In my quest to get the steering just right in my '95 Jag I've found that my steering rack is not well positioned by the rack-to-frame brackets & their bushings. I first found that the rack was shifting side-to-side 1/4" when turning the wheel left to right. I fashioned two 1/8" teflon split spacers & installed one at each bracket. This worked but there is still some movement due to the compression of the rubber rack mounts.
Has anyone dealt with this issue? I feel like it is contributing to the trammeling that I've been trying to eliminate.
Does anyone know a source for new rack mounting bushings?

 

I'm ashamed to say that I've never noticed.....and therefore can't visualize....the X300 rack mounting arrangement. Nor can I find any illustrations of same in any of my tech or parts literature, nor the JDHT webpage......and no listings for mounting bushings.

Hmmmm.


I'll keep digging. I'm pretty curious now :-)


But I will say this:

If the mounting is similar to the older Jags with you don't want to remove *all* the free play from the mounting. There have been quite a few reports over the years that doing so will stress and break the brackets. BTDT myself, in fact.

Cheers
DD

 

Yup, I've noticed play when wiggling the steering wheel. I thought there was a bit more play than I expected. I suppose with a big heavy car like this and fat tyres, the bushes will take a bit of punishment.

 

Last night I removed the rack from the car. Now I'm brainstorming on how to fashion the spacers. I did have 1/8" on either end but I need more. I'm planning to go to about 3/16" per side. That will put the bushings under a bit of compression.
BTW, the brackets for the rack are forged steel. They seem pretty tough.

 

I took my steering rack out & fashioned shims for both ends of the rack. I put the shims on either end between the mount brackets & the flanges on either end of the rack. The shims are 3/16" thick each. They were a tight fit but it made a huge improvement in the trammeling problem I've been sorting out.
My theory is; when the tires & suspension geometry have the propensity for trammeling, any play in the steering system will greatly magnify the severity of the trammeling. When there is play the steering can dart from side to side when the car meets ruts on the left & right. With play present, you must "chase after" the steering as it darts from side to side. Now with the play removed, even the propensity is there for the steering to climb the ruts, I simply must restrain it. I don't have to chase it. Furthermore, the force required to restrain the steering is less than I expected and seems more natural. My bushings did not look bad at all. I have to believe the amount of play I had was not unusual on these cars.
I've attached a pic of my spacers:

 

Those spacers are superb. Far beyond what most DIY'ers have the capability to fabricate.

 

the spacers look very nice. glad it all worked out for you.
Dayn.

 

Doug,

I agree 100%.

I can find nothing on these mounts in any of my Jag books etc.

I did find an Indy Parts mob who list "steering rack mount XJ40/X300", and the picture looks like a cylindrical sleeve type thing. It is really an unclear picture, and being a public holiday here, no one is open to talk at, so tomorrow will be the day.

I did find mounts for the X308, and they are a saddle type rubber (like a HUGE "D" rubber) and look simple enough to change.

 

Sounds great. I have a new project for my list :-)

I presume the steering response is sharper as well?

Cheers
DD

 

Yes, I particularly notice a more immediate result when making small steering adjustments on the highway.

 

Just found this thread whilst looking for solutions to the same problem... I'll be attempting a similar (although far less elegant!) fix soon! Did you contemplate making more of those shims to sell on, or are they more effort than they're 'worth' (obviously not on your own car!)?

 

After further contemplation... do you happen to remember the other dimensions (inner and outer diameter) of your spacers? I'd like to try and make something in advance!

I'm tempted to just order some of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150937776802 ...but they look like they might not be as thick as I'd ideally like and well, they're rather expensive for what they are!!

 

Ziggy,
The I.D. of my aluminum spacers is 2.20" diameter & the O.D. is 3.2" diameter. As I stated earlier, the thickness is 3/16" (.1875") My spacers were very tight. I had to remove the rack to get them in. The pinion housing end is a difficult area to get the spacer into. I'm very pleased with the results. That being said, I recommend making the I.D. larger, maybe .100" or 2.3" I.D. Mine were a bit too tight going in.
I originally made 1/8" thick spacers from teflon. They looked surprisingly like the ones you've found. For my car the 3/16 takes out all of the free play & preloads the rubber somewhat. The rubber mounts still flex but the excessive play is eliminated.

Ned S.

 

Thanks - much appreciated!

 

I've been sorting out the steering on my car since I got it more than a year ago.
Here's a bullet timeline:
- When purchased, the car pulled right, had play & chased every ripple in the road. The car had Pirelli P4000 tires that appeared to be in very nice shape but old.
-I had the car aligned with little result even though we found the car to be out-of-spec “toe-out”. It still pulled right & darted all over the place.
-I rotated the tires front to rear & that eliminated the right pull. I began to notice a rumble in the tire that was now on the right rear. I was not sure if the rumble was mechanical or rubber but I continued to drive the car anyway. The tramlining was still bad.
-I pulled the rack & fashioned my afore-mentioned end-play spacers. This was a nice improvement because with the spacers I then didn't have to chase after the tramlining as much but I still had to constantly restrain it.
-I replaced the front wheel bearings & set the endplay @ .0005". Still tramlining, but maybe a bit better.
-I drew-up the suspension in Autocad to figure out exactly how the gage the adjustments. It boils down to this: Each flat on the tie-rod nuts = about .0096” adjustment in tie rod length. 5’ of total toe adjustment = about .0065” total counting both tie rods. Using this information & a rig I fashioned to accurately measure the toe settings, I tried numerous toe-in/out settings throughout the acceptable range. This resulted in little effect on the tendency to tramline. Finally I got a bit more result by setting the toe-in at 20 minutes toe-in. This setting is twice the acceptable amount.
-I continued to drive the car @ 20’ Toe-in. It just wasn’t correct. It still did try to follow ruts & the car seemed to be hunting for an on-center feel.
-Finally I broke-down & bought new tires. I bought Kumho Solus KH16s. As I actually suspected all along, the tires were the root cause. I just wanted to be absolutely sure that I left no stone unturned in my quest to solve the issue. The tramlining tendencies were GONE!. BUT,,,
- I put the tires on with the Toe-in still set @ 20’. Although the car no longer chased the road imperfections it did have an unsettling lack of center feel. The right-rear rumble was gone also;-}. I reset the toe-in @ 5’... Now,, I was really getting close. What is really surprising how little adjustment it takes to really dial in the adjustment. (5’ adjustment = about 1/3 flat on each tie rod nut)
-Finally, tonight I adjusted the toe to “0-0”, no toe in or out, straight ahead. I took the car out for a spin & it is perfect. Now I’m a happy man!

 

see posts #28 and #29 here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...g-90726/page2/

dealing with the tire characteristics which affect tramlining

 

Glad you got it sorted in the end! I'd be very interested to hear more about the rig you used... Having to take the car somewhere to get the tracking done if I've just changed something simple like a rod end, has always annoyed me.

 

Does anyone know where I can order a good set of steering rack spacers? Preferably like the aluminum ones. I keep searching with the part number, but can’t find any for sale online

-Luis

 

I just received some from a E - bay vendor in France

Looking for the link

 

Jaguar Part # SPC1059

found it

posting in a minute.