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Hi Guys, New member here with a 2003 XKR. Here's my story that I hope someone can share some insight on. Had the left rear wheel bearing and backing plate replaced at the dealer at about 95K after it started making noise.(Squealing) Two miles out of the shop the new bearing seized and locked up the left rear tire at about 30 MPH. I dragged that left tire to a stop and had the car flatbedded back to the shop. I was told that the assembly has to be shimmed perfectly (down to millimeters) and this wasn't done properly. Car repaired again, this time it worked. But the squealing was still there. Returned to the shop and had left rear ABS sensor replaced along with some other parts. Now when backing up there was a clunk as if a gear or spline tooth was skipping. Still had the squeal. Took it back for the clunk and they said it was the universals, which they greased. Still clunked while backing up. Went to two indies who said the left rear wheel had way too much play left to right and top to bottom. One also showed me the left rear ABS sensor while the car was on the rack. It appears to have been pounded into the differential with a hammer or sharp tool. The ring has multiple strike marks on it. To add insult to injury, the ring is lopsided in the diff and has a decent oil leak now. It looks like they tried to pound it in to be square or plumb. Went back to the dealer shop again. He said this is normal during installation and that the clunking is in fact the left rear axle input shaft which wasn't properly seated. So my question is " Does that ring have to be pounded into the differential or is it supposed to be pressed in?" Furthermore, "Could it have damaged the differential casing or warped it by being forced into place?" It is back at the dealer supposedly having all of this repaired. I've attached two photos, the factory, untouched right side, as a comparison, and the botched left side. I'm simply disgusted. Thanks in advance!

Edited.....

Hi Guys, New member here with a 2003 XKR. Here's my story that I hope someone can share some insight on.

Had the left rear wheel bearing and backing plate replaced at the dealer at about 95K after it started making noise.(Squealing) Two miles out of the shop the new bearing seized and locked up the left rear tire at about 30 MPH.

I dragged that left tire to a stop and had the car flatbedded back to the shop. I was told that the assembly has to be shimmed perfectly (down to millimeters) and this wasn't done properly.

Car repaired again, this time it worked. But the squealing was still there. Returned to the shop and had left rear ABS sensor replaced along with some other parts.

Now when backing up there was a clunk as if a gear or spline tooth was skipping. Still had the squeal.

Took it back for the clunk and they said it was the universals, which they greased. Still clunked while backing up. Went to two indies who said the left rear wheel had way too much play left to right and top to bottom. One also showed me the left rear ABS sensor while the car was on the rack.

It appears to have been pounded into the differential with a hammer or sharp tool. The ring has multiple strike marks on it. To add insult to injury, the ring is lopsided in the diff and has a decent oil leak now.

It looks like they tried to pound it in to be square or plumb. Went back to the dealer shop again. He said this is normal during installation and that the clunking is in fact the left rear axle input shaft which wasn't properly seated.

So my question is " Does that ring have to be pounded into the differential or is it supposed to be pressed in?"

Furthermore, "Could it have damaged the differential casing or warped it by being forced into place?" It is back at the dealer supposedly having all of this repaired.

I've attached two photos, the factory, untouched right side, as a comparison, and the botched left side.

I'm simply disgusted. Thanks in advance!

PLEASE PLEASE CREATE LINE BREAKS TO MAKE THE POST MORE READABLE

 

Hi there, sorry to hear about your dealer experiences.

I had dificulty reading your block text, so edited it to create line breaks to make it more readable for everyone. This should assist in helping you to get the answers you need.

Hope it works out for you.

Good luck

 

Not mechanic enough to comment from the picture, but I will say you seem to have the patience of Job in allowing the dealer to continue to work on your car.

At a minimum, they have left out a step each time...test driving the vehicle after the repair. In any of the recurring issues (seized bearing, squealing) I would think a simple drive around the block would have told them they still had a problem.

Good luck with your adventure, but if you haven't already I would recommend escalating this higher up their management ladder.

 

Now that the post has been edited as to be readable, I will comment that the ABS trigger ring is at the other end of the halfshaft. What is shown in the photographs is a retaining/preload ring for the inner stub axle bearing. It is tightened to a specific preload, and the locking dog is fastened with a bolt to make sure it does not turn.

According to JTIS, neither it or the ABS trigger ring are touched as part of the halfshaft bearing replacement.

Downloading and installing JTIS would let you see what procedure should have been followed.

There should be a single shim between the halfshaft flange and the stub axle flange. It does not seem to be visible. Is your rear tire leaning in at the top?

I would speculate that the ring was removed in an attempt to gain access to the circlip which retains the stub axle in the differential. This is the wrong way to do it. BTW, the minimum end gap on the circlip once installed in the retaining groove is 10mm. If it is smaller, it has not seated. If it is not seated, the stub axle can pop out as it is solely responsible for keeping the stub axle in place. That would result in the suspension collapsing because the halfshaft/stub axle is also the upper control arm.

At this point, it seems the cheapest, most reliable fix for the dealer shop is to install a good used differential. And an alignment.

If you don't want to download JTIS, then get the service manager to print it out and review the procedure with you privately. The have him review the procedure with the mechanic without showing the procedure to the mechanic and see what the mechanic really did. If it doesn't match, it should be enough to soften up the service manager and get him thinking about compensation.

 

First off, thank you all so much for the great info, especially you, plums! Excuse my mistaken nomenclature as well.

The latest from the dealer is that I need a new hub and half shaft, at a cost of $2900. He said the half shaft spline is worn and the receiving gear in the diff is as well and that is causing the clunk. I'm not sure if that shim is in place, btw. But the left rear tire does have excessive play in all directions.

I told him to reseat the half axle with the proper seals and alignment and tolerances and do it right, the way it should have been done initially. I told him this before I read your highly informative reply, plums.

So, is the general consensus that the differential case should be condemned because of the way that collar was forced in, with the accompanying fluid leak? Or is it possible that the proper installation could be completed and the diff salvaged? TIA

 

The comment about a used differential stems from the inability to trust the skill of the particular shop in precision work. Thus, a used differential means mounting as opposed to adjustment.

And which end of the "halfshaft" is the shop talking about? The halfshaft has a spline at the wheel end. The stub axle has a spline at the inner end that fits into the differential carrier. Either way, the mating part also has to be suspected as being worn. That expands the scope of the repair.

Either way, you guys have to get on the same page. If the service manager himself is talking about a "halfshaft" spline meshing into the differential end as implied by the "receiving gear" remark, then he has no clue what he is talking about because it does not exist. You guys need to be pointing at pictures in the parts catalog and the actual part on the car to get this straight. If you have any doubts, then it needs to be escalated to the dealership principal.

However, you need to have someone familiar with Jaguar rear suspensions get up close and personal. Pictures and descriptions cannot match that experience.

If it was not clunking before, why is it clunking now? I would not have paid a dime past the original repair bill.

 

I will be calling the service guy tomorrow morning. He said they will replace the bearing, seal and collar/ring into the differential that is leaking under warranty. However, I still don't know why it was replaced in the first place.

The slop and corresponding clunk is coming from the outer spline on the axle to the wheel hub, he says. That is what they want $3K to replace.

I initially brought the car in for the squealing and they replaced the wheel bearing and backing plate and mis shimmed it leading to the bearing seizing and the sudden stoppage/wheel lock up while driving.

All of this was done under my warranty and covered which is why I wasn't terribly concerned. Then the clunking started subsequent to the wheel "lock up."

I then brought the car back several times after the lock up and they never fixed the clunk. Now I'm starting to think that maybe the damage was done by the bearing overheating and seizing. It was a lock up at approx 30/35 mph and the tire skidded and smoked until I was stopped.

All of this should have been identified and repaired under warranty, but they never found the underlying problem. Once again, I will get to the bottom of this tomorrow. Plum, your help and insight have been invaluable, thanks again.

 

The latest is that the dealer will replace the collar, bearing and seal into the differential under warranty. He said they will look at the hub and axle output spline, which he says has the slop and is producing the clunk.

I told him very clearly that the clunking only started after their work and the rather violent left rear wheel lockup after the wheel bearing seized. I also directly suggested that that sudden stoppage and shock to that hub spline and assembly could very well be responsible. Furthermore, the car was in three more times for that clunk, which was never identified or repaired, obviously. Car's been in the shop over two weeks now....

It's interesting to note that he said they have never had to change that axle before because it is so beefy.....

 

Finally....I'm a happy camper...
The dealer service manager is replacing the left stub axle and hub because the output shaft spline is worn and has slop. He guaranteed that that is the problem and if there is any other noise, click or clunk in the differential, he said that will be repaired as well.
Thanks again for all the input gentlemen. I did learn quite a bit about the rear end through this whole debacle.

 

Correction, the half shaft and hub are being replaced.