Did you have the tires force balanced?

 

This happened to me. After a couple weeks Checked the lugnuts and several on each wheel were handy tight. I think Discount Tire forgot to torque.
I over cranked them, 100 ft-lbs.

 

My mechanic said something about my back tires not being fully balanced due to the weights being placed on the wrong spot of the rim and that's definitely causing shaking under my seat since the car still shakes in neutral mode. I can hear my tires also make a noise low "murr" on high speeds that are in a constant pattern. Just waiting for bushings, rear end links, and tires balanced and I'll leave an update.

 

Yes. I think I'm going to swap the front and rear wheels and see if it makes any difference. If so, I'll have them check the wheels and balance again.

 

Hi DrJohn


In the diagram of the front suspension parts, the most common issues Ive seen are the bushings for #4 and #9. Both of which are available separately. As I take a look into my little black book, the part number for bushing #9 is C2P17090, I have a number for Lemforder is LEM29783. This bushing is the same for the XJ350 ( 03-09 ) XK150 ( 07 up ) S Type (03 - 09 ). I've replaced many of these bushings, and when for one model was out of stock, found that the other models are the same bushing, just different part numbers. The one I've listed will fit all 3 models.


Also, I've seen brake rotors be the cause of steering wheel vibration, even the slightest runout can cause vibration. Tires definitely can be a problem, doesn't matter whether they are new or not. Whoever is doing the balancing, are they placing the wheels with the lowest amount of weight needed on the front? Are they being OEM matched ( a process of matching high and low spots between rim and tire to minimize amount of wheel weight needed to balance assembly )?


Hope this helps some and your vibration gets solved.

 

Thanks for the advice JBzXj40. My rear rotors are getting thin and almost time to replace them. I'll look at the fronts also and double check the bushings you mentioned. Lets see if it helps.

 

I had them balanced on a machine while spinning. Not sure what force balance is. Do they remain on the car while balancing?

And for the record, I was reading one of the manuals and what I have is a "shimmy" and not a shake. Besides feeling it thru the steering wheel I can also feel it shaking thru the foot well. Not severe but it is there. If it was in a 9 year old Nissan I could understand it but in a 9 year old Jaguar it drives me crazy. I wish I wasn't so sensitive.

 

Geez, I must be one of the lucky ones! Sorry to hear Dr. J..
I would say tires first. Reason: I've just turned 80k ( 2005 VDP) and recently been dealing with 'clunks n rattles' mostly in the front end. Turns out my upper c/a's were shot, (really just the ball joints) Sway bar bushings, and while I was doing the repairs noticed the tie rod ends need replacing ( rubbers shot). I also replaced the sway bar end links as they were inexpensive.
All this is to say, that I've never had a vibration or shimmy since buying the car 3 yrs. and 40k miles ago. Even after the front end parts were clearly worn.
BEST thing I did after owning it for 1200 miles ( I bought / drove it back from Fla.) Was get rid of the Yokohama's that were noisy.. and switching out to Michelin Primacy MX4's. Nice and quiet, great in any weather I've had them in, (Northeast U.S.) as long as you don't ride super aggressive/hard in the corners? a Great tire for the XJ8's IMO.
I've got almost 40k on them and never an issue. Plenty of tread left, wearing beautifully even ( amazing with the worn suspension bits) Although I'm all over the rotation / balancing. '
Maybe I'm just lucky.. but, I think its' got a lot to do with these tires.
Let us know how you make out... Best of luck to you!


Geo G

 

I bought my 27d X350 about 4 months ago and it had the usual steering shake but mine felt more like general vibrations it was pretty bad at approx. 60mph but got worse the faster you went.... anywhere near 3 figures and it was pronounced.


Had it serviced the other week and had the wheels balanced at the same time which has made a difference.
The issue with mine is there still seems to be a general front end bias vibration when the car is accelerating - it is a LOT better since the wheels were balanced but when load is going through the drive train there is still a general vibration....... Reminds me of the Triumph Vitesse my dad had years ago with the 2l straight 6 that had prop shaft balance issues and would vibrate at anything over 60mph and not go away!


It is going in again for some other bits to be done so I am going to ask them to have a look around underneath and see if here is anything obvious.

 

Road Force balancing is where the balance machine has an arm that presses down on the tire while spinning it to simulate as if the tire was fitted to the vehicle. You get a more accurate balance of the wheel and tire assembly than traditional style balancing. Most workshops will have a balancer of this type these days, or at least they should. OEM matching is another process to consider, where the high and low spots of the wheel and tire are matched to make it " true ", or as close to a perfect circle as possible so to speak, but this requires dismounting the tire from the wheel.


Different brands of tires have different characteristics, this can also cause issues. Jaguar has used a few different brands over the years, Pirelli, Continental and Dunlop. I have also seen Michelin be a popular choice.

 

when i bought mine it had 4 different brand of tires on it.
got new ones and the whole lot balanced correctly. it made
quite a lot of difference. also the brake discs had been shot
so there was another shake at braking. the judder the steering wheel
makes if you go over several short bumps in a short distance i could
not find out where it is coming from. all bushes done etc. but still there.

would start with a balancing first and have a close look at the tires.
decided to use yokohama tires. currently on winter but i will also drive them
in the summer.

 

So I had lower control arm fixed, steering wheel is still shaking badly from 50-70 but my vibration under me went away from the road force balancing from back tires. What else would cause my steering wheel to shake like crazy?

 

Does road surface have any effect?

 

Got a second look at my rims, my front left rim is bent. Luckily I have the same exact rim in my trunk, going to swap them and see if the shaking goes away.

 

My shake starts very mildly around 30 mph and continues to about 55 then gets worse up to 75 (haven't gone over 75). I'll swap the front and rear wheels to see if it gets better. Will consider a force balance if swapping the wheels makes a difference before anything else.

 

Checking into this thread, as I am experiencing the same vibration from the front end. (2005 XJR 73k miles)
Had tires balanced, didnt do anything.
I've ordered new tie rods and sway bar end links. Next step will be to order some replacement bushings it seems..
I have the 20" sepangs, and I wonder if I should check to see if they are bent..

 

They are bent most likely.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I have inquired to have these wheels checked by a local rim repair shop.

Its funny because the wheels and vehicle are in excellent condition, no curbage or any signs of foul play. I guess we'll see what they can find.

 

My steering wheel shake depends on road surface and speed.
On asphalt it starts to shake around 65 - 70. On smooth asphalt is is smooth up over 80 mph. Concrete is the same, some patches or interstate are completely smooth, others cause the shake.
Since road surface is involved I think it is suspension. Wheels and tires would shake no matter what. It would be speed driven.

 

Mine shake consistently throughout any type of surface, and starts to be noticeable around 65-70, worse at 80
Ill be scheduling a time to get my wheels looked at next week.
Lots of things to sort out on the car still (Air compressor rebuild, trans flush, finding an ACM, coolant flush)