Wobble Steering & Braking

[PMKIMPTON]

My car is an X-Type, 2.2D, 5 door saloon, front wheel drive only, manual, 6 speed, on a 57 plate. (UK model RHD)

POT HOLE – Damaged 2 wheels and tyres

I was going through a 50mph speed restricted stretch on the M25. BANG, I hit a massive pot hole in the middle lane on the driver’s side and I started getting a bad wobble in the steering whilst moving. The wobble would STOP when braking.

I travelled home slowly. When I looked, I had flattened/dented both off-side alloys, and the tyres both bulging.

Replaced 2 wheels and 2 tyres

Naturally, I bought two 2nd hand alloy wheels to match and put two new tyres on asap.

I put these two replacement wheels and tyres on the front.

Replaced front discs and pads

Soon after, a day or two, the wobble returned but this time, ONLY when braking. I figured I must have also damaged a disk, so I replaced both front disks and new sets of pads. I also put the two wheels originally on the near side during the pot hole incident onto the front of the car.

Replaced both rear hubs and control arms

For an unrelated issue, (near side rear whine) I also replaced both rear wheel bearings and both rear lower control arms.

I still get a wobble when braking! It's almost as if the ABS is activating even when braking, even when moving slowly. The car feels like it's shuddering left to right to left to right, in quick succession. I have also noticed that I can feel the resistance at slow speed when braking which keeps in time with the wheels rotation. I can definitely feel it in the front wheels.

Replace both rear discs and pads

This turned out to be a buckled rear drivers side disc and was resolved by new disks and pads on the rear.

This took away much of the wobble, the car would drive nicely at speed but the moment I touch the brake, I was getting a shacking in the steering wheel, the faster I was going, the worse the shaking would be.

The wobble started to get more noticeable when driving, 50pmh+ you could feel it in the steering wheel and in the seat of the chair. The wobble was then massively increased in the steering when you start to brake, the harder you brake, the worse the wobble.

Replaced Front discs and pads again

Replaced 4 tyres and Laser Alignment

Replaced all 4 wheels and tyres with ones from another car! – Still the same issue. Then I noticed uneven wear on the front tyres (my tyres) so I have all 4 tyres renewed and had the aligned with a Hunter Laser 4 wheel alignment.

After all this, the problem was still exactly the same, at times it even feels worse.

I have also been getting an ABS error come up, ECU reports the rear near side wheel as the issue, not all the time, normally comes up after braking hard at speed on a wet/damp road.

I still hear/feel a small knock as I drive over small lumps in the road coming from the rear near side as if something is loose. (I haven’t emptied the boot yet)

Replaced drivers side drive shaft and hub including lower suspension arm.

A “Jaguar” mechanic agreed with many posts I have read here suggesting it was the drive shaft. Seeing as the driver’s side hit the hole, we opted for that side drive shaft. I couldn’t get the old shaft to come out of the hub, so I replaced both the drive shaft and the hub (lower suspension leg)

STILL I HAVE THE PROBLEM – EXACTLY THE SAME

In summary, driving at 40+ mph you start to feel a vibration in the steering wheel. The faster you’re going the more violent the shacking becomes as you brake (felt in the car body and in the steering wheel) fades away over 70mph, car drives nicely at 90mph, until you brake.

If it was the first time I had seen the car, I would say, DISCS DISCS DISCS, but I know its isn’t. The front disks are now the 2nd set of genuine Jaguar supplied disks and pads, done about 2000 miles.

I’m thinking about doing the near side drive shaft and hub (only because I’ve done the other 3 so may as well) but I’m not confident this will solve it.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - ANY ADVICE WELCOME !!!!! Its driving me insane, not to mention the costs in parts.

 

[KevinFX22]

Hello Phillip.  I'm afraid at present I don't have an answer, but I too am going somewhat insane with the same sort of problem. I bought a 2008 2.2 Sovereign estate with 40.000 miles on the clock. This was 18 months ago. Lovely car, 'BUT'! When I bought it, it had new discs all round. 500 - 1000 miles later when I used the brakes they juddered through the steering wheel. I replaced the discs. Lovely again, until 500 - 1000 miles later, back to juddering. Thinking that it might not like that particular make of discs or that there was a manufacturers problem I had them replaced with a different make. Exactly the same thing has happened again. The juddering creeps up in severity over the distance.

I have been told by a Jaguar dealer that some XFs have had the same problem and that it turned out to be the wheels. The minutely uneven surface of the wheel that bolts up against the discs apparently causes the discs to warp over a period of time. Strangely, they quoted me 500 - 1000 miles as a typical distance. Even though it sounds somewhat crazy, I have no reason to doubt the Dealer, as I get on well with them and they knew I wasn't about to spend a wallet full of money with them. My wheels were refurbished by the previous owner who quite obviously lavished time and money on the car.

It seems that between wheels, discs, drive shafts and hubs, there is a fine choice of suspicious items. I now know for sure that it isn't the discs that are causing the problem, but what to do next?

I too would welcome any good feed back.

P.S. An earlier X Type I still have, had a new, but duff near side front wheel bearing fitted that caused the ABS warning light to come on every time I went around a sharpish right hander. We only discovered the cause after a few thousand miles, when the wheel bearing finally bit the dust. I was forever having to stop to turn the ignition off, to re-set the electronics. The warning would go from ABS to engine management and then re-set. What a pain that was! Still a lovely car though, even after 2020000 miles.

K

[david moore]

after reading your posts,   (it maybe suspension? or its components.)    when accelerating or decrease in speed and vibration is felt, this can can be a worn or damaged velocity joint or a distorted driveshaft.    but with bad suspension when under any braking the bushs take out some of the vibration but if mountings are damaged along with other components the car will handle in a different manner, as you are experiencing... sorry to hear of this, but this may take time/money to try and slove this issue....good luck guys..

[KevinFX22]

I hear what you say, but I still find it odd that new discs cure the problem for a while, but warp over a reasonably short time. It can only be heat and something that isn't flat that is making them warp. The only time I get the juddering is when I apply the brakes. The harder I apply them the worse the judder is. At any other time the car seems perfectly smooth. A suspension problem surely won't warp the discs.

K

[david moore]

ok, if brake caliper is checked for correct operation? i would then move on to pads/fitting!  then a test on the disc for "run out" a test is done using a micrometer, where tests are done in eight positions. if after these tests and there is a run out ? a possibility maybe that it could be hub bearings. kevin hope this is a bit more help.

[KevinFX22]

Thanks for the tips David. I must admit that I was toying with the hub possibility. I've now gone back to my old 2004 X Type for the winter months. I'll get around to spending further money on the 08 Sovereign when I feel a little more confident of a positive result. I get the feeling that a fix probably won't be cheap. Its a shame, but I have to say that if all the 2.2 Ltr Sovereign's 'bells and whistles' were in the 2 Ltr, it would be a fantastic car. The 2 Ltr is quieter, does a better MPG and seems to be a more 'refined drive'. Even after its high mileage it is still smooth and a joy to drive. It doesn't have as much 'get up and go', but I love it, even if the driver's seat is starting to sag a little. Six gears? What a waste of space!