It's wheel bearings... not tires!

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It's wheel bearings... not tires!

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Jaguar >> Jaguar Models >> Jaguar XJ8 & Jaguar XJR >> It's wheel bearings... not tires!

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It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 4/20/2007 9:49:36 PM

FL XJR

Posts: 66
Joined: 4/6/2007
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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 should try the 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 tech said that my front wheel bearings were shot. WHAT??! Obviously, this couldnt be since my car has only just turned 53K miles..... Oh, yeah? I went to a local mechanic who had worked forever at a Jag dealer in W. Palm and he said that this 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 whole front 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 warranty when it's due to expire. The front wheel hub ass'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??

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RE: It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 4/21/2007 3:59:11 PM

Envy337

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Joined: 3/29/2007
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Are you paying for the compression and leakdown test?

(in reply to FL XJR)

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RE: It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 4/21/2007 4:48:00 PM

FL XJR

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Joined: 4/6/2007
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Envy337

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.

(in reply to Envy337)

Post #: 3

RE: It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 4/22/2007 9:29:21 AM

Envy337

Posts: 296
Joined: 3/29/2007
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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.

(in reply to FL XJR)

Post #: 4

RE: It''s wheel bearings... not tires! - 6/3/2008 12:13:15 PM

sammydafish

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Joined: 6/3/2008
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Thw wheel bearings on the Jag are just as easy to replace as any other car and any mechanic will have the proper tools to press the bearing in. What a regular shop might not have is the special tool to take the ABS ring off. I bought one but you can tap it loose with a brass punch. The front wheel bearings for the x308 are regular ford bearings, same ones as in a ford tempo. I even checked the part number etched into the original bearing that came out, it''s the same thing. I''ve got to do the right front on my R soon, I did the left about two years ago. The bearing is only about $40.

< Message edited by sammydafish -- 6/6/2008 12:05:06 PM >

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RE: It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 6/3/2008 12:59:08 PM

skanoski

Posts: 254
Joined: 10/19/2007
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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.

(in reply to sammydafish)

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RE: It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 6/3/2008 8:57:17 PM

lowincome

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Joined: 6/3/2008
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Just did this job my self, Not to hard to do just basic tools except the abs ring. I'm sure you get it of fwith a brass drift and hammer but what about putting it on? Its supposed to be around 130 lbs? Well what I used and worked perfect was a 4x4 4 prong axel nut socket. Much cheaper than the real thing (25 to 35 bucks). Sorry if that puts any vendors out of biz but hundreds for a socket. I did the whole job both sides for around 150.00

< Message edited by lowincome -- 6/3/2008 9:02:46 PM >

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Post #: 7

RE: It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 6/3/2008 9:32:15 PM

JagtechOhio

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Joined: 3/12/2008
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Sammy, your car looks spectacular. Nice photo.

(in reply to lowincome)

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RE: It's wheel bearings... not tires! - 6/4/2008 8:05:10 AM

skanoski

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Joined: 10/19/2007
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I agree about the photo - looks like brochure quality

(in reply to JagtechOhio)

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RE: It''''s wheel bearings... not tires! - 6/6/2008 12:18:43 PM

sammydafish

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Joined: 6/3/2008
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Thanks for the complements on the photo. :)

I just did the right front wheel bearing in my R last night. It took about 2 hours of heat and hammering to get the ABS nut off. The last few I did weren’t nearly that hard including the left side on the same car. If it wasn’t for that I could have had this job done in less than two hours. It really is pretty simple.

< Message edited by sammydafish -- 6/6/2008 12:19:17 PM >

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Post #: 10