and are reluctant to turn the nose but that could just be a strait of rear wheel drive. Car is an 06 plate and has about 84k on it.
Regards
Ian
The Garage I use can't find anything wrong other than a slight misting on the nearside front damper (CATS). There are no clunks or other noises and the car will drive perfectly straight at high speed with no wheel vibration whatsoever. One of the rear dampers also has a slight oil leak so I've ordered 4 replacements to change them all but wondered if there was anything else I should change as a matter of preventative maintenance whist it's being worked on. The only odd thing it does is if you have the car on full lock and you drive slowly forward, it does feel as though the front wheels are being pushed forwards and are reluctant to turn the nose but that could just be a strait of rear wheel drive. Car is an 06 plate and has about 84k on it.
Regards
Ian
#23
#25
Although I've not had this problem with my X150, I did have a similar issue with my X100. The rear end felt like it was try to overcome the front end and was downright scary feeling. It felt like the rear was coming up along the side of the car when I was on the freeway. It turned out that a shot rear wheel bearing was the culprit, had it replaced and the problem disappeared. it was quite unnerving.
#26
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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What you could be experiencing is tramlining that occurs with wide tire cars.
GM Tech Tip: Car with Wide and Low Aspect Ratio Tires Pulls, Wanders or Tramlines - Tire Review Magazine
GM Tech Tip: Car with Wide and Low Aspect Ratio Tires Pulls, Wanders or Tramlines - Tire Review Magazine
#27
I have noticed this tramlining issue on my '07. I finally got the front end picked up, and my toe links (steering rack to wheel hub) were toast on both sides. Luckily for me, the rest of the front end looked great, so the last owner may have actually fixed something. I have it scheduled to go in for alignment and front tires next week after the snow quits. I will follow up with my observations once that is done. With that and the rear end work I did last fall, I'm counting on a ride that feels like brand new.
#28
Can't say for sure but I've had a similar experience with wandering off course, my condition resulted from a worn rack and pinion. Mechanics were not able to make the determination by looking so I experimented and made the determination on my own. My finding was that the vehicle only experiences this condition when added weight was introduced in the rear, apparently affecting the overall weight of the front end.
#29
#30
I did change out the rack and pinion on a Sunday about 4.5 hours. Used new parts acquired from a dealer in Texas who understood my dilemma while traveling across country and, was kind enough to open his place of business on a Sunday, sell me the parts and loan me tools. This was a few years back 1981, 79 Jag. when there wasnt so much coverings, splash pans etc.
Before I would attempt to do it again I would seek out an honest Jaguar pmechanic or pay the price of having it diagnosed at a dealer. I would not want to know the price of replacement from a dealer in todays market, or the price of the R&P.
Sadly to say, it did improve the ride but wasnt the real issue. It was the weight distribution in the rear of the vehicle making the front end ride lighter while towing a trailer. Once the load was removed no more problems. A well learned lesson to say the least.
My remark on the R&P was a suggestion to be looked at.
I'm presently dealing with a door lock replacement on our 2009 XF, dealer wanting 1k and part is $328.00. I'm a searching by calling dealers all over S California for a better price on the lock, can do the work myself.
Good luck on your quest.
Before I would attempt to do it again I would seek out an honest Jaguar pmechanic or pay the price of having it diagnosed at a dealer. I would not want to know the price of replacement from a dealer in todays market, or the price of the R&P.
Sadly to say, it did improve the ride but wasnt the real issue. It was the weight distribution in the rear of the vehicle making the front end ride lighter while towing a trailer. Once the load was removed no more problems. A well learned lesson to say the least.
My remark on the R&P was a suggestion to be looked at.
I'm presently dealing with a door lock replacement on our 2009 XF, dealer wanting 1k and part is $328.00. I'm a searching by calling dealers all over S California for a better price on the lock, can do the work myself.
Good luck on your quest.
#31
Wandering Jag Part 2
Hi and further to the original post regarding my XK Convertible that tended to follow road undulations and white lines. Due to an MOT failure on a leaking rear shock and misting front shock I had all 4 replaced today and bought them from an ebay seller specialising in suspension components.
I have included the link underneath this post. After having had them fitted I am deeply disappointed with the ride quality, the beautifully composed and supple ride has gone and the car crashes into every minor ripple in the road and the car seems to "jiggle along". To be fair the wandering seems to have improved which is something but I'm not sure whether I've made a terrible mistake buying cheap parts. When I was originally looking most of the recognised Jaguar suppliers were asking £200 plus each for front struts and I paid £170 for a pair, though they were advertised as genuine OEM Bilstein.
Am I being over concerned? will the ride improve as they "bed in" or is it the old adage Pay Cheap, Pay Twice.
Cheers Ian
I have included the link underneath this post. After having had them fitted I am deeply disappointed with the ride quality, the beautifully composed and supple ride has gone and the car crashes into every minor ripple in the road and the car seems to "jiggle along". To be fair the wandering seems to have improved which is something but I'm not sure whether I've made a terrible mistake buying cheap parts. When I was originally looking most of the recognised Jaguar suppliers were asking £200 plus each for front struts and I paid £170 for a pair, though they were advertised as genuine OEM Bilstein.
Am I being over concerned? will the ride improve as they "bed in" or is it the old adage Pay Cheap, Pay Twice.
Cheers Ian
Last edited by GGG; 04-16-2021 at 05:04 PM. Reason: Remove ebay link
#32
Your Wandering Jag - 2 post was automatically locked for moderation because it included an ebay link. I've removed the link, approved the post and merged it with your original Wandering Jag thread.
Graham
#33
Hi and further to the original post regarding my XK Convertible that tended to follow road undulations and white lines. Due to an MOT failure on a leaking rear shock and misting front shock I had all 4 replaced today and bought them from an ebay seller specialising in suspension components.
I have included the link underneath this post. After having had them fitted I am deeply disappointed with the ride quality, the beautifully composed and supple ride has gone and the car crashes into every minor ripple in the road and the car seems to "jiggle along". To be fair the wandering seems to have improved which is something but I'm not sure whether I've made a terrible mistake buying cheap parts. When I was originally looking most of the recognised Jaguar suppliers were asking £200 plus each for front struts and I paid £170 for a pair, though they were advertised as genuine OEM Bilstein.
Am I being over concerned? will the ride improve as they "bed in" or is it the old adage Pay Cheap, Pay Twice.
Cheers Ian
I have included the link underneath this post. After having had them fitted I am deeply disappointed with the ride quality, the beautifully composed and supple ride has gone and the car crashes into every minor ripple in the road and the car seems to "jiggle along". To be fair the wandering seems to have improved which is something but I'm not sure whether I've made a terrible mistake buying cheap parts. When I was originally looking most of the recognised Jaguar suppliers were asking £200 plus each for front struts and I paid £170 for a pair, though they were advertised as genuine OEM Bilstein.
Am I being over concerned? will the ride improve as they "bed in" or is it the old adage Pay Cheap, Pay Twice.
Cheers Ian
#34
Hi, yes all the struts are connected. I took it out for a longer drive last night and halfway through the drive I disconnected the front shocks, the car indicated a CATS fault on the dashboard but the car drove the same, very bumpy and stiff, reconnecting the struts puts the fault light out. I'm absolutely gutted, the car is ruined and I don't know what to do next. The seller insists the parts are genuine and I don't think the garage could have installed them incorrectly.
Is there any way to test the solenoids are actually being activated?
Cheers Ian
Is there any way to test the solenoids are actually being activated?
Cheers Ian
#35
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Naperville, Illinois USA
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Are you sure the shocks are correct for your model year?
I replaced the front shocks on my ‘07 with ones that are for 2010-2011 cars. I originally thought they were too soft, but in reality they are always hard, causing the front to be bouncy on rough surfaces. Sounds like your problem is OEM shocks for the wrong year.
I replaced the front shocks on my ‘07 with ones that are for 2010-2011 cars. I originally thought they were too soft, but in reality they are always hard, causing the front to be bouncy on rough surfaces. Sounds like your problem is OEM shocks for the wrong year.
#37
Hi and thanks for the replies. I've compared the part numbers on the old dampers and the new and they are the same apart from the last two letters with the old dampers being BA. As I run a couple of older Land Rovers my diagnostic machine will look at the live date on the Jaguar and I can see a 0.5 Amp signal on each of the struts when in usual driving which should be 'soft mode,' if I drive a little more enthusiastically I can see the signal change to zero Amps which 'stiffens' the suspension though the car feels like it's always stiff. The seller has been very keen to help and has given me the number of his technical chap who I had a chat with today. I've tested all the dampers electrically and the technical chap indicated the coils in the solenoid should have a resistance of 2.5 Ohms which on testing they do, though when I tested my old dampers they have a resistance of 5.8 Ohms. Would the difference in resistance make any difference to how the damper works? I'm just a mechanical engineer so I'm well out of my comfort zone here. Everything seems to be ok but the car feels like it has iron girders in place of dampers.
Regards
Ian
Regards
Ian
#38
I promised to follow up with observations, so here they are: I have determined that my tramlining was more than 1 issue. I drove it sparingly after changing the steering link and before getting it aligned. I noticed that the sloppiness in the steering feel was vastly reduced. The tramlining feel persisted, however. I had new tires installed (don't want to start anything, but the name starts with an M) and voila! Arrow straight and feels tight!
As far as the Bilsteins go, I think they're always going to be fairly stiff. I can tell a difference between the 2 modes, but it never gets 'soft' like my Dodge wagon is. There's just not as much travel with these low cars. Also, when I replaced the ones in the rear, it seemed like they needed a break-in period and got slightly better after a few weeks. They started out very stiff. Of course, that is subjective and could just be that I got used to it. I have not replaced the dampers on the front end yet.
As far as the Bilsteins go, I think they're always going to be fairly stiff. I can tell a difference between the 2 modes, but it never gets 'soft' like my Dodge wagon is. There's just not as much travel with these low cars. Also, when I replaced the ones in the rear, it seemed like they needed a break-in period and got slightly better after a few weeks. They started out very stiff. Of course, that is subjective and could just be that I got used to it. I have not replaced the dampers on the front end yet.
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