Hello everyone, I am new to this. I just bought a 2000 XJR with a steering issue I have not seen on any vehicle before.
The steering wheel turns to the left or right freely without stopping, I hope to fix it myself before taking it to the dealer.
Thank you all for your help in advance.

 

Move the steering wheel and observe steering shaft all the way from the wheel to rack it must be loose disconnected or damaged somewhere

 

Thank you for the quick response, I will check it out and let you know, but just so I know there aren't any motor or electrical connections that affect the steering before the steering rack,
and the reason I ask is when it was being offloaded off the flat deck tow truck the steering worked briefly on the incline then when it was flat on the ground it stopped working which I thought was od so did the tow truck driver.

 

Sounds like the teeth are stripped inside the rack which I’ve never heard of. Just do the preliminary inspection and make sure everything from the steering wheel, steering shaft and rack is adequately mounted properly and nothing appears bent or broken.

 

the teeth on your steering shaft to the track is either stripped and wore out

 

Thank you for your reply, I guess in this case I need a new steering rack, is the clock spring going to be okay if it turns freely without stopping or would I need a new one?

 

same issue happened to me over 8 years ago and I recalled back then I could not find a brand new part unless buying a whole steering shaft. I don't remember the exact price from the dealer but I could tell you it was ridiculous and no point getting the whole shaft just for that needed part only.

your best bet is finding a good used one.

 

Isn't there a bolt securing column to rack? maybe it is loose and enough you tighten it?
me think your clock spring is gone anyway

 

After further inspection of the steering column, it turned out that the splines connecting the upper steering Column to the lower one are stripped and the U-Joint is loose.

 

Yeah, that'd explain it.

 

not the worst case scenario, they are not expensive second hand but i imagine that replacing it may be little daunting task.