S-Type Squeakey Steering

[shorn]

My 2000 S-Type Jaq makes a squeaking sound when the steering wheel is turned a fair amount. No sound if the wheel is turned slightly. Power Steering fluid is full, OK. The sound actually seems to be coming from the steering column rather than the power steering mechanism, although I am not sure about that. Any ideas before I take it to the dealer???

 

[John S Farrington]

I would guess that it is your power steering (serpentine) belt that needs tensioning or replacement.

 

[Steve]

I would second John's suggestion. Its the most likely cause of that kind of noise.

 

[shorn]

It is hard enough to even find the engine buried under all those plastic parts that sit on top, but the belt is even further down. Is it a difficult job to replace it or should I just leave it to the dealer?

 

[John S Farrington]

Replace it yourself: it builds character and makes your hands look like a real man!!

 

[DrEntropy]

...and here I thought you had an impaired sense of humor, John. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[Exotexs]

funny how some things never change. My 1965 S type has a similar squeak which is caused by the top and bottom nylon
bushes rubbing against the inner steering column. I replaced the original bushes with the nylon version a year ago. The originals were made of fibers that looked like horse hair. I have sprayed Silicone Lubricant and the squeak dissapears for a few drives, then comes back. In my car, it is not the Belt or the Power Steering, it is the Inner Column bushes. It is also very peculiar that Jaguar decided to revive the name "S type" back in 1999, as opposed to reviving the name "MK-II", because of the two original cars, the MK-II is the most wanted, even though the S type of 1963-1968 is the better car of the two.

 

[shorn]

It does not appear that it is the belt that is causing the squeaking on my S-type. I will have to check out the bushings.

 

[Exotexs]

a car as new as 2000 could not have squeaky bushings, it could be something rubbing against the steering column. look under the dash at the point where the column exits the cabin.

 

[tonyh]

hi, im from england on a smilar forum over here the squeaky steering col has been discussed a lot, the answer is that the bushes on the col dry out and that makes the squeak that you are getting, jaguar have a replacement set that will stop the sqeaking, have a word with your dealer he will be able to give you more detail, but you can buy them and change youself or get an independant to do it as it is not a big job

 

[tonyh]

regards squeaky steering column the link below will show how to replace the faulty sealthat is the cause of the noise.

https://uk.geocities.com/dragstars@btinternet.com/Output.pdf

 

[shorn]

It turned out to be worn ball joints and lower control arms. There was a factory recall in the first eight months that I owned the car regarding nuts for the ball joints studs that were not properly torqued. I took mine in for the recall and the dealer retorqued the nuts. However, I had driven the car for 8 months prior to that recall. Appartently the ball joint stud elongated the hole in the control arm and caused excessive wear in the ball joint itself. A few years and 35K miles later, when the squeaking started, the car was, of course, out of warranty. Cost for the new ball joints and control arms, both sides, was $3200. Back and forth discussions between Jaquar (Ford) and myself finally led to a settlement where Ford paid for the suspension problem because the damage was most likely caused by the improperly torqued nuts on the ball joints.