I think have two (or more) issues to take care of but was hoping for some advice before I take it to the local mech and get talked into too much or too little:

1) First off, I put new rims on my xj6 VDP a couple months back...same style rim, just renewed. That is when I noticed that one was mismatched...a Pirelli and the others were another. We put the Pirelli, at that time, on the rear right as it seemed to be a harder tire and I planned to change them out by end of summer as a whole set anyhow....plenty of tread.


Well since...maybe not immediately, I noticed that at lower speeeds especially the car seems to kinda wobble up and down dow nthe road (25-35MPH it is a little annoying to say the least on certain road types). I don't think its somehting as noticeable from the outside of the car but as a passenger/driver it gives slight butterflies...... Is this just the mismatched tire or messed up tire (they are all the same sizing of course)....maybe I just didn;t notice it so much at first because it was on the front?

2) Secondly, a newer develop is that the car's ride quality has changed drastically on turns and bumps. There is a slight mouse squeezing type noise from the front end (seems both sides but louder on the right maybe) and the car has a lot more bounce to it in those circumstance.

I know the mechs have told me it's almost time for "bearings" on the front and that there was some "give" in both wheels but I'm not sure what that means and if it's possibly related to what I am seeing, feeling, and hearing.


Any advice before I go to the shop would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!!!

 

The wobble could be a tire with a shifted belt or damaged casing.

*Slightly* loose or worn wheels bearings wouldn't cause any dramatic change in how the car behaves over bumps nor cause excessive bounce. They might give a slight rumble type noise.

Sounds more like shock absorbers to me.

I'll admit that I not familiar with what a "mouse squeeze" noise really is. Is it a squeak?

Cheers
DD

 

The wobble may be simply a case of needing to have the wheels balanced, or alternatively, check the wheel nuts for tightness. After changing the wheels, the nuts should be retightened after putting some mileage on them. Worn shocks may well account for the bounce/squeak.

 

Thanks guys. The wobbling down the road thing is definitely a tire issue. I will be rectifying that with two new rears tomorrow....still trying to figure out what options work the best in the category as there are a lot of conflicting opinions on that.

As for the suspension related issue in the front, is it common for the shocks to wear out or more common for only the bushings to be the issue? Would the shocks somehow cause a small knock on one side in a hard turn when it bounces? Or is that more likely something else (ball joint?) I'll have it in the shop tomorrow morning but I don't want to get raked over the coals by not being completely informed....i.e. buy two new Balstein shocks plus labor or even more (two new ball joints and labor) and all I may need is some bushings replaced.