Hi All,

I have a 2006 XKR-S, I've owned it for 7 years, it went into storage 2 years ago and this year I took it back out and put it on the road again.

I had all the obvious done to it, ie servicing etc.... and she runs beautifully apart from an annoying vibration which feels mainly through the seat / foot well but also a little through the steering.

Below are all the things I've done so far to get rid of it and although it's improved it's still there, any suggestions on where to go next would be welcomed because I'm now at the end of trying to figure it out.

1/ New BBS wheels and tyres
2/ Wheels balanced with roadforce
3/ Wheels balanced on the car
4/ Lower front bushes replaced
5/ Upper front bushes replaced
6/ Re-tracked
7/ Rear bushes checked but not replaced
8/ Shocks and suspension checked, nothing found wrong

Arggg just takes the real pleasure out of driving her, thanks in advance

 

Have a good look at brakes on all 4 corners.

 

Sorry forgot that part, The brakes have all been serviced, new pads etc... and zero vibration when braking so I don't think it those, again unless I'm missing something.

 

Having the car stood for that amount of time could cause all sorts. Perhaps a wheel bearing may now have a slight flat spot.

I would be more inclined to look at those items that were "checked" but not replaced.

 

Interesting thought, could a wheel bearing get a flat spot then ? I guess the only way to find that out is to replace them ... Added to the list of possibilities then.

Thanks

 

Just an off the wall thought. No amount of wheel balancing, road force or otherwise,will correct for a bent wheel. Make sure your balance tech checks for this.

 

Yes I have been thinking of this or a bad tyre aswell, On the list I'll have them re checked.

 

can a tire get out of round if it sits to much. And if it does, could it show up at specific speeds (70) rather than all the time? David.

 

Yes it can. The vibration or noise will be noticeable from lower speeds with a flat spotted tyre. Generally though, as the tyre warms up it will regain its shape and the noise will go away.

This will also depend on how old the tyre is. The older the tyre the less likely it is to regain shape.

 

i just drove my 200 XK8 home last night. (14 hours)it vibrates at 70 just like alot of the threads are talking about. weird that so many cars vibrate at this speed. David.

 

It sounds like driveshaft, u-joints etc.

 

Could be drive shaft / u-joints.

I would look at each wheel and see how many pieces of lead are on them. Look for one tire with significantly more weights on it than the rest. You could have a bad tire from the factory and the shop might have used a lot of lead to compensate...

 

That's really interesting because I was looking last night and the nearside drivers wheel has significantly more weight on it.

I also spoke with the tyre manufacturer (Avon) and although they are helpful their suggestion was to replace the tyres and send the others back to them, if there is a fault they would partially refund !!!, I don't think so . I've spoken with the manager there and ask for somewhere recommended by them to have the tyres tested.....now waiting for them to reply.

rgds Shaun

 

While there is no run-out that is causing vibration when braking, the rotors could be out of balance, which is different than run-out. There are some recent posts on the forum about this where owners have corrected chronic high speed (70mph) vibrations by having rotors balanced or replaced (myself included). I was also a victim of a defective Hunter Road Force balance machine, but I would guess that to be a more rare situation - maybe.

 

Here is the rotor balance thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...balance-85676/

 

Double check your rear lower shock bushing. "felt through the seats at 70 mph" is indicative of this failure.

PS> wheel bearings do NOT get flat spots. They are hardened steel ball bearings. If they are flattened, our world and your Jaguar are toast.

 

Roller bearings - all types - can indeed be damaged, though more likely the races than the rollers. Look up 'Brinneling' and 'fluting' among others. Plenty of photos online.

That said, tapered roller bearings most commonly used for vehicles have largish safety margins, ordinarily make plenty of rude warning noise before outright failing.

Exception: the undersized ones fitted to early Triumph TR3. My '59 having seized, snapped the spindle, and shed same, along with the entirety of the left-front Lockheed-Girling caliper and brake line as well as all available Castrol Crimson fluid @ 55 MPH spring of 1967.

Praise be to fly-off handbrakes...

 

We all know wheel bearings can wear out. The issue was whether the ball bearing itself could develop a 'flat spot', like a tire, due to a car not moving for two years.

 

LOL! Certainly not just from sitting. Shudder to think what ELSE would happen to it if DROPPED from a height sufficient to Brinnel a wheel-bearing race... 'Jaguar pancake' comes to mind..

;-)

FWIW - the proximal cause of my TR-3 front wheel-bearing failure was wash-out of the grease (being a form of soap, as most grease is) due to running it after fording flooded streets when I SHOULD have purged and repacked the bearings.

Boat-trailer owners - who know a great deal about such things - can chuckle, but one supposes it could affect a Jaguar ever put spindle-deep in water just as easily as anything else with bearings not intended to stand such rudeness (Jeeps and Land Rovers, at least those equipped with 30" and better 'fording kits', AFAIK, ARE better sealed).

 

I am a boat trailer owner. (it has a boat on it too) The last several years they have a fitting on the outside of the hub where you can attach a grease gun and pump grease through it to flush out the old grease and make sure that it is kept lubricated. Mine has stayed sealed pretty well, but I have seen on other people's trailers where the grease that comes out the other end is white, meaning that it has moisture in it. It's also a good idea to pull the trailer a few miles and then pull over and get out and feel if the hubs are getting hot. If so, you need to go home instead of wherever you are trailering to.

I as under the impression that the bearings are sealed on cars and that you do not need to examine the bearings every time you drive through a little water. a '59 TR3 may be an entirely different matter.