Hello,
I'm new to the forum and new to owning a Jaguar. I have a 1997 Jaguar XJ6 Sport. I've found the steering on my car not as direct as I had hoped. I feel the front wheels are not doing what I want and I'm having to fight to make it go where I want. The steering itself is nice and light but its the front wheels which seem to have a mind of their own. I don't know if it is a wheel alignment issue or tyres or something more serious like with the suspension.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Ash

 

It sounds like it's time to check the front and possibly rear suspension over.
I recently changed all of the suspension bushings, ball joints, and shocks and it made a huge difference to the drive.
I didn't know if any of it was done before as some of the bushings looked original. It seems that after 20+ years and 125k miles it was ready to be done.
There are many posts in the forum discussing the job and lots of great advice.

 

I’d certainly take it in for alignment, at least have someone make sure you’re starting with a car that wants to go straight.

While there, they should look for, and notice, if there’s anything obviously wonky with your suspension, as in loose bearings, failing joints/tie rods, etc.

After that, we can discuss steering racks, but not before we know if the wheels are pointing in the right direction.

 

As mentioned, bushings are the main culprit, so jack up that car, and get under there with a flashlight to inspect the various bushings.
the most obvious suspect is the top bushings on the front suspension. there are foam/rubber donuts on each side, that tend to disintegrate a lot quicker than the rest.
They are a quick and pretty easy fix, and will tighten up the front end considerably.

Also check if you have the steering rack plastic spacers installed (two thin plastic wafers with steel wire to keep them in place where the rack is mounted)
if not, the steering rack will have a couple of millimeters play, making the steering a lot less precise, and quite prone to tramlining with wide wheels.