Hey long lost friends, hope all is well!

My 02 XKR coupe is running close to 53k now. Come to find out my front suspension noise was the sway bar bushings, go figure! Anywhoo, after putting new tires on her I got it aligned. I swear this car rode more straight before the alignment.

I've read in detail some of the things that some of the verteran members have said about the specifics on the alignments for these cars.

I think I am getting a pull to the right going 50+...40 and under seems fine

If checking ride height from the center of the wheel cap up to the frame is correct, than im reading close to 15" front and 16" rear.

12/6 and 3/9 play check wheel to wheel shows nothing out of play

Here is the thing, my buddy who was doing the alignment was able to push up on the car, totally changing the readouts for the alignment. Front end camber after pushing up on the car (and the car staying that way) put it into the green. He was able to grab the subframe and either pull the car down, or push the car up. I was thinking this is just the way the CATS shocks are. We aligned it the way it was when it was pulled in the shop.

Here are the readouts:



Thank you once again guys

 

Best pictures I could get for you guys





Thanks again.

 

Any ideas? I have scoured the forum for hours to try to lead me to an idea, as I do not want the new rubber getting chewed up from this. I want to believe the shock mounts or own, or maybe even the shocks...but the ride height seems OK if i'm measuring it correctly and the only thing I notice as far as handling is when cornerning over a bump it tends to jar the steering wheel. Just replaced the sway bar bushings myself and the sway bar links are tight.

 

I would have given it more toe in the front, and would also haved checked suspension deflection and the resulting toe change. Upper shock mounts look ok and arent collapsed. The hit over speed bumps is pretty normal for xk's. With that front camber spead i would expect the car to stay straight or go slightly left. If its goign right its either road crown/crosswind/ or tire pull. To check for tire pull, swap front side to side and see if it changes. A drift is fine, a pull is letting go of the steering wheel and having to put on the turn signal cause youre changing lanes!!! The 2 are very differant

 

I've read a lot of your posts Brutal, your the kind of tech I like doing an alignment on my cars. Hey how about I ship the car to you? Better yet, why don't I ship you down here?! Not much to do in Charleston, but I can take ya to an airport and it's ours all day! Nice smooth roads.

I am glad you explained that, it is drift. I'm not playing BatMan with the vehicle when I let go, good to know.

I still have some slight creaking/slight pop when I pull out of my driveway, so I assumed I had more to tackle. The only thing I can think of is me doing the sway bar bushings wrong..but I followed H20Boys instructions to the T. Although, I did have MXB 2102 AA bushings, not the MNC2102AH bushings.

Ofcourse, when my bud who did the alignment was like "why can i push/pull your car and it will stay like the shocks are worn" I started freaking out. Then my buddy who's a Jag master tech from Baker (great person) told me CATS is a funny animal and to stop worrying about it. I don't know, I am just OCD about this car because I lost my XJR and it broke my heart. Since i'm hearing good news from ya, and I know you will say it how it is, I think it's time to get it realigned and let it live. I appreciate everyone's input as always.

 

Alot of creaks and pops are the strut tower braces and where they attach to the firewall under the wiper cowl.(convertibles) if you realign. Just make sure he pushes out on the inside of the tires evenly with his arms. Unless he's a midget and can't reach(uh sorry, person of short stature) this will show you what your suspension will be doing driving as it takes up tolerance play. It should go to the middle whear he has it set right now. Where it is now will move to the outside of the green or into the red. Both of which increase inside tire wear. On some older more worn suspension cars i even toe all the way into the red so it stay in the middle of the green when pushing out on the inside of the tires.: my mom loves charleston and from pics its one beautifull city. Kinda like the pic of the woman in front of your car, or someones car, closer pic would be nice

 

Haha those two beautiful creatures are my loves. The first love is my girlfriend of three years, and the second is my coupe.



She loves doing Photoshoots with the Jaguar, these few have the Ravenel bridge behind it





She's a goober. She loves doing the whole "Nerdy Jaguar girl" deal





She was the reason why I got the XJR, which after it got totaled I got the XKR. So I had to repay the favor and bought her this XJ6. It saved her life when someone T-boned her.




BTW, doesn't the XKR coupe not come with that strut tower brace? I dont see that bar that connects from the shock tower bolt to the cowl area.