I just bought a 96 XJR6 with 147k miles on it. The handling on it is terrible. When I hit a humped bit of the road the car will wallow up and down for a good bit, it has zero steering feel especially at 60+ mph, theres about an inch of play before the wheels do anything. When traveling at speed i'm having to constantly saw at the steering wheel to keep the car straight. It feels dangerous.

I got under the car today and can't see any bushes that look knackard.The only thing obvious was the lateral play in the front wheel bearings. Could this all be down to the car just needing new shocks? Or are the XJR springs and XJ6 springs different and perhaps someones fitted the wrong springs presiously?

 

sounds like your shocks are toast - i would also recommend steering rack shims to take out the slack in the rack mount bushings - they are a pretty bad design and the steering rack gets a lot of sideways play as the bushes age.
you can find them on ebay from time to time or make your own pretty easily.

 

If you push down on a corner of the car with your hands you should get a return and not a osculation ( rebound rate )

This is a sign of new shocks needed

When replacing the front shocks need upper donut Buschings and lower shock bushing

# 8 times 4 for front

Genuine Road Spring And Damper-front For Jaguar Xj 1995 - 1997 (from 720125 To 812255) Classic | Jaguar Land Rover Classic Parts

# 13 times 2 for front

Genuine Wishbone-upper And Lower For Jaguar Xj 1995 - 1997 (from 720125 To 812255) Classic | Jaguar Land Rover Classic Parts

The XJR has harder shocks then the normally aspirated models ( B6 vs. B4 )

The ZF manufactured steering rack has a variable steering system that limits the throws but not found on all X300 series models

There is a module to look for if you have variable steering

There is a aftermarket shim to place between the rack and the rack mounting block where there is no need to remove rack

If you look down from to top with a light source on the bottom you may see the original factory gap

The wheel size is susceptible for tram lining and the general consensence is a 225 max

The front wheel bearing is different then the later V8 version

 

Jaguar SPC - 1059
2pcs Jaguar XJ40 SPC1059 Steering Rack Ring | eBay

Grab it while in stock



See your fuse , the # 1 fuse is closest to the fuse box large battery cable terminal post

\Your original shocks are Bilsteins and this from their old catalogue

 

I agree with everything said above.

I drove an XJR6 for many years. They are sensitive to tire condition, size, and design. What tires are on the car now and what is their condition?

As mentioned these car are subject to tramlining....from mild to terrifying. This is mostly from the tires.....amplified by any wear/free play in the suspension and steering component and/or incorrect alignment settings. For most of my ownership duration I used 16" wheels. If you want to keep the 17" wheels I suggest a slightly taller and narrower tire. With the 17" wheels I had best luck with 235/50x17....or was it 235/55x17? Too many years have gone by !

I had best results with the front bearings adjusted right down to zero and not an iota more.

Also check your rear wheel bearings. They are prone to wear....sometimes with enough slop to actually alter the driving characteristics of the car

Cheers
DD

 

Thank you Parker. That writeup deserves a sticky-thread somewhere as I'm sure these are common enough issues with the cars getting on in age.

The rear shocks look like fresh green Bilsteins but the fronts haven't a spec of paint left on them so I assume the rears where changed (it looks to have recent rear drop links too) but the fronts still need done. I can't help but think it has the wrong springs in it, or they're also due replacement. The car sits very low, but isn't anywhere near stiff enough to assume it has lowering springs.

 

There's (new) 245/45 r17's on it, this could also be exagerating the issues mentioned I suppose.

Ah, my first forte into Jag ownership is going well. I thought I'd replace the headunit and speakers earlier - that turns out to be another saga entirely.

 

The speakers are prone to dry rot that give a rattling sound

The foam between the inter cone and speaker frame can be replaced easily and cheaply





You can modify yourself the Alpine / Jaguar AJ9500A head to have a direct wire jack for any input device sacrificing the cassette function , this is different than those cassette tape devices

On the front suspension there is a aftermarket drop links known as Andy Links

On the rear the later X308 suspension cross member can be installed replacing the original rear links without removing the rear suspension unit as a whole

See also this thread with Doug's input

XJR vs XJ springs - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

 

I endorse Parker in getting the steering rack sorted out. I suggest this as the highest priority.
I have had that problem in an XJ40 and an X300. Tram lining and erratic all over the place with bumps. Fixing the rack mounting solved a lot of problems.
If you can't get the nylon bushes then use a piece of 1/8 wire wrapped around each end over the previous rubber mounts and lock them in place with hose clamps.
That effectively makes a rigid mount from the steering rack to the body structure.
Sure, you are going to get a bit more "road feel" but it will make a hell of a lot of difference to the handling.
Also check that the rear end alignment is OK. That is often overlooked and also makes a difference in handling.

 

Worn rear sub-frame bushes (horizontal donuts ahead of rear wheels) will make the back of the car sit low.

#13 on this diagram https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.../brand/jaguar/

 

There are some short cuts and videos on the rear suspension component changes by contributors like Motorcarman ( Bob ) if you venture in that area

On the steering rack to tighten up the possible internal o - rings bypassing and possible internal rack drift under load might consider a drain / refill of 4 cycles to rejuvenate the seals and at least resolve the cavitation noise from old steering fluid

You might have noticed a bit of fluid leakage that originates from the hose clamps under the fluid reservoir that migrates everywhere on the right side

I errored on fuse circled in pic as it should be fuse # 12

Jaguar XJ6, XJ6R - X300 - X306 (1994-1997) Replacement Suspension Bushings (powerflexusa.com)

You will be using the harder ( Shore A density ) black color bushings for your XJR model

You can pour your own from 2 part mix on E - bay

Item # 14 ? referenced in post # 10

Jaguar part # MJA2595AC for supercharged model

Genuine Frame Carrier-rear For Jaguar Xj 1995 - 1997 (from 720125 To 812255) Classic | Jaguar Land Rover Classic Parts

But We're getting into more involved tasks if needed in your case

 

These are excellent pics of someone removing the whole suspension assemblies that give a idea of the big picture

The bottom of the pics are to the rear of the car

The rear crossmember is sourced from a X308 ( V8 later version of the same chassis )

 

Regarding the fluid leek, would that be whats dripping into the drivers footwell? I noticed a brown oil was gathering on a bit of sponge above the brake pedal.

And the fuse: I was a bit confused when I was searching the car earlier for that module, it should be in the boot/trunk or the drivers footwell?

 

The first question / thinking , your brake booster line is in the area

Second question / it will be just fwd of the right front lower door hinge under a 1 foot square plastic cover you will most likely have 2 relay sockets empty that are just aft of the module in question

The module can be sourced from Volvo from reading and I would think BMW

You may have oil in the connector on the servo attached to the steering rack in the pic of the whole front suspension , easier said than done

There is a better servo pic in the ZF steering rack Doc from a BMW website

See file below

 

Now you mention it, it didn't smell like oil. It could well have been brake fluid.

I've a RHD car, and checked in the drivers footwell today with no joy, there's a big silver ECU looking box there. I'll check the passenger footwell in the morning.

Thanks again.

 

Yea , I got that backwards

All steering versions have the engine ECU always on the right and the opposite left is the small relay bracket

The variable steering module is not a relay but varies the output voltage

 

The conditioned air ducts coming out from the center plenum have soft foam seals between the sections that deteriorate and can leak condensation.

I would imagine there is a washdown of dust and dirt inside the ducts

 

It was a sliver of foam that was saturated when I looked. Hopefully that's all it is, the list of repairs is becoming quite extensive.

Those shocks you mentioned for the rear are £237 in the UK or $130 in the US. Madness.

 

From my experience the point I don't agree with in the above is about tyre size. I've got the standard 255/45/17 tyres and don't experience any tramlining on Michelin SP4s unless the road is severely rutted by heavy trucks. When I bought the car it had 235/40/17s on the front which, when considering tramlining, were no different to the 255s but they gave a much harder ride and the lower height meant that the front valence would scrape on speed humps. I think tramlining on an XJR6 stems from other suspension/steering issues. I was expecting tramlining issues when I bought the car as my previous BMW 535 suffered quite badly on 235/45/17s.

 

Differences in tire design and construction can play a part, even without changing size. My experience, with the original size, was the P-Zero tires were the worst, BF Goodrich KGWS the best, and the Goodyear somethings (can't remember) about in the middle. And tire choices today are probably better than they were for me years ago. In the end, going to a taller profile tire was the solution for me.

And certainly a stack-up of faults can be a problem. Alignment not quite in spec, a bit of steering rack slop, wheel bearings a bit loose, etc

Cheers
DD