Hi All,

I've had the wheels balanced but am still getting some significant steering wheel shake, especially at speeds above 75mph. Any ideas as to what might be causing this? I hear loose or bent tie rods can be culprits?

Thanks,

Jonathan

 

If you hit anything resently hard with the wheels you may have damaged the rim. This won't show up in a standard wheel balance. I know I've been there. You can get your rim(s) repaired at a relatively cheap cost, cosidering replacement. Ask at the tire shop.

 

Find a tire shop that can do an on car balance.(Spin the tires on the car) If it is really bad as said above you could have a bad wheel or bad rotor.

 

Another option is to try a shop that has road-force balance technology, that may be what Lew was trying to suggest. It applies a force to the tire and simulates true driving conditions to better aid in the balance. If you're good up to 70mph, than it is most likely only slightly out of balance (probably within tolerances), but faster you go...easier to feel this slight difference.

 

Then if that doesn't work, examine and test the bushings in the front suspension.

 

I had new ContiSports installed and force balanced. Shook. Had them rebalanced (force) and the tires/wheels checked for round. Shook. Had them rebalanced on standard off vehicle machine. Shook. Took it to the Jaguar palace and they said there was nothing wrong with the front end. Suggested I replace with Michelin tires. Given that they effectively had a blank check to recommend a front end replacement, I think I will take their advice.

Significantly detracts from an otherwise wonderful car.

Previous 110Kmile XK8 with Michelin tires and rebuilt front end were perfect at any speed.

 

Think you could be right about the bushings. Brought the car to get the wheels balanced and they spotted the beginning of pretty bad inner tyre wear at the front, particularly on the driver's side. Two of the wheels also have slight buckles. Given the price of the wheels themselves, I'm hoping these can be repaired.

Could worn bushes cause steering wheel shake?

 

Although it isn't the most common that i have heard of, (brakes and wheel balance being the most common), severely worn bushings can cause movement in the steering wheel. If wheels are 'buckled' meaning bent rim from a pothole or something (only elaborating since youdon't have a pic or anything) that could certainly be your problem. What's your size and rim style? (pic would be best) We've got some guys on the forum that could source you some used wheels from their salvage areas for a really good price.

Inner tire wear is prominent in all of these XKs, so be prepared for that in the future. You cannot eliminate it w/o replacing front springs and shocks to get it back up into spec...then it will start sagging again in a few years. I just deal with it.

Keeping the toe in check is one of the hardest to maintain, it is easily knocked out on my car, so I get an alignment every 3-4months to help the tires last as long as possible. Toe out will also chew up the inside of the tires. Techs around here recommend toe-in your front almost, if not just out into the red.

 

Thanks for that - since I bought the Cat, I'm learning a lot about the mechanics of cars!

I suspect I may have a warn bushing or two, so I've book it in to my local mechanic to get it checked. I'm going to get the buckled wheels checked tomorrow as a first step to sorting out the wheel shake. The wheels are stock 17" lamina alloys.

I had 4-wheel alignment done on the car as soon as I bought it, but the steering wheel still pulls to the left which makes me think there is a worn suspension component.

 

Thanks to all for this great forum...

So I am going to replace my set of tires because of inner tire wear all the way around. This is after having the four wheel alignment when the tires were put on. Questions:

1. How many miles between alignments?
2. How would I know if my spring/shocks are worn (besides visual)...perhaps contributing to the wear?
3. How likely is an alignment tech going to listen to me when I say "heck...forget those specs..put the toe-in almost to the red..."
4. Anybody know of a good alignment person in the Boston area (preferably south).
5. Anybody know of a good mechanic in the Boston area (again....preferable south)
6. Tire suggestions? Order of priority 1. Comfort (hey its a touring car after all...), 2.wear and 3. handling.

Thanks in advance

 

This is total personal preference. I bought a 5-yr alignment from NTB, they will do an alignment whenever I want within 5 years...period. Good investment on my end.

Not sure on our bilsteins, but most shocks don't 'rebound' well when they are going bad. If she's stiff, doesn't bounce more than once on a rebound, they should be good. I would like to hear how long these shocks last from our techs...maybe they can give you an idea of their estimated life.

Easy, they get paid to do what you ask. It's written on the order that 'customer requests toe-in on spec' and you get a printout of before/after of the alignment. They should be willing to do whatever you request, within reason.

sorry, no


sorry, no


You'll get lots of different opinions here on this topic, but I can tell you I did alot of research on 19" tires for my car before I purchased. Now, 19s are a little more harder to come by than the 18s and smaller sizes, so you're options may be greater than mine were. In my size, basically we get to choose from the expensive Michelin Pilot Sports - expensive ($350 ea) and wears really quick, Yokahoma s-drives - $200 a tire, but excellent reviews everywhere, Pirelli P-Zeros - $300 a tire, and decent all around seasonal performer, a few others, but I went with the Falken FK452s - $175 a tire, great performance in dry/wet weather, and has lasted me 25,000 miles with 1/2 tread still remaining. I've been really impressed with these overall and will most likely put another set on when these are finished.

That's my spill, for whatever it's worth.

Others will have

 

There are lots of tire reviews at tires.com (discount tire) and the tire rack, and even 1010tires.com has some reviews to help you out.

 

Update on steering wheel shake:

So, I have had the wishbone bushes replaced. They were pretty bad, so the car didn't pull to the left as bad as it used to (it still does a bit but I can live with it). Apparently, the ball joints are OK. Then I the wheel alignment checked again, but they told me it was still spot on. Then I had the wheels balanced, and they were mostly fine. Finally, I had the buckle in the wheel removed, but the car is still shaking at high speeds (especially above 70mph), most nocicably when braking. I noticed the front discs (rotors as you say in the US) have lips on them, so I'm getting the discs "trued", i.e. shaved so that they are smooth again. If this doesn't work, I am really at a loss!

 

If she shimmys on braking, its the rotors definitely. Replace the front rotors with some good aftermarket ones and you should be all set.

 

So, I had the brake discs / rotors shaved to make them "true" again, i.e. to rectify the lip that had developed. I also replaced all four tyres this week with new Pirelli P-zeros. The car is still shaking at high speed! This is really very annoying now! Especially as next month I am taking the car on a European roadtrip to Germany and I don't want to be shaken like a Martini by the time I get there!

 

Did you check the wheels for round? The spec is to be within .040", about the gap on a spark plug.

 

Wheel vibration normally means you have an issue with rotating mass. Wheel bearings, rotors, or the tires and wheels themselves.

Did you have the wheel bearings checked? Wheel alignments are not going fix a vibration issue. Rotors typically wear evenly so again vibration is usually not a rotor issue. If you have suspension component damage such as a bent tie rod issue, you'll typically notice the shake at lower speeds also.

I would bet you have a wheel issue. Did you rotate your wheels and notice a difference? As others have mentioned did you check your wheels for round? I would do that first. If all that checks out, then have the wheels and tires balanced on a Hunter 9700 balancer by someone who knows how to properly road force balance a wheel and tire combination. Pirellis are not known for being the roundest tires out there.

 

Definitely not the wheel bearings. Just replaced my old Dunlops with the standard P-Zeros all around. Wishbone bushings and ball joints have ben done. A small buckle has been removed from a wheel and, as I mentioned, I had the discs/rotors 'trued'... Thinking of trying to replace the discs/rotors and pads as my next port of call.

The print-out from the 4-wheel alignment showed the SAI - Steering Axis Inclination - to be in the red on both sides. Would this be of significance?

 

If the front end is good and rear end is tight, rims are true, then go to another trusted wheel outfit and get the tires balanced by someone else.

 

Another thought might be something totally unrelated to the wheels. How about the drive shaft balance or u-joints in the rear