I have had my XJR for a little over a week now. Our driveway is absolutely horrid. I have driven extremely slow down the driveway, to try to avoid damaging the suspension, but it appears that it has taken its toll on my ride. I am now hearing a squeak from the front. Also, some knocking from the front on rough roads. What component of the suspension should I look at first?

A little more information...

Since I have owned the car, it feels like the motor goes forward under braking. It feels fine under heavy acceleration.

Also, the car has been terrible over expansion joints since I've owned it. It feels like there is no suspension travel at all. The car is fine with dips in the road, but any raised spot makes the wheels almost lift off the ground and the car feels like it is twisting. Is this normal for the sport suspension, or should I attribute it to wear? The car does have 146,000 miles on it.

 

Sounds to me like you have some bushing issues. First assuming you have the cats (electronic) system I'd look in a hard reset.

Fixing your driveway is probably as cheap or cheaper then working on the XJR suspension.

 

Thanks, I'll try the hard reset. We rent our house, and the landlord shares the driveway. He likes it the way it is. He says the low spots catch the water when it rains, and keep the water from running down to the house. I think he's smoking something. Either way, not much I can do about the driveway until we move next spring.

 

Look for "VEE" block in the forum archives. Your specific observation seems like it fits the VEE block failure symptoms.
Start by looking here:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-mounts-99143/

 

Thanks. I followed your link, and it definitely sounds like the VEE block may be the culprit.

 

Update:

I tried the hard reset, and nothing is different. Definitely a mechanical issue, most likely the vee blocks.

 

You don't have CATS ( came only standard starting in 2002 for XJR) so not surprising that a hard reset will do nothing.
When buying a used car with 146,000 miles, being a jaguar or other, the purchase price is only a down payment. Quite some money need to be spent if you want a "new" car ride and functions

 

I anticipate putting a lot of money into my Jag over the years, as it is a used car. And a Jag, at that... lol. That is not a concern for me. I am just trying to learn as much as I can about the car. I've never driven an XJR before this one, so I really don't know what the ride quality should be.

Thanks for the info on the CATS. I was wondering whether or not my XJR had it. Not knowing this, I figured the hard reset recommended to me above, couldn't hurt. I figured it needs some mechanical work.

 

I subscribe to the K.eep I.t S.imple S.tupid method as often as possible. Vee would likely be where to look next but likely at that mileage you're looking at new everything. First things first is determine your plan for the car and then a plan to get there. Personally, mechanical soundness and longevity would be my first concern (i.e. tensioners, fluid changes etc.) then back to the suspension.

Ride quality is very firm but nice on good roads, tends to like to wander a bit over channels with the tire size and is not the most well mannered Brit over most of PAs roads.

Congrats on the ride by the way!

 

Chad....I take it this is your first Jaguar?
The XJR is a performance vehicle and i would suggest that over it's 146K life it has had that performance 'utilised' ;o)
Therfore one would expect a few things to be a little bit weather beaten ;o]
It is not necessarily true that you have to throw buckets of money at it, just sitting down, work out a plan and start sourcing the best prices for replacement bits which contrary to popular opinion are not all that expensive
when compared to similar marques.
As you have desribed and others have noted, the sub frame to chassis 'V' mounts have probably de-laminated allowing that feeling of 'engine shift' under braking.
Coupled to this are the front sub frame rear circular mount bushings.
At the mileage you have stated, you will be looking to replace the following to get the car back on an even keel.
Front wishbone upper amd lower inner bushings.
Possible ball joints upper and lower.
Shock mounts upper and lower.
Possible shock replacements.

Now, these parts are not expensive....what jacks up the cost is when you have to have them replaced ;o]
You will also need a 4 wheel alignment performed.

Really to do a top job you need to include the rear suspension rebuild to this list.
'A' frame to chassis forward mounts.
Lower arm inner bushes.
Possible diff 'trapese' mount bushes.
inner and outer output shaft bearings.
Possible UJ's
Hub outer-lower bearings.
Shock replacent....which would include all spacers and mounting bushes.
Check ride height for any spring sag and repalcement of spring mounting gaskest top and bottom.

The Jaguar suspension is a sophisticated set up and 15 years and 150,000 miles will have it at the end of it's useful life before it needs renovating to bring it back up to scratch and performing as sharply as a good XJR should.
Far too many of these wonderful cars get driven into the ground without proper mainatnce and then people start carrying on and blaming the car,

Sit down, work out a plan and you are on your way to enjoying Jaguar motoring at it's finest. ;o))

 

Thanks for the info on what the ride quality SHOULD be. Other than the squeaking, I don't think the ride quality would be a whole lot better on Michigan roads. Expansion joints are the worst...

 

This is, in fact, my first Jaguar. I've worked in the British parts business before, so I have some knowledge of the cars, but I had never driven one until I bought my XJR (two weeks ago tomorrow!).

I will eventually get everything fixed on the car, but I am on a tight budget, so prioritising will be a big part of the plan for the car. It will be my daily driver for the next few months, so I am taking care not to push it to its full potential. Okay... maybe once or twice... ;-)

Ball joints look good. I suspect the vee blocks are shot, and most likely the shocks.

I suspect the suspension will be toward the back of that list. First thing on the agenda will be verifying that the car has upgraded tensioners. I was told that it does, but I have no service records for the car.

I would never blame a car for a driver's lack of maintenence, and I enjoy every moment of working on, and learning about, this car. :-)

 

Well Chad, I wish you well in your endevours and approached the right way, Jaguar ownership can be very rewarding ;o)

 

Xjay, great post, thanks.
I have a XJR 98 and I need to replace all 4 absorbers. I know I have to consider also all the bushes, mounts, ball joints. I will try to avoid replacing springs.
Proble is that my car has CATS and shocks are way too expensive. Can I replace them by Bilstein Sports? Any other parts needed to replace do to this change?
Thanks

 

Hello Tom,
Yes, to answere your question.....it is possible, physically at least ;o]
What you will have to do is either re-programme the main ECU or find some way to circumvent the CATS system.
The Bilstein Sports will work very well and would be my choice.

 

To disable the CATS suspension and turn off the "suspension fault" message all you need to do is unplug the mutipin connector to the CATS module which is on the right side of the passenger footwell. No re-programming of the ECU is needed

 

Thanks guys! Great help! I made up my mind and I’m going for 4 Bilstein Sports, no CATS. Today´s question is: will I need to replace shock mounts due to this change or can I keep the existing ones? They seem to be quite expensive… I will replace all bushes and rear wheell bearings, though.

 

The threaded portion of the non-CATS shocks is a thinner diameter than the CATS shocks so there will be free play between the shock piston and the inside of the metal sleave that is part of the upper shock mount. You can use tape or something else wrapped around the new shock piston to increase the diameter to match the sleeve.
Separately, the donut portions of the upper front shock mounts are likely worn out. You can buy just the donuts from vendors on this forum ( about $35 per side) without buying the entire upper mount (which are $300 per side from Jaguar)