Hi all, I live in Singapore and recently bought a June 05 XJ8 LWB (with a 3.5 litre engine) which has done 60,000 miles. I had previously owned a S-Type (2.5 litre motor) and a XK8 convertible (4.0 litre motor) as I feel that jags are great cars.I intend to keep my XJ8 for some time to come as I think its also awonderful car. However, I've been experiencing some "unpleasantness" with the drive and ride and was wondering if any of you experts and seasoned owners could help me as follows:

a. I experience some vibrations to the steering wheel at low speeds (starting from about 25 mph) to high speeds. At times, the vibrations could get a bit irritating and affect the comfort of other passengers. I've got all the 4 wheels balanced but this did not seem to help much. What could have caused this and how could I get it rectified?

b. when the gears are changing down (especially when I accelerate), I would hear a "ook" sound coming from the rear under-carriage of the car. This usually happen when I have driven the car for a fairly long distance (eg. 15 miles or more) and when the roads are wet. What could have been the cause?

c. when travelling along a "bad road", I could hear some knocking noises from both the front and rear axles of the car. A visual check showed that some of the rubber covers of the suspension parts were broken, although there was no visible damage to the suspension parts. Could some of these parts have caused the noises? Both the front CATS suspension have been changed recently by the previous owner, but not the two rear CATS suspension. Should all four have been changed instead of just the front two so as not to compromise the handling and comfort of the car?

d. the car is still under warranty by the local agent till JUN 2008. They have offered to extend the warranty for another two years (till 2010) for an amount of USD 7,500/-. This coverswear and tear to all parts, except the batteries and tyres. I'm a low mileage user (about 10,000 miles per year), so should I take up the offer?

e. what kind of failure should I look out for for a car with this age and mileage?

f. and finally, the car doesn't come with Xenon lights. So can I retrofit Xenon lights without any major modifications to the electrical systems? Where could I get a set of OEM Xenon lights in the USA?

The local agent would be taking a look at the car this coming Monday to try and rectify the problems. But I just wanted to make sure that I get expert opinions from fellow XJ8 owners as I might be offered "standard answers" from those guys at the local agents. I've been reading the threads in this forum and I really think you guys are the experts I can turn to! So I welcome any suggestions or feedback from you guys who might have faced a similar situation as me on the XJ8. Thanks !

 

Maybe have the front wheel bearings checked.
Roger

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the suggestions on rectifying the problems with my XJ8. I've sent the car back to the dealer last week to do some warranty claims (i.e. change the roof lining as it fell off and replace the exterior chrome surrounding the doors as they had tarnished) and also complained about the vibrations and sound which were originating from the car. The dealer said he would take a look at it and revert to me.

I collected my car about a week later (this Monday) and while the head lining and chrome parts were changed, the vibrations and sounds still remained. I asked if anything was done to rectify these problems but the Tech replied that the vibrations were caused by my tyres and suggested that I change them. As for the "ook" noise that comes from around the rear of the carwhen changing down the gears, he commented that they had put in some oil additive to the gear box and that the problem was now solved. Since I was new to the XJ8, I took his word and collected my car without further ado.

I duly went to change all 4 tyres, hoping that the vibration would disappear. But to my utter disappointment (not to mention being US$1,200 poorer!), the vibration still persisted, although not as bad as before. The "ook" noise that comes from downchanging gears is still prevalent, although its much softer and less frequent. Anyway, I'm bringing the car back to the dealer to resolve the vibration issue.

I had also asked him about the need to change the suspension bushes as suggested by some of you more learned XJ owners. However, the Tech replied that the bushes comes part of the arm and he cannot just replace the bushes without replacing the whole arm! He added that the new XJ design (i.e. the X350) did not allow changing the bushes without changing the whole arm or affected linkage. Is this true or is he pulling my leg and trying to squeeze me to pay for the whole thing?

So far the response from the authorised dealer here in Singapore has really put me off about wanting to extend the warranty for another to years and paying US$7500 for it. Hence, I would really need some help from my learned and more experienced XJ friends to advise me on the problems related to this fine, albeit quirky machine. I've owned and driven many cars and had always wanted to add an XJ to my collection. But so far the experience till date has not been a pleasant one. All said, I do not intend to give up my pursuit as I feel that the XJ is still a wonderful car to own and drive. As such, I would really appreciate any proposals and suggestions to help me resolve my problems. By the way, I was wondering if the vibration could have been caused by an imbalanced propellar shaft, although I feel that it was more related to the "front end" of the vehicle.

Thanks a million to you chaps for helping out!