I would leave the lower control arm bushings alone unless you're 100% sure they are bad. First the spring has to be compressed and removed, then the large shaft on the bottom control arm needs to come out. That usually rusts to the steel portion of the bushing, so every one I have done required an acetylene torch, a sledgehammer and a lot of brute force to come one. Naturally, the lower shaft is destroyed in the process. The torch burns off the rubber, so it makes a mess too. Don't do it on your driveway with neighbours watching!

 

Makes good sense to me - I'll definitely replace the steering rack, inner tie rods (seem to come with the rack), tie rod ends (Moog), polyurethane steering rack bushings, Jagbits OE rubber upper control arm bushings and perhaps, all 4 ball joints (Lemforder). Will also flush/fill trans fluid and replace filter, flush/fill brake fluid and flush/fill power steering after rack replacement. I may need a new axel hub on the drivers side rear wheel and I'll also add a PS fluid filter. I have a new set of tires on order and will of course have an alignment after the rack is replaced. I may also need a new brake master cylinder; took the car for a drive and the pedal had to be pumped to stop the car. Some guys have all the luck!


Lot's of maintenance, more than I expected. But, if this solves the biggest maladies and get's the car back on the road and driving smooth, I'll be happy.


If anyone has any other advice, please let me know. I check this post at least daily. I want to get it right!

 

When I purchased my XJS I thought my emergency brake was broken also. Turns out that the truck driver pulled the handle up extremely hard and the brake was tightly applied. The lever felt like it was disconnected from the cable. Pushing the release button did not work, but might have if I had pulled up harder on the lever. To release the brake, I tapped a screwdriver on the ratchet pawl under the lever and the brake released. It has worked perfectly ever since using the lever.

 

A stuck on emergency brake could also be the cause of the noise from the back of the car.

 

Interesting!!! I went to the car and checked - exactly as you described. The lever moves freely when park brake is engaged. I pulled it back as far as possible and depressed the release button, and sure enough, the brake released. Unfortunately, the park brake light on the dash remains illuminated, whether brake is engaged or not. I'm still not sure it's functional, since the car would advance freely at idle when placed in gear. I'd expect a functional park brake to offer resistance... Then again, I drove the darn thing 450 miles to get it home - plenty of time to burn the shoes right off. But, I really think I would have noticed the resistance - I can feel when the park brake is engaged, and I never felt it in this car. Perhaps the PO burned the shoes off before I could get to it?

While trying to determine if the park brake light went off, I started the car and was surprised to see two idiot lights on; the park brake and now, the low coolant level light. When I drove the car yesterday, it was pretty warm here - about 85F - and the car was running warm, as in temp indicator at the mid-point. Never got any warmer, but that was considerably warmer than when I drove the car home (temp that day was 70 and dropping); the temp gauge never registered past 1/4. Tried dipping a finger into the radiator fill tank on the passenger side front fender, but it was completely dry. I restarted the car and let it run; after maybe 2 minutes, the light went off. Should I be able to touch coolant at the fill tank with a cool engine? I checked the oil, looked for leaks, but nothing was amiss.

And to top it all off, while I was driving the car home yesterday, I depressed the brake pedal about a mile from home and was shocked; it traveled nearly to the floor. I pumped the brakes and the pressure returned, but that scared the heck out of me. I subsequently started messing with it when I got home, and could stop the car w/o pumping the pedal, but the pedal would darn near touch the floor. I'm guessing I either ruptured a seal, or the master cylinder gave up the ghost? Yeah, throw another log on the fire, as if the flames aren't high enough!!

I'm trying to stay positive, but the bill is racking up; new factory service manual, new bushing removal tool, new ball joint splitter, rebuilt steering rack, new upper and lower Lemforder ball joints, new Moog tie rod ends, all new power steering hoses, new OE upper control arm bushings, new polyurethane rack bushings, brake fluid flush/fill, transmission fluid flush/fill/filter, 4 new tires, 4 new wheel caps (one was missing and the other 3 were looking tired - I couldn't find anyone selling a single used cap - I now have 2 for sale - the other went onto my spare), 2 new trunk lid struts, 1 wheel hub or wheel bearing in rear, and now possibly a master cylinder and maybe - hopefully? - a new thermostat. The money is flying from my wallet!

Might've been better off buying another XJ6 or 8. I'm starting to feel buyers remorse. I sure hope I get the car back to steady state once the aforementioned repairs are made or I'll be looking to sell and move on.

 

I owe you a huge apology. I have no idea why I typed that, or what I was thinking when I did type it.


Ball joints, Upper Control Arm Joints, Tie Rod, Shocks and Bushings are about all I've ever done to the front suspension. (I did replace wheel bearings as well)


I did a lot of research on lower control arm bearings, but decided it wasn't worth the cost.


I really am sorry for the erroneous post. I'm glad you didn't pull the trigger on that.


I am planning to do the steering rack bushings next year. So I did read up on the use of poly. I'll be interested in your findings. There's a post somewhere about modifying rubber to improve the steering response. It is for an older XJS, but I think it's a relevant upgrade nevertheless.


Jaguar XJ-S Steering Rack Upgrade

 

Hi Vee - no worries! I figured you have a press or at least one at your disposal. I don't, which is why I also need to job out the rear wheel bearing or hub.

Just about have all of my parts. Still waiting on steering rack and low pressure power steering hoses. Many say they have them, but I have yet to find a store or web site that can actually ship from stock. I had to pay 2X the dealer price for the high pressure hose. I did it because the dealer had to order it and it could take up to 2 weeks vs. paying and having it shipped same-day.

Oh, the joys of owning a 20 year old, limited production British car.