Can anyone list the most common causes of a steering wheel shake. Every XJ I drove had a shake and vibration in the steering wheel. When I got my 2008 a few months ago, it had a mild shake. It was present at all speeds, got worse (but not terrible) between 50-60 mph and then smoothed out but was still there.

I got the wheels balanced and a 4 wheel alignment. It helped a lot but the shaking is still there, even on glass smooth roads. What I find most annoying is the vibration that seems to come from the front end. Usually after balancing the tires and alignment, all of my other cars (all Merc's) were glass smooth.

My Jag is a 2008 XJL with 65K miles. It's got Pirelli P6 tires with about 50% tread left. My thinking is first the tires, then the bushings.

 

I wish I knew. Mine did it horribly a few months back and I found the steering rack bolts to be loose. It randomly does it very lightly now and the hubs, wheels, and tires have all been replaced.

 

You are in good company with me. Also a 2008 and I have driven 3 other XJs all with the same vibration. Some on here say there XJs are smooth as silk and no vibration at all. My vibration has gotten better as I have changed out various suspension components (entire rear except for shocks, front sway bar, tie rods, upper arm, front lower arm). I have the bushings to change the front lower shock bushings which when I changed the upper arms I noticed the shock bushings had more play in them than they should. Changing the upper arms did help me out a good amount but not perfect. I had mine balanced and aligned twice; once at a Jag dealer and another at an independent shop (that takes their time). My tires have only about 10K miles on it (Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus).

I am curious to see your progress on rectifying your vibration. Since my car has 123K miles I knew it would need new suspension components so I have gradually changed them out one by one. I am highly considering switching out the shocks; just trying to determine if I want to spend $1200 for coils or $3600 for OEM Bilstein air shocks!

Since your car only has 60K miles definitely get the car up and check out each suspension bushing. They do appear to wear out quicker on the Jag than other cars.

 

If you didn't get the tires roadforce balanced I would suggest trying that.Regular balancing may not catch the problem.After trying a new set of General tires-1had flat spot/replaced and still had vibration so the set went back-now have a new set of Continentals-1 was out of round/replaced and after r/f balancing have almost eliminated vibration in the steering wheel.R/F balancing caught the problem tires-of both brands- that regular balancing missed.Its sad that it took 10 new tires and a lot of balancing to get 1 set of 4 that are OK.Also replaced front upper control arms and lower arm bushings and tie rod ends in the process.The shock bushings in the lower control arms were the most worn and the tie rod ends had play so make sure to check those bushings and the ends. Cary

 

Mine had a growing issue after suspension work and new tires. Found my lugs had not been torqued. Some were close, other nuts were a half turn under 100 ft-pounds. Waiting a 100 miles and cranked up to 120 ft-pounds. This took most of the rattle out.

 

These cars do seem to be prone to steering wheel vibration and shaking. However on my old 2003 X350, and now a 2007 X358 (virtually the same car), both with the V6 petrol engine, I don't get anything when cruising along. Sometimes one can get vibration on braking but if the brakes are used fairly brutally, as I did when touring the North Country of England (Northumberland and Durham), this summer, this disappeared and the braking became smooth. Clearly I drive too slowly most of the time !!

On my new car I am finding slight vibration on braking but it is slight, and I suspect I need to do some more fast road work on hilly roads to "condition" the brake discs. As I said, in cruise at 65-75 everything is OK.

If the steering wheel is shaking, this is a classic out-of-balance situation, but if balancing has been done, were the wheels and tyres inspected for any out-of-round condition. These wide wheels are prone to pot-hole damage on the inside of the rim where there is no support from the spokes. Additionally, the tyres may be out-of-round too, but I would have expected all of this to have been detected at the tyre shop.

 

120 ft-pounds? What car is that on? Mine are supposed to be torqued at 92 ft-lbs. I also do not understand how torquing down that amount gets rid of rattle unless the wheel is "floating" on incorrect lug nut spindles or loose bolts thru the "hubs"?

 

Hey John, sorry to hear....


All I can say is I've done literally just about anything you can think of and replaced all suspension parts both front n rear, new hubs/ bearings at the front, new tyres, new wheels, balanced / balanced / balanced etc etc etc and MOST of it is gone....However, no matter what I do a very slight tremble remains


Wishing you better luck
Jim

 

I would lean towards tire wear. ive chased this ghost on a 96 corvette I had and turned out to be a cupped tire which wasn't really noticeable to the eye

 

Wow! Thanks for all the input! Looks like this this is a common complaint for some of us. I will have the car up on a lift on Friday. Will check all of the common things like bushes, loose steering rack, out of round tires, etc. I am hoping the tires need replacement since they are rubbish in the wet. Even at moderate speeds on damp roads the front end washes out first then the rear breaks loose. Will look to see which tires are better in the rain. I've looked on Tire Rack and the top rated rain tires are the Goodrich g-Force Comp-2 A/S, Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06, and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. I have the Conti's on my MB CLK and had the Michelins on my 500 Abarth and both are very good tires. Lots on this forum have the Goodrich and like them. My son has Hankook Ventus 1 Noble 2 tires on his 2003 MB E500 that replaced Conti ExtremeContact DWS and he says they are almost as good as Conti's but less expensive.

 

Dr John , for giggles, try swapping your rear wheels up front and see how she behaves. I know its a pain , but may eliminate some possibility

 

When I get it up on the lift, I'll take off the wheels and see if any are out of round while checking underneath. Will probably swap them to see if it makes any difference.

I have had problems with Pirelli tires in the past going bad and causing vibrations. Except for the P7's on my Abarth. I got 28,000 miles out of them with plenty of traction right up to the point of the tread being exposed. They were smooth and comfortable right up to the end.

 

Took a while but finally got my indy mechanic to put it up on the lift. He says the upper front control arm bushes are shot. He got a price of $570 each from Jaguar. I've heard that Lemforder makes good aftermarket replacements. I went to Rock Auto and Geek Parts but they don't say who the parts are made by. Searched BuyAutoParts.com and the price is about the same as the Jag Dealer.

Two questions:

1: Does anyone know where to get these parts from?

2: What else should be replaced while everything else is apart?

 

Hi Dr John,

Lemförder (or Lemfoerder in English) is the original equipment manufacturer of most or all of the suspension bushings and control arms in the Jaguar X350 and many other Jaguar models.


For some reason, Lemfoerder forgot to include certain X350 parts in its catalog, so Rock Auto doesn't know they are the same as parts for certain S-Types as well as the Lincoln LS and Ford Thunderbird. But if you'll look at the upper control arms for those vehicles you'll find Lemfoerder control arms available, although from time to time they are out of stock.

I believe the upper control arms for the 2006 V8 Lincoln LS will fit an '08 X358 but use the Advanced Search function under the Search tab above to search the forum for confirmation of compatibility. Here's one thread that may help - see the most recent posts:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...6/#post1592316

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks to all the useful replies. Did all the research and found the upper control arms (#6). Went to confirm the right part with my mechanic before ordering and he states it is the lower front control arm (#7). Some sites show a bushing (#9). Is that bushing replaceable? Or do I need to buy the entire lower front control arm with the bushing?




Is there an interchangeable Lincoln LS part? I didn't see the front lower control arm for Lincolns on any exploded views.

BTW, with 67,000 miles he said he checked all the bushings, front and rear, and thought they were all in good shape.

 

Both lower trunnion bushes are replaceable, but are different, the one on the front arm (the "banana" arm) is of the hydrabush type. I had both front lower bushes replaced on my X350 in 2015. The ones on the straight arm last longer, but eventually will wear out. Normally the symptom is the front tyres wearing on the outer shoulder because the worn-out bushes allow the wheels to track out in motion. When the car is stationary, the geometry can appear OK on a tracking setter, it is only when the car is moving that the bush allows the wheels to track out.

 

Dr John - I bought my replacements from SNG Barratt; they have an aftermarket one for 110/each. SNG Barratt - The Ultimate Jaguar Parts Specialist

If you want to go with the whole banana OEM arm you might want to consider a UK distributor such as Rimmer Bros. Even with shipping to the USA they are sometimes much cheaper. Just an idea. What is crazy is when I order from Rimmer Bros the shipping is typically cheaper and quicker than from the USA.

 

Will stop by the mechanic to confirm replacing the bushings tomorrow. It will be an easy and (comparatively) inexpensive fix if it stops the steering shake.

My tires have worn on the inside edge. The alignment was checked and adjusted twice over the past 4,000 miles and it is spot on. I see how the bushings could cause it to be off while under load. I do need to remedy the shake before getting new tires.

Thanks for bringing back fond memories Fraser Mitchell. I recall a time in the late 1960's working on my cousin's 1959 MGA and the Haynes manual referred to a "trunnion pin" and we had no idea what it was. It left us dumb-founded for hours. The English/American translation kept us guessing for years. As a 16 year old with lots of determination and little common sense, we would tackle anything... with parts left over when we were done!

 

Still you are lucky to be American/English native speaking!
Think of us, poor guys needing scratching our heads when a new technical term pops out, and going regularly online with the google translator to guess what it is...

 

Will be waiting to hear if your new bushings make a difference.

I will toss my hat into the ring and say my 2006 XJ has started to have an "incurable" vibration through the steering wheel. Always had a tiny bit to some extent, but the past few months it's become very noticeable and annoying. Tires are all recent, had my tire shop do 2 road force balances. After the 2nd time it was smooth for a day or two before the vibration returned.

I'm leaning toward lower control arm bushings myself. 107k miles on the originals. I replaced the curved arm bushing a year or two ago, never did the one in the straight arm.

It makes me furious that my 2008 Chevy Malibu (with tires that haven't been balanced in 4 years and worn out shocks) rides with no vibration on the highway.