I need some ideas of what might be causing my not solid feeling handling. I have pretty much rebuilt my 2000 XK8. There is some tramlining and a general sense of looseness. The steering seems to be a part of the problem. My steering wheel can be moved at least an inch or two in each direction without any wheel movement. This is what's been done so far.

1. All front bushings and ball joints replaced
2. Front shocks and upper mounts replaced
3. New front and rear sway bar end links
4. New (salvaged) rear A frame with new bushings.
5. Steering rack bracket bushings replaced
6. New tires, Hankook Ventus V12, 18" double five wheels. 245/45 up front and 275/40 in the rear.

Alignment done at a very reputable foreign car shop.

I know the tires are wide and am not sure how much of the problem is that. Front wheel bearings are making some noise so I will replace those this winter. Any thoughts?

 

Worn wheel bearings can cause the car to squirm. If the bearings are squealing, then I would say they are suspect. The shop that did the alignment should have noticed wheel movement if the bearings are worn. I would take the car to someplace that specialises in four wheel laser alignment and get a second opinion.

Your other option is to jack up one wheel at a time. grab the tire at the 12 & 6 o'clock position and see if there is any rocking movement. Repeat the procedure at the 9 & 3 o'clock position. If you notice any movement, then the bearing needs to be replaced.

 

Check rear wheel bearings and hubs. Hubs were bent on my 2002 and produced frightening handling.

 

I have jacked the car up and checked the wheels. They are solid. No movement either at 9:00 and 3:00 or 12:00 and 6:00. The bearings started making some noise about 3 weeks ago. the alignment was done about 4 months ago. It was a four wheel laser alignment.

 

I'll check the rear this week. I haven't really considered the rear. There is no bearing noise back there, but I'll check.

 

A worn rear wheel bearing and hub produced the squirm on mine. Ended up having to replace the bearing, hub and rotor on both rear wheels. Problem solved.

Please let us know what you find.

 

Did you have any noise in the rear with the bad bearing?

 

No mate, no noise at all. My wife was afraid to ride in the car on the motorway due to the squirm.

Inspection by two different mechanics and they missed the problem.

The guy doing my laser alignment said, "Stu, I can't complete the alignment until you replace this rear wheel bearing". I don't know how the other two "reputable" mechanics missed it since there was quite a bit of rocking movement in the right rear wheel.

I can't believe the problem went unnoticed during a "safety inspection"!

Guess it happens.

 

johns55,
The feeling I got when my rear driver's side hub and bearing went bad was that it felt like when driving above about 50 mph, the rear end was trying to come around the side of the car to the front. I don't blame your wife, I have never been as afraid driving a car as this. There was absolutely no control and quite dangerous.

 

I got the car off the ground and checked the rear. There is almost no movement when I grab the tire at 12 and 6 or 10 and 3. The wheel feels very solid. I'm beginning to think my problem may be the steering rack.

 

John55, The steering rack would be my guess, not being able to see it. Only worn ball joints can cause what you are describing in the steering wheel, other than a worn rack. You say they have been replaced.
Not something that goes bad often but driving a car with these large tires and worn front end parts for way over the replacement time, puts terrific stress on the rack


Wayne

 

Yeah, I think you're right. I think I will purchase a refurbished rack and cross my fingers that is the problem. It's only money and time

 

Before buying a steering rack, make sure the bolts for the current one are tight....I can't speak directly to the XK8, but the steering rack bolts on my XJ6 loosened and caused "squirmy" handling. You might not be able to shake the rack by hand because the loose bolts have some "stiction' to them...that is they resist movement, until they move all at once. But check to see if the bolts holding the steering rack are properly tightened.

Let us know !

 

Might be worth checking the input to the steering rack as well, if only to rule it out. If you remove the knee bolster (2 bolts at the bottom, 2 tabs on top, and make sure you clear the illumination knob), you can trace the steering column from the back of the steering wheel to above the pedals. This would tell you about how solidly the wheel is attached to the shaft, or if there is any issue with the u-joint or even the reach mechanism.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

I do know that the current rack is in solidly mounted. I checked the shaft taking the knee bolster off. It was solid. I have replaced the steering rack bracket bushings so I know that is tight. The splines in the steering shaft have not been checked and I will do that.

 

Just wanted to update the tread. I have replaced the steering rack with a refurbished unit. I am in the process now of replace the front wheel bearings. It's turning out to be a bigger job than I planned. Hopefully, it will be done by next week.

 

I hope that fixes your problem. In a case like yours where you felt excessive steering wheel slop, a first step would be to support the front wheels on ramps and have someone move the wheel side to side in your 'slop' zone while you observed the steering/suspension components. It's pretty simple to see things moving where they shouldn't and determine what needs repair.

 

Back on the road. The car feels so much better. Much more direct feel to the front end and no more squirmy steering. I'll do some more driving on different roads to make sure what I'm feeling is not a placebo effect

 

I didn't see any mention of the inner and outer tie rod ends! If you can turn the steering wheel without the wheels moving you need to focus on the steering.
Check the following
1. Steering shaft components
2. Outer tie rod ends
3. Inner tie rod ends
4. Rack & Pinion
5. Wheel bearings
Not necessarily in this order
Hope this helps

 

Good grief guys, stop buying parts and throwing them at the problem. Poor guy will spend thousands and install all these expensive bits, and never know what it was that caused the problem.
Get the car properly diagnosed then repair or replace just what is needed, stop wasting money throwing parts at it!