Hi All,

I took out the XKR one last time before winter. I noticed when I am turning right and releasing the wheel it makes a grinding noise. Could this be a wheel bearing or bushing gone bad. The vehicle has about 9k miles on it. No suspension work has ever been done.

Thanks,

 

I always found bad bearings to transmit some kind of vibration into the steering wheel.

I've seen all sorts of wierd / scary noises from bad upper bushes. Otoh I don't know of a test for that. Maybe someone else does.

John

 

May be something just as simple as a small stone or grit behind the disc,this as happened to me a few times so nice easy fix as your symptoms sound the same as the ones i had.

 

The simple test for wheel bearings is to raise the tire off the ground and grasp it at 12 and 6 o'clock on the wheel and try to rock it. There should be no movement. A quick chek for for tie rod bushings is to grasp the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and gently rock it. You should feel only minor movement. You can remove the wheel and visually inspect the upper shock bushings for crumbling pieces but a quicker method is check ride height. From memory the xk height is 15.5 inches measured from the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender. If you ar low by 3/4 inch then upper bushing if low by less than that then probably lower bushing.
You should also check visually for damaged/worm sway bar bushings.