I am sure you have seen this multiple times on here but please believe me I have searched through this site and have not found an answer to my specific problem. My new to me 1998 Jaguar drives smooth and straight, no steering wheel shake at any speed but what drives me nuts about the car is the passenger side wheel sits in over 1 inch further than the drivers at the top of the wheel opening. My mechanic says it needs a strut but I find that very hard to believe. My gut is telling me top shock mount needs to replaced but I can't afford to throw parts at the car right now without at least an educated guess. Please let me know if any of you have a solution. My next step is to switch the entire strut unit with springs from one side to the other to see if the problem follows or if I can rule out anything to do with the struts. Great forum guys... keep up the good work.

 

First off, the XK8 doesn't have 'struts'. Secondly, the shock mount won't have any effect on camber unless it has punched up through the hood. Your best bet is to take the car in for an alignment. It will (should) be inspected for loose, bent and worn parts before it is aligned.

 

I would bet something's bent up front. It's pretty common to bend things up front on the passenger side - it's as easy as hitting a curb when parking. My old car had a similar issue, turned out the spindle was bent and needed replacing. Beav is right, better have someone else check it out before you spend cash on alignment.

 

Visually inspect the top of the shock mount and look at driver side, then passenger side. You can even measure the length of the bolt above the fender as a 'go-by'. Excessive shock mount deterioration on one side vs the other 'could' be a cause, but usually, both sides degrade equally over time.

Also ( had this happen on my car once ) when my previous mechanic did some work on my rear shock, he installed the mount over some wiring that should have been out of the way. He claimed 'it had a channel under the mount that it was supposed to be there', yet my car did a nose dive on the opposite side (RR raised up maybe 1/4" placed more weight on the LF, less on the RF, so it compounded the height difference). Little things like that can throw the balance off of a car, so think outside the box, not just the corner that's low.

 

How many miles on your car?
Actually a '98 would probably have rotted out spring pads if it had 2 miles on the originals.

Mine with 168,000 came out looking like this. My camber was out approximately 1 degree on each side. As H2O said, it was even on both sides. With yours out on one side, something seems more than just age and wear.

This also reminds me of a recent thread on the upper control arm pivot on the frame being wallowed out. But the degree you describe seems like a lot.

These are some pictures of worn front spring pads and shock bushings from my '97. As soon as I get around to it I'll post an article on this little project.

1. Spring and shock (NOT a "strut") as removed
2. Squashed lower shock bushing (replaced with new shock)
3. Old tired squashed spring pad edge view
4. Old tired squashed spring pad bottom view
5. Comparing old pad and urethane material I used to make a new one
6. Disassembled upper mount

Mike

 

The car has 125,000 miles on it. Thanks for the info guys, I agree with what you are saying that something must be bent somewhere up front. Tonight i took a tape and measured the distance from the ground to the top of the wheel opening. The bad side was just a hair higher than the good side. This tells me that the shock or spring couldn't be the problem since the car would sit lower if it was sagging on that side. I am going to get it up on the hoist tomorrow morning and see if I can find anything bent. I will check the upper control arm pivot as well. Thanks again for the great information, I will keep you posted.

 

Check the upper a-arm bushings. Put a pry bar between the "frame" and arm wher the bushings is and check for play. Also check the ball joints for loosness. The lower control arm bushings went thru many stages of updates. The original ones that come from factory were super weak and would crack/tear apart. they also did not come with camber adjusment bolts in the control arms either, so if it's off I think there are eccentric bolts that can be installed the get 1/2 degree of adjustment.

Sounds like Either you have a communication problem with your mechanic (the service writer) or you need to find a different tech.

 

austinmartus, what makes me nervous is with past experience the mechanics I have just want to throw parts at the problem. That is exactly why I didn't let him order a new shock and spring (by the way he is the one that kept calling it a strut, so that is what I thought it was). Nearest Jag dealer is over 50 miles away. When he had the wheel off I watched him check the ball joint for looseness, it seemed tight. I will check where the A-Arm is attached. It just seems to be to far out of whack for bad bushings. Something has to be bent somewhere.

 

The more i think about it... It has to be bent in either the spindle or the upper A-arm. You can see that the bottom part of the wheel is where it should be and that the top is tilted in to far towards the middle of the car.

 

I've seen a-arm bushings seized also in wet/frozen/salty regions, also check the lower control arm bushings, make sure they all 'pivot' like they're supposed to. Once the front is up on jack stands, you can put the jack under the wheel and observe the proper movement of the suspension

 

Took everything apart today, switched shock & spring side to side, checked all ball joints, Checked control arms, checked bushings and nothing helped. Still looking at 1" tip in on Passenger side. All things point at the Front Suspension Cross Member Assembly engine cradle. If you look at it with your eye the passenger side looks bent back and towards the motor and measures a quarter of an inch closer to the frame than the drivers side. Didn't think it being aluminum it would bend but it clearly has. I am going to look for a replacement and swap everything out. I will keep the thread updated with progress.

 

Reading your original post in the thread made it sound like upper wishbone bushes but you've systematically eliminated this and all other suspension components subject to wear.

The Cross Member is a light but strong casting and it would take a phenomenal impact to bend it. Like you, I'd expect it to crack rather than twist. If it has distorted, it's very surprising the vehicle 'drives smooth and straight with no steering wheel shake'. A quarter inch bend on the passenger side should make a noticeable difference in handling and result in some pretty rapid tyre wear.

Is there any record of previously repaired accident damage to the vehicle which could have resulted in the body being out of line rather than the suspension?

Graham

 

No, I don't have any records that show a collision and anything but on a 14 year old car with 125,000 miles on it anything could have happened. That is exactly why we went through everything piece by piece to rule it out as a cause. Our thinking right away was there is no way that could bend without cracking and eventually breaking completely. Finally one of the guys said "face it it common sence tells you it shouldn't be but look at it! you can see it with the naked eye, get over it and just fix the problem." So I will be looking for a replacement tomorrow morning and we will go from there. I agree with you Graham, I took the wife to dinner and a movie last night with the jag and I kept telling her over and over. Can you believe how smooth and straight this thing drives with something so bent in the front end? CRAZY... but it already feels better knowing that I have hopefully found the source of the problem.
Thanks to everyone for the help..

 

is the back end level, fender height the same?

 

The back end is level and the fender height on each side of the front is the same.

 

swapped out the engine cradle this weekend with a used one, problem solved. Wheel is straight as can be. The replacement cradle was from a salvage yard and only cost me $225. Thanks for the help guys

 

Good result on two counts - problem solved and amazing low cost used cradle

Did the old one turn out to be cracked or was it distorted?

Graham

 

Good news, thanks for the update.

 

Where did you find that cradle so fast? I live in Madison...

 

I found the used cradle on Car-Part.com, it was at a salvage yard in Columbia Wisconsin for $200, Shipping with Speedy Delivery was only $14 so it was a great find. Diamond Auto in Fond du Lac also has one for $350. The old Cradle showed no signs of damage other than it was bent, but no cracks or impact wounds. I am very happy with the outcome. Thanks again guys for all your help.
Dan