I am willing to take on my wife's Jag problems, but I would appreciate a bit of advise about the front end. With the car up on stands at teh frame, and the front wheels hanging, I feel no movement of the wheeles at 12 and 6 o'clock, but I definately feel movement at 9 and 3 o'clock. I feel the same degree of "slack" on both sides. Does this mean anything specific? On second thought, is there an idiots guide to diagnosing what needs to be replaced on a 2001 XK8 Convertible with 61K miles that has led a very papered life? I know the top shock mounts are gone, as evidenced by the red crumbling material. What is the wise way to check teh ball joints and bushings? I noticed a slightly greater wear on the inside of both front tires than the outside. It was the same on right and left tires. I saw no relative movement of the outer tie rod ends. All the bushes appear to be in good shape , but I understand this can be misleading. Any advise on how to determine what needs fixing would be appreciated - especially how to diagnose/use of crow bars, etc. I was this baby to last forever, and I have no problem working on cars. Thanks all.

 

9 and 3 movement is always steering rack/tie rods, you sure the outers are good? remember even though youve got only 61k, rubber goes away with mileage AND TIME.
As long as tight at 12 and 6 I wouldnt say wheel bearings, but ANY movement in sealed wheel bearings is a sign theyre bad. There is never supposed to be play in sealed bearings.

 

That makes sense about the 3/9 o'clock play. I felt the outer ends relative to the arm on both sides while the wheel was 3/9 o'clock wiggled ( jeez - someone please tell me a better way to say that ) and felt no relative movement there, so it must be the rack, rack bushings, or inner tie rod end(s).

I found a nice Jaguar instruction sheet about general suspension testing, but nothing so far about the steering rack and inner ends. Is there a lash adjustment on the rack? The movement I am feeling reminds me of slack I felt in the gear mesh on non-rack and pinion sterring boxes. I've tightened up several in the old days. Any thoughts? Any data sources on the steering rack?

Thanks everyone.

 

If it's not the Track Rod Ends, it could be the rubber Rack Mounts rather than an issue with the Rack itself:

2001 Jaguar XK8 - Power Steering Mounting Bracket.pdf

Item 1 in the above drawing.

As Brutal says, rubber also deteriorates with TIME.

Graham

 

Slight excess wear on the inside of the front tread is normal. The worn spring pads will exacerbate this.
The camber is normally leaning the tire so the inside wears more if you don't drive aggressively enough to keep the outside scrubbed off.
Check the ride height, measure from the center of the wheel UP to the bottom edge of the fender. It should be about 15-3/4". If it is less you'll have excess negative camber. (Mine is 1" too low still after new spring pads so I got new springs as the old ones are 15 years and 176k miles old. We'll see how much it helps after I get it back on the ground this weekend.)
Here's a chart I copied from another thread that shows the ride height for different models.

Mike

 

uh not really, only when techs doing alignments dont pay attention to suspension deflection, and or dont set toe to the inner most toe'd in spec or further if more deflection when checked by doing a mercedes benz "pressor bar" check of the front suspension. I get even wear in front from my customers as long as they dont knock the alignment out.

 

All good info folks. I failed to check if the rack was moving relative to its clamps, so I will do that. I don't have a Mercedes "Pressor", but if I park my E 350 real close to the XK8 do you think it will "impress her"? OK, lame, but if you own a Jag you better have a sense of humor, eh?

I will also check the ride height. I am quite sure the upper shock mounts are perished, so I would expect it to be a little bit low.