Loose steering issues
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Veteran Member
Joined: Mar 2014
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From: Goldsboro, NC
Loose steering issues
2003 XK8 Vert., 101K miles.
i recently moved from Maui to NC, for the first 5 years I've own the Jag it was a weekend/date night car never driven moren than 20 miles at a time.
4 years ago and about 10K miles I replaced everything under the front on both sides, (shocks, shock upper mounts, upper control arm bushings, ball joints, lower control arm bushings, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and connector rods) the only thing not replaced are the inner tie rods. Also have new rotors 8K miles and tires, Michlin Pilot AS3 8K miles. Tires show no abnormal wear running 29 psi ft and 27 psi rear.
haver never felt the car steering was "tight" but really no issue.
Now the issue. Roads on Maui are generally in good condition, roads in NC are poorly maintained and with the heavy truck traffic are very uneven. The car is now my daily driver and I've had the chance to take a couple 500 mile trips with it.
i have to fight the steering constantly, it pulls from side to side. Not speed related and on a new interstate near my house at speed, 70 to 80 mph, it does fine. However on any road that has any wear the car is a bear to drive to the point I find it a little unsafe.
alinement is with in spec when checked except for the rear which is slightly out and could use a shim on the half shaft's.
other than replacing the inner tie rods does anyone have other ideas to tighten up the steering?
i recently moved from Maui to NC, for the first 5 years I've own the Jag it was a weekend/date night car never driven moren than 20 miles at a time.
4 years ago and about 10K miles I replaced everything under the front on both sides, (shocks, shock upper mounts, upper control arm bushings, ball joints, lower control arm bushings, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and connector rods) the only thing not replaced are the inner tie rods. Also have new rotors 8K miles and tires, Michlin Pilot AS3 8K miles. Tires show no abnormal wear running 29 psi ft and 27 psi rear.
haver never felt the car steering was "tight" but really no issue.
Now the issue. Roads on Maui are generally in good condition, roads in NC are poorly maintained and with the heavy truck traffic are very uneven. The car is now my daily driver and I've had the chance to take a couple 500 mile trips with it.
i have to fight the steering constantly, it pulls from side to side. Not speed related and on a new interstate near my house at speed, 70 to 80 mph, it does fine. However on any road that has any wear the car is a bear to drive to the point I find it a little unsafe.
alinement is with in spec when checked except for the rear which is slightly out and could use a shim on the half shaft's.
other than replacing the inner tie rods does anyone have other ideas to tighten up the steering?
Veteran Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 13,076
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From: Raleigh, NC
James,
Sounds to me like you have done all the right things regarding suspension refurbishment. What brand of shocks did you go with? Is your steering rack still in good shape with no leaks?
Wayne (cjd777) and I replaced most of the suspension components on my wife's 2006 XK8 (now pushing 118,000 miles) between three and four years ago and it continues to track normally here on our central North Carolina roads. I am curious as to what our handling characteristic differences could be....
Sounds to me like you have done all the right things regarding suspension refurbishment. What brand of shocks did you go with? Is your steering rack still in good shape with no leaks?
Wayne (cjd777) and I replaced most of the suspension components on my wife's 2006 XK8 (now pushing 118,000 miles) between three and four years ago and it continues to track normally here on our central North Carolina roads. I am curious as to what our handling characteristic differences could be....
Veteran Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 13,076
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From: Raleigh, NC
^^ Good suggestion. I experimented with the tire pressures throughout 2012 after we purchased my wife's 2006 XK8 in February of that year. I have always run Yokohama YK580 19-inch tires on her car. I finally decided that 32 psi in the fronts and 29 psi in the rears provided the best combination of handling / ride comfort / treadlife. I have stuck to those pressures for more than six years now....
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 360
Likes: 201
From: Las Vegas, NV
I had the same issue at 90,000 miles. Pucker factor while driving on open road was about 135%, as the front wandered a bit, especially in high speed, sweeping turns. Felt like something was just about to let go... You might check for any horizontal (3 and 9) play of the front wheels (jacked up a couple of inches above the ground). I ended up replacing the inner and outer tie rods on both sides, which cured my problem, and my steering exudes confidence at all speeds now.
Also, new upper rear shock mount bushings fixed my rear alignment and put me square back into the middle of acceptable range; no need for shims that a dealer insisted I needed...
Also, new upper rear shock mount bushings fixed my rear alignment and put me square back into the middle of acceptable range; no need for shims that a dealer insisted I needed...
Veteran Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,457
Likes: 1,816
From: New Jersey USA
James, +1 on tire pressure. A couple of punds makes a huge difference .
Recommended - replace rear sway bar link. Made a huge improvement in handling.
FWIW, I just found that a loose rear axle bolt had the car wandering(scary feeling). There's no reason yours should be loose, but perhaps making sure all is tight would help?
check your front shock upper mounts (easiest 2do with ruler & ride height). Yours are relatively new, but they don't last 4ever. Suggest a quick check.
tires? Could they be getting old? Could they be less than perfectly suited for your new driving environment?
just thought of this: do you have an accurate tire pressure gauge? Off the shelf units typically have 5 to 10% error. Do you check pressure frequently? New environment = colder ambient temperature. Could you have slow leak?
lots of ideas to think about. Probably a mixture of several ideas to fix this one. Besides tire pressure, I'd start with rear sway links.
let us know how this goes.
John
Recommended - replace rear sway bar link. Made a huge improvement in handling.
FWIW, I just found that a loose rear axle bolt had the car wandering(scary feeling). There's no reason yours should be loose, but perhaps making sure all is tight would help?
check your front shock upper mounts (easiest 2do with ruler & ride height). Yours are relatively new, but they don't last 4ever. Suggest a quick check.
tires? Could they be getting old? Could they be less than perfectly suited for your new driving environment?
just thought of this: do you have an accurate tire pressure gauge? Off the shelf units typically have 5 to 10% error. Do you check pressure frequently? New environment = colder ambient temperature. Could you have slow leak?
lots of ideas to think about. Probably a mixture of several ideas to fix this one. Besides tire pressure, I'd start with rear sway links.
let us know how this goes.
John
Veteran Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,198
Likes: 1,370
From: Hudson, Florida
James what is the ride height measured to the wheel centers?
Did you use the OE style front mounts or the Welsh versions? The OE style are prone to collapsing from repeated pounding on rough roads.
Is there slop in the steering wheel?
Did you use the OE style front mounts or the Welsh versions? The OE style are prone to collapsing from repeated pounding on rough roads.
Is there slop in the steering wheel?
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