[xj] My 86 SIII wants to turn left

Hello all - my SIII has developed a marked enthusiasm for wanting to go
left. I think it might be the left front tire seperating, but before I get
them all replaced (as I’ve been planning to do for weeks) is there an XJ
specific complaint that might be causing this - ie it’s not the tire at
all?

TIA!–

Oliver Marks
President
RPM Interactive, Inc.
San Francisco
telephone 415 431 3358
fax 415 431 2869
mobile 415 971 7236
@Oliver_Marks
http://www.rpminteractive.com

In article <v03102800b378effc98b3@[209.152.165.139]>, you wrote:

Hello all - my SIII has developed a marked enthusiasm for wanting to go
left. I think it might be the left front tire seperating, but before I get
them all replaced (as I’ve been planning to do for weeks) is there an XJ
specific complaint that might be causing this - ie it’s not the tire at
all?

This did happen to me, but it was quite evident that my tire was totally
flat ;->

Pulling in one direction or another can be caused by a multitude of sources.
Check tire pressures, alignment (a tape measure can be used crudely to
see if it is grossly out), ball joints (elevate the vehicle, trying load &
no-load
checks), rotors/brakes (one simple check is after a short drive check the
temperature carefully), and a general suspension visual check (see
if anything binds or twists when a helper turns the steerign wheel).

Make sure all suspension grease points are done.

Sincerely – Mark Salyzyn
83 XJ6

Hello all - my SIII has developed a marked enthusiasm for wanting to go
left. I think it might be the left front tire seperating, but before I get
them all replaced (as I’ve been planning to do for weeks) is there an XJ
specific complaint that might be causing this - ie it’s not the tire at
all?

Oliver,

I had a similiar problem last November, the steering wheel would oscillate
back and forth about 3-4 inches as I drove. At speed (60-75mph) it would
stop oscillating. I assumed it was rack mount bushings and/or ball joints
or tie rod ends. I went out and bought all the parts and took it to a
local alignment shop ( they even had the rack bushing removal tool). Turns
out both front tires were separating 1/3 the way around. I’m glad I
checked when I did, I couldn’t drive at that speed forever.

Cost for 2 Pirelli P4000s ~US $230.00 Suspension parts > $200. Labor
$600. Lots of hours in the Mitchel book.

Check both tires and suspension.

Hope this helped,

Dr. Michael E. Rothman
87 Series III USA

Oliver: I may have the answer for you. In the last month or so I noticed
that my 84 Sovereign was pulling to the right, and my hand was getting tired
keeping it straight. Since we were about to make that trip to California, I
stopped in to see my alignment man. He said that the very FIRST thing to do,
since the car had Pirelli tires on it, was to swap the front tires left to
right. It seems that some radial tires, Pirelli particularly, but not
exclusively, have a “belt shift” sometimes. Not dangerous but it DOES cause
this problem. Well, I did the swap, and the car now pulled to the LEFT!!!.
Solution? I simply put the spare on instead of the offending tire, and the
car tracked straight and true, and continued to do so all through our 2100
km. trip. Honest mechanics are worth a lot, and instead of selling me an
alignment, this fellow told me the truth. So now my spare is truly a
“spare”, to be used only in emergencies. Try this on your car before
resorting to a mechanic fix.
Gregory----- Original Message -----
From: Oliver Marks omarks@rpminteractive.com
To: xj@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Monday, May 31, 1999 7:08 PM
Subject: [xj] My 86 SIII wants to turn left

Hello all - my SIII has developed a marked enthusiasm for wanting to go
left. I think it might be the left front tire seperating, but before I get
them all replaced (as I’ve been planning to do for weeks) is there an XJ
specific complaint that might be causing this - ie it’s not the tire at
all?

TIA!

Oliver Marks
President
RPM Interactive, Inc.
San Francisco
telephone 415 431 3358
fax 415 431 2869
mobile 415 971 7236
omarks@rpminteractive.com
http://www.rpminteractive.com

I’ve experienced this too, with other tire brands. I’m sure most everyone
knows this, but in case not – when rotating the tires, say every 10,000km,
always bring the tires from the rear straight to the front, so they continue
to roll in the same direction; flip the fronts before moving them to the rear,
so they learn a new direction where it matters less. Also, if there’s a real
spare in the trunk, use it on a rear wheel first and reload the trunk from a
front wheel. Also, as mileage approaches the tires’ half-life, invest in
reversing them on the rims. This is especially helpful on front-drive cars,
which wear the inner tread most.

Alex

“Dr. Gregory Andrachuk” wrote:>

Oliver: I may have the answer for you. In the last month or so I noticed
that my 84 Sovereign was pulling to the right, and my hand was getting tired
keeping it straight. Since we were about to make that trip to California, I
stopped in to see my alignment man. He said that the very FIRST thing to do,
since the car had Pirelli tires on it, was to swap the front tires left to
right. It seems that some radial tires, Pirelli particularly, but not
exclusively, have a “belt shift” sometimes. Not dangerous but it DOES cause
this problem. Well, I did the swap, and the car now pulled to the LEFT!!!.
Solution? I simply put the spare on instead of the offending tire, and the
car tracked straight and true, and continued to do so all through our 2100
km. trip. Honest mechanics are worth a lot, and instead of selling me an
alignment, this fellow told me the truth. So now my spare is truly a
“spare”, to be used only in emergencies. Try this on your car before
resorting to a mechanic fix.
Gregory

----- Original Message -----
From: Oliver Marks omarks@rpminteractive.com
To: xj@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Monday, May 31, 1999 7:08 PM
Subject: [xj] My 86 SIII wants to turn left

Hello all - my SIII has developed a marked enthusiasm for wanting to go
left. I think it might be the left front tire seperating, but before I get
them all replaced (as I’ve been planning to do for weeks) is there an XJ
specific complaint that might be causing this - ie it’s not the tire at
all?

TIA!

Dennis,

I know for many years, some people have said not to rotate radial tires so
they will be rolled in reverse directions. That may have been particular to
fabric belted, I don’t know. I’ve always done the front-rear crossover thing
on all cars I’ve owned, but all have had steel belts. I’ve never experienced
a problem with the full-rotation, including spare, strategy.

I have experienced a slight pull when a different brand was on each front
wheel. And, the old Firestone 720s used to come apart now and then, leading
to odd behavior just before the terminal event. When all the tires are well
balanced and treads are worn evenly, I’ve had no problems. But, I haven’t
driven over 100mph much either! I’d like to see the factory manual when I get
it – these are the same folks who picked Lucas for electrics, right? {:o]

Alex

Dennis Burford wrote:>

My factory owners handbook, on page 52 under Tyre Replacement, recommends:

“No attempt must be made to interchange tyres from front to rear or vice
versa as tyre wear produces characteristic patterns depending on their
position and, if such position is changed after wear has occurred, the
performance of the tyre will be adversely affected.”

I took this to mean “unique adapting wear characteristics” of each wheel in
independent suspension, and not to rotate tires. However it may only mean in
the case of severe wear. What is the general consensus on rotating tires?

Dennis
1987 XJ6 S3 87K Solent Blue / Biscuit

–Original Message-----
From: owner-xj@jag-lovers.org [mailto:owner-xj@jag-lovers.org]On Behalf
Of Cannara
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 1999 10:21 AM
Cc: xj@jag-lovers.org
Subject: Re: [xj] My 86 SIII wants to turn left

I’ve experienced this too, with other tire brands. I’m sure most everyone
knows this, but in case not – when rotating the tires, say every 10,000km,
always bring the tires from the rear straight to the front, so they continue
to roll in the same direction; flip the fronts before moving them to the
rear,
so they learn a new direction where it matters less. Also, if there’s a
real
spare in the trunk, use it on a rear wheel first and reload the trunk from a
front wheel. Also, as mileage approaches the tires’ half-life, invest in
reversing them on the rims. This is especially helpful on front-drive cars,
which wear the inner tread most.

Alex

“Dr. Gregory Andrachuk” wrote:

Oliver: I may have the answer for you. In the last month or so I noticed
that my 84 Sovereign was pulling to the right, and my hand was getting
tired
keeping it straight. Since we were about to make that trip to California,
I
stopped in to see my alignment man. He said that the very FIRST thing to
do,
since the car had Pirelli tires on it, was to swap the front tires left to
right. It seems that some radial tires, Pirelli particularly, but not
exclusively, have a “belt shift” sometimes. Not dangerous but it DOES
cause
this problem. Well, I did the swap, and the car now pulled to the LEFT!!!.
Solution? I simply put the spare on instead of the offending tire, and the
car tracked straight and true, and continued to do so all through our 2100
km. trip. Honest mechanics are worth a lot, and instead of selling me an
alignment, this fellow told me the truth. So now my spare is truly a
“spare”, to be used only in emergencies. Try this on your car before
resorting to a mechanic fix.
Gregory

----- Original Message -----
From: Oliver Marks omarks@rpminteractive.com
To: xj@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Monday, May 31, 1999 7:08 PM
Subject: [xj] My 86 SIII wants to turn left

Hello all - my SIII has developed a marked enthusiasm for wanting to go
left. I think it might be the left front tire seperating, but before I
get
them all replaced (as I’ve been planning to do for weeks) is there an XJ
specific complaint that might be causing this - ie it’s not the tire at
all?

TIA!

Now that is interesting, Gregory. That goes in my own personal archive.

Cheers

Craig> -----Original Message-----

From: owner-xj@jag-lovers.org
[mailto:owner-xj@jag-lovers.org]On Behalf
Of Dr. Gregory Andrachuk
Sent: 01 June 1999 17:56
To: Oliver Marks
Cc: xj@jag-lovers.org
Subject: Re: [xj] My 86 SIII wants to turn left

Oliver: I may have the answer for you. In the last month or
so I noticed
that my 84 Sovereign was pulling to the right, and my hand
was getting tired
keeping it straight. Since we were about to make that trip to
California, I
stopped in to see my alignment man. He said that the very
FIRST thing to do,
since the car had Pirelli tires on it, was to swap the front
tires left to
right. It seems that some radial tires, Pirelli particularly, but not
exclusively, have a “belt shift” sometimes. Not dangerous but
it DOES cause
this problem. Well, I did the swap, and the car now pulled to
the LEFT!!!.
Solution? I simply put the spare on instead of the offending
tire, and the
car tracked straight and true, and continued to do so all
through our 2100
km. trip. Honest mechanics are worth a lot, and instead of
selling me an
alignment, this fellow told me the truth. So now my spare is truly a
“spare”, to be used only in emergencies. Try this on your car before
resorting to a mechanic fix.
Gregory

----- Original Message -----
From: Oliver Marks omarks@rpminteractive.com
To: xj@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Monday, May 31, 1999 7:08 PM
Subject: [xj] My 86 SIII wants to turn left

Hello all - my SIII has developed a marked enthusiasm for
wanting to go
left. I think it might be the left front tire seperating,
but before I get
them all replaced (as I’ve been planning to do for weeks)
is there an XJ
specific complaint that might be causing this - ie it’s not
the tire at
all?

TIA!

Oliver Marks
President
RPM Interactive, Inc.
San Francisco
telephone 415 431 3358
fax 415 431 2869
mobile 415 971 7236
omarks@rpminteractive.com
http://www.rpminteractive.com