Need some insight here...

Issue: steering wheel shimmy around 45 mph; steering wheel/foot pedal vibration and significant road noise around 50-80 mph; much worse when turning right on highway

Cause: Impact, front end ran over curb at high speed, rear end driver side slammed into barricade after car slid sideways for a while. Car started to make road noise and vibration on the drive home (with 1 spare tire installed)

Parts replaced since: (2) rear tie rod ends, (2) rear sway bar links (bad bushings), (2) front tie rod ends, used set of (4) wheels, used front (2) tires, (4) brake rotors (maintenance). + body work.

After the wheels and tires were replaced the road noise and vibration is still present. They are in good condition and have been balanced (not road force) several times. I am assuming the rotors are good but I am going to see if they can put them on the balancer and check. They are the aftermarket Alcon package rotors similar to OEM.

I have the front bearing hubs off now, they look and feel good but I will proactively replace them since they are easy.

With the front stabilizer bar links off, I noticed some side to side play in the sway bar. It moves side to side less than 1/2 inch. Is this normal? Also seems like 1 side sits lower than the other (see pics). Could this be causing vibration/road noise? Assuming wheels, tires, rotors are good, what else should I be looking at?? Visually none of the suspension components seem bent or in bad shape. Bushings all feel tight.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Bent wheel. Swap them front to back and take it for a test spin to see if there's a different feel (other than the front being wider than the back.

 

Also check your engine and transmission mounts.

 

Can't. Front ones don't have the same offset and won't fit over the Alcon brakes. My idea was to find some1 in the area and borrow their wheels for an hour or so.

The wheels that were damaged from the impact are no longer on there anyway.

 

Not sure how those could have been damaged in an impact but Ill check them out next time i'm underneath.

 

The impact could have jolted the drivetrain enough to damage the mounts. Your symptoms are nearly identical to mine when my transmission mount was wrecked.

 

I thought the same thing before reading your reply.
Because he said he bought used wheels.
A really good tire shop with a new balancing equipment will be able to show him exactly how many places its bent at.
Our wheels are notorious for getting flat spots. Especially when you run thin low strength side walls- yes sidewall strength varies on tires.

Or it could be the tires if they were also used.

 

Very basic question but I have to ask. After all the tie rod parts were replaced, was a full alignment done?

 

Hahaa of course. All 4.

How would I inspect/test the trans mount?

I have to rule out engine mounts because the vibrations do not vary by RPM. Also have to rule out transmission mount since the vibration gets worse when turning slightly at constant highway speed.

Doesn't help that I hit a huge pot hole a few weeks ago. Now I have another cracked wheel and need another alignment. Ugh.

Replaced the wheel bearing hubs and sensors with MOOG ones last night. When I get the wheel back I'll see how it drives.

 

I'd still swap the wheels around as a simple comparison check. In troubleshooting trust nothing, verify everything.

 

Yep a shimmy like that is almost always wheels or tires, wheels first.

 

And if one was smart about it, they would fill a 20gallon tote in the trunk with detergent and water and get the laundry done for free on long drives.

 

LOL you guys aren't hearing me ... see my post #4 above. Front wheels will not fit over alcon brakes in the back.

I have to find someone in the area with 20" rims who can let me borrow theirs.

 

I wanna see who takes you up on this offer do to their wheels what you did to yours.
Just go to a highend tire shop, or even a rim repair specialist and they will show you exactly.

 

Both wheels were repaired and balanced by a wheel repair place and a tire place. Both reputable spots. If they haven't noticed anything then I can't keep forcing the issue. There aren't many places around here that can repair wheels anyway so i'm limited.

And as for the swap, I don't see how I can damage someone else's wheels like I did mine unless I hit a huge pot hole. I would just take it for a spin .. a quicky =]

 

So I caved in and had the dealer look at some stuff and do the road force balance, along with 2 new front tires (Continental extreme contact DWS 06).

Needless to say it has helped a bunch. Much less vibration and shimmy. But still not completely gone. The actual noise didn't change at all. They told me I would need 4 new wheels since they were all bent =/. Funny how the tire shop couldn't see this runout.

On top that, I had them inspect engine mounts, suspension, and driveshaft coupling.

Turns out the engine mounts are bad (however not broken, not leaking fluid). Most surprising is the "collapsed transmission mount".

XJ8JR can you shed some light on this? Where exactly is it located? I'm trying to find a Part number but can't seem to.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...cement-150290/

 

Is there a reward for those who said if the wheels were used, you most likely have all 4 wheels bent.

You should look into folks who do wheel straightening. The good ones are really good.

 

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks.

Would those same part numbers fit the X150?

Dealer gave me this PN: C2P17005
EDIT: actual PN for 07-09 XK is: XR837771 or XR849534


They also confirmed a bad mount by using a pry-bar to check for excessive play in the bracket/mount.

 

Oh crap, I didn't realise I was in the X150 forum! Sorry, I don't know if the XK uses the same part but it looks like you've got it down.