Hello all, I recently bought this 1985 XJ6 Jag for my wife she fell in love with it as soon as she saw it. I would have to say it is in fair condition considering its age. The owner was pretty up front about the issues the car has, I say issues but its not many but there are some.

Main issue is that the car feels like its gliding/sliding when turning. I haven't been able to get it to a shop because I just moved to Va; we don't have the car plated so don't want to risk a ticket, plus we don't want to take it to the Jag Dealership not knowing their reputation and cost. Back to the topic the car only slides/glides when the speed of the car is greater than 15MPH. The front end of the car starts to drift away from the turn, its so weird to me I have no ideal what might be the cause. The car has 66,000 miles on it. Please help if you have any experience with this.




#SeeThroughIt #STIPodcast

 

Hi GreenXJ6,

So when you turn the steering wheel the car starts to turn in , but then pushes wide ie. understeers?

These are big heavy vehicles which need good boots all round.

How old are the tyres and how much tread do they have?

Old hard rubber and low tread can lead to your said symptoms.

The series 3's suspension was specifically tuned to wear Dunlop P5000 tyres back in the day.

Just any old rubber just won't do on these.

I would start with these inspections and report back.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

They probably wouldn't work on it anyway



The very first thing to check is the bushings for the steering rack. They are probably shot. Very common problem on these cars. This results in very peculiar (and dangerous) steering characteristics.

Cheers
DD

 

They look pretty old I will check once I get back home. Thank you Nigel for your input.

 

Welcome aboard !!!

As you see, lots of help here.

Doug may be right as to the rack bushings. Very important!!! .At that mileage, I wonder, but then age takes a toll. don't I know that at 90!!! Applies to man and machine.

I would add tire pressure. too low on the fronts can result in "push" AKA understeer. Old tires do not perform well, understatement of the decade.

But other tires than those the car came with can do the job quite well. A lot depends on the intended use. Touring or high performance.

At my last reboot, I chose touring, T class. I am not likely to fly at 125 for extended periods..
80 mebbe. Well within the rating of my tires.

Carl

 

go to www.johnscars.com and order the Rack Bushings kit. The sway you are experiencing is cured with polyurethane bushings, an inexpensive fix. This is a typical symptom with these cars when the factory rubber bushings wear out.

Since you are new to this car, it might pay to have the bushings replaced at a car repair shop, or check around your area for independent Jaguar shops. Unless you are handy with tools.

The first warning you need to keep in mind is that the XJ-6 is very heavy at the front. You need to raise the front of the car properly and add extra supports. The steering rack needs to be lowered but not removed. It is easier when two people are under the front of the car, one holding the rack as it is lowered, and the other replacing the bushings. Again SAFETY FIRST. Not difficult to do but you must be careful and follow the instructions with the kit.

there are also instructions in the Factory Service Manual. If you don't have it yet, you can download all the Sections you need at my website for free.
http://jagupgrades.webstarts.com

 

The steering rack is mounted on two "Silentboc" bushes which are designed to let the rack move slightly left-right as you steer, to give a nicer feel to the steering and eliminate harshness. There is also a movement limiter in the form of a couple of rubber faced thick washers that the rack snugs up to on full lock either way. Lots of people replace these original bushes with Powerflex bushes that are not compliant. This makes the steering more precise but harsher. If the bushes fail, the rack can move from side to side with no resistance at all, and probably gives the steering feel you have experienced. The main thing is the rack will not fall off, so don't worry about that.

Bearing in mind the age of the car, its maybe its time to get the suspension inspected front and rear to see what work may be required. Did you get any service and maintenance records with the car, like parts and labout invoices etc ? If you tell us a bit more about the car and its issues, I'm sure people on here will tell you if it needs immediate fixing or not.

 

Thank you for your input sir. Ok so I know the front suspension is shot, I hear clunk noise every time we went over a little bump.I think there is a leak coming from the catalytic converter, I say that because of the heat I feel and noise clearly coming from it. Other than that noise the car is pretty solid, yes I do have all the invoices from maintenance that was done to the car. Later Ill do a write or ask what should I be looking for to do a restoring of this car.

Back to your point, are you saying I shouldn't worry about that gliding/sliding feel ?

 

No car, especially a Jaguar, should give the driver a sensation of gliding or sliding. Something is wrong with it, possibly safety related. Probably the rack bushings but perhaps a stack-up of multiple faults.

Have it checked !

Cheers
DD

 

And the IRS (independent rear suspension) bushings if perished can also contribute to the sliding sensation.

 

I hope you aren't going to be the guy who has to do all the work that was ignored over the last 15 years ! Check those maintenance records carefully to see what work has been done in the last three years. Clunking from the front suspension is likely to be the roll-bar bushes and link bushes. The only job I never did on my XJ6 front suspension was replace the lower wishbone trunnions, but I did everything else. If the lower ball joint is worn out, don't replace it with the original type, fit the joint for the later XJ40 saloon; it lasts for ever, (well, almost !) and is a bolt on job, no need for shimming the balljoint.

 

Welcome greenxj6
Welcome to Virginia, it used to be a nice place o live..Ok enough politics.
I'm in Lancaster, VA, about 2 hours from you.
I have a new pole barn and a 10000lb lift.
If we ever get done with the stay at home bits, your welcome to come up and we can go through her w/o the nastiness of laying on the ground.
Bobmo
PS VA antique tags are easy to get, just remember to bring the details of your regular car with you, they want to make sure your antique is not your daily driver.

 

Fraser, do you have a part number for those XJ40 ball joints? Will they work on a 1985 XJ6 S3?

 

Thank you I've live here before during my time with the military but oh how things have changed. Anyway that would be awesome to get this thing up in the air and see what I'm dealing with. I don't know much about Jags so I'm willing to learn as much as possible. I haven't been able to look at her since its been raining all day in Va Beach hopefully tomorrow. Still looking for Independent Shop to take her too.

Also I'm still learning how to work this forum haha.

 

Here it is: -
https://www.berkshirejagcomponents.c...gL4s%5FD%5FBwE
These are the genuine Lemforder parts. You can get much cheaper but they'll be Jo Noname Inc and may not last very long. I fitted the Lemforders to my Series 3 that I owned for 14 years, (sold 2002). These joints are backwardly compatible right back to the Jaguar Mark 1 and 2 saloons and their derivatives ! If you do have to fit these, once you've removed the lower part of the joint with its ball, the bearing ring remains in the hub carrier, so you need to tap this out with a hammer or the new joint wont fit. They are a very easy DIY job, but you do need a ball-joint splitter.

 

I consider Moog a good brand, here's what I used in my '85 S3: - Moog K9699 Ball Joint

- Moog K9700 Ball Joint
Dave

 

Stupid formatting.

Dave

 

Dave,

The auto-format imposed on any included Amazon link is not the best forum "feature". I've had a go at your post #16 quoted here to see if it can be forced to look more like you intended.

Graham

 

Dave, are these just drop-in replacements ie. no shimming adjustments (like the Lemforder ones)?

 

Green,

Lot's of good advice on this thread. The best approach is to start simplest and easiest to try and diagnose what is going on with the steering, Tyre Pressure, bald tyres, steering rack bushings, failed suspension bushings etc. Once its determined what is causing the steering issue I would recommend looking further and seeing if you have a fluid leak that may have contributed to an untimely demise of the offending rubber part. If you replace the rubber and don't fix the leak you could prematurely shorten the life of your new rubber.

Best of luck, I'm sorry I don't have a recommendation for a shop in the Tidewater area.