Hello, im new here, my wife has a 2005 X TYPE-sport model with only
15000 miles on it, the problem we have is that this car
seems to wander/roadwalk at low speeds,under say 40 mph.
It cant decide weither it wants to go left or right when you
let go of the steering wheel. On the hiway at 60-70 its ok.
I put new rubber on all four wheels, took it to get an
alignment, but to me its still not right.Better but not
right. Anybody have any idea whats going on with this car?
Am I looking in the wrong place for the problem? Could it be
a bad rack/pinion or possibly a problem with the abs system?
I did notice that the right rear brake squeeks in reverse,
could it be grabbing or something ? We love the car but it
must drive right or im never gonna be happy with it. The
alignment people tell me there is no castor/camber
adjustment on these cars, is that true? Im running out of
places to look. Our nearest jag dealer is 250 miles away...
Any help out there or ideas as to what could be going on?
Thanks
Dan
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hi there,

i'm sure FJT will be along shortly with all the correct answers but in the meantime, here' s a couple of pointers for you. the problem you describe could be caused by a number of issues such as 1. if the car is fitted with larger then standard wheels/tyres, 2. worn trackrod ends, 3. worn anti-roll bar bushes, 3. wheels out of alignment, or worst case, if the vehicle has been in a collision and not repaired correctly. you say the car has only done 15000miles so i wouldnt expect any of the bushes to be worn, but it gives you some others areas to look at. hope this helps.

tariq

***bought my way into the elite with an XK8***

 

There is a tsb for your rear brake squeeks. I assume the car is under warranty? Next time you can go to the dealer they will fix it for free. That will take care of the squeek.
As for the alignment. Are they factory wheels on the car? What type of tires are on there? Did the alignment place give you a print out of what they did? I would like to see it to tell you if it is right or not.
anyway, answer the above for now. Then we shall proceed.

 

what is your toe-in reading? What you are describing is called darting, usually associated with toe-in issues and/or loose components. With low wear/mileage, loose/worn components seems unlikely. Darting is amplified with wide tires. Was it someone experienced with Jags that aligned it? Most independent alignment shops don't understand how Jags and other high end sport cars are set up. Very few alignment techs truely understand alignment geometry these days... and if the "high tech alignment machine" doesn't tell them what's wrong... they can only tell you "it's set in the acceptable range acording to our machine". Do you have before & after reading to share? I'm sure FJT can tell you what the readings range/limits should be.

 

Thank you for the reply, i will call the alignment shop today and see if they can get me a copy of the alignment specs.
The wheels are factory wheels, 18 inch. Tires are brand new kumhos, which helped alot getting rid of the perelli's.
It didnt cure it, but the new rubber helped. The alignment shop "said" everything looked good as far as not seeing any damage. or worn parts so im going by what they
told me. I agree with you on shops relying on the machine to fix the problem, which i know cant always fix a problem.
I will get back to you with some specs i hope today.