One repair at a time

Edited on 2005-02-24 17:41:12

Nick,

I assume you just recently got the Sovereign. Congrats and welcome. Join JCNA, if you haven't already. It's a great group. And get active in your local club, as you'll find that your local fellow Jag lovers are a great source of information about the cars and about good local mechanics who can help solve problems.

As for your "howl", it's really hard to diagnose that without hearing it. A howl to one person is a whistle to someone else is a groan to yet another. All in the ear of the beholder. That said, since your wife says that the rear wheel has a bounce, it is possible that the rim is out of "true". That is a common problem with wire rims. Also easy to diagnose. Just go to a local tire shop that does wire wheel (be sure to ask, usually a European tire shop will be familiar with them.). They will put your rim on a machine and know in a minute if the rim is out of true or out of balance. Wouldn't hurt to check all four wheels while you are at it and have them all balanced.

If out of true, at highway speeds, you'll hear a lot of noise from the tire, which you might perceive as a howl. Have the rim trued, or if it can't be fixed, replace it, and see if that doesn't solve the problem. Also, the tire shop can probably check your shocks for you as well (whoever did the rear wheel bearing should have checked the shocks while he was at it).

Hope that helps. Let us know what you find. Also, are you sure you don't have a hole in the exhaust or baffles gone in the mufflers?

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'70 XKE FHC
'69 XKE OTS