Hi - my first post on here...but figure may not be my last

I recently bought a '97 XJR. Owner had died and car was sitting for approx 8 months. got all necessary fluids replaced and expected a few things to come up within the first couple of weeks, which they have. I am looking for a little bit of advice on these if anyone could help!

1 - steering feels wobbly, or loose, will kinda drift especially when decelerating coming up to a stop sign, car will waver a little also on the straight...which makes me a little nervous when passing cars on tight streets! Plus I don't want to be taking every corner so slow!

2 - presumably related, altho the steering has felt a little wobbly the whole time since I've bought, 2 days ago the Trac Fail, Anti Lock & Trac Off lights have come on. Presuming this is a wheel sensor issue which I'm gonna check out this weekend but any agreement / disagreement welcome on this from th experienced people on here!

3 - air gushes out of the gas tank when I refuel, presuming this is just a by product of there being a pressurized gas system but figured I'd mention it.

4 - had an oil leak the first week, mechanic initially thought front gasket cover needed replacing but turned out to be just some kind of switch that needed replacing...wasn't too big of a deal. Can't remember now exactly but receipt says "lobar to replace oil pressure"

Additional things, a/c isn't working so presuming system needs to be flushed, air coming out just not at outdoor temp.

Any (or lots) of help or suggestions appreciated, also a ballpark idea of how much all this is gonna cost me would be great, money's tight!

Thanks

 

Hi !



Worn/loose suspension parts are a very distinct possibility. Ball joints, outer tie rod ends, and the like. Or loose wheel bearings. Or split sub-frame mounts.

But....though not quite 'on point'

These early generation XJRs are notorious for 'tramlining'. If you're not familiar with the term, it's a (sometimes very disturbing) tendency for the car to follow ruts or irregularities in the road....sort of a 'self steering' sensation.


Wheel sensor problems crop up, yes, but the most common fault is weak solder joints on the circuit board inside the ABS control module. Sometimes wiggling the connection, or removing and re-seating it, solves the problem temporarily. There are outfits out there who repair the ABS modules.

Cheers
DD

 

Oh you're right I'll move it to the X300 thread! Thanks for the advice so far though...and yes Tramlining is the exact sensation I would describe, I had been searching for the right word but couldn't figure one out. Thanks for that

 

Welcome to the forum, Lot's of posts on tramlining in this section. Just plug it in the "Search" window and you've got an hour or so's worth of reading ahead of you.
For the Trac-Fail/ABS light, you really ought find someone with WDS/IDS that can read the Chassis codes and tell you exactly what the problem is. But...you can spend lots of time/money replacing parts and hoping. C1095 is a common culprit, and an easy and cheap fix. But it could be many different things. Check your a/c condenser lower mounting bushes...If gone...check your condenser thoroughly - chances are it has rubbed a hole in itself chaffing against the GOP.