I just removed the first shock mount so I figured I'd post a picture of the original next to the new one.

You can see the difference in the thickness.

 

What brand did you go with?

 

I got them from Welsh. I'm doing the left side first. Today I tried to disassemble the shock strut on the workbench with no luck. I had the spring compressors cranked down pretty hard and the nut at the top of the shock absorber still wasn't budging so I'm going to take them to someone as soon as the new shock absobers arrive.
With all that compression waiting for Murphy to show up and things not progressing I figured it was the best choice.
I also took the upper control arm out and I'm going to replace the ball joints. The left upper ball joint wasn't in too bad shape but since I got the control arm out and I got all four ball joints for about $75 delivered I figured I'm not going to reinstall 19 year old ball joints.
I was looking at the bushings on the upper control arm and I'm wondering if they're a two piece bushing because I don't see how else they would come off the control arm.
They look pretty good but as long as I have it apart if they're easy to replace I probably would.
I don't want to beat something apart that doesn't need to be beaten.
Can anyone tell me?

 

Yes, they're two-part with a sleeve:



Part # is MJA1462AB.

They can be a pain to replace if the inner sleeve gets stuck to the fulcrum bolt, otherwise it's pretty straightforward. There's no seal where the bolt passes through the crossmember, so water can wick along the bolt into the sleeve.

There are four shims of varying thickness on each axle, divided between each inner bush and the subframe. Note their positions on disassembly and make sure that they go back in the same place as they affect castor. See this post from blindside:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2/#post2277155

Put lots of antiseize on the the fulcrum bolt when you reassemble.

 

Michael, is there anything about these cars that you don't know?
Your expertise is appreciated.
I'm into the left side, haven't touched the right side yet and the long fulcrum bolt came out very easily. I practically pulled it out by hand once the nut was off but yes, I'm going to bath it in antiseize before installation.
I have the shim positions noted, thanks.
OK, so I can put the control arm in a vise and remove the bushings although they might put up a bit of a fight, right? I just want to be sure.

 

I felt confident enough to go for it and it wasn't bad at all. I put the upper control arm in the vise and got the bushings out.
I also tried to remove the ball joint in my 6 ton press but that wasn't showing progress so I'll farm out the ball joint replacement along with the shock and shock mount replacement once the parts arrive.
Here is what the bushings look like. One sleeve slid right out of the control arm once I got one bushing off. The other one put up a fight, I imagine due to part of the bushings remaining on the sleeve.

 

Glad you got lucky. That steel-bolt-through-aluminium idea should have incorporated some form of seal on the inside, exposed, section IMO. Perhaps an 'O' ring. I just squeezed some (lots of) waterproof grease around the bolt shank where it enter the subframe behind the shock.

Most of what I know has come from doing the job and the good folks here like yourself who take the time and trouble to document their work. Plenty more to learn, mind.

 

I figure that there are many people here who haven't done the job before, like me, so I want to show them what they're getting into before they get into it, what they'll encounter, what they'll need to get through it.
I've learned so much here I'm just repaying a debt.
Maybe the sleeve is because of what you mentioned. The bolt will come out, then you can deal with getting the sleeve out of the control arm on the work bench.
There was some corrosion on the control arm once I removed the sleeve. I cleaned that up and there is some light pitting but not too bad. The dremel tool that I hardly ever use came in real handy for that.

 

I almost have everything removed on the left side.
All the nuts are removed and all but one bolt is out. The bolt on the rear of the lower control arm (wishbone) won't slide out until I remove the steering gear for clearance. If the bolt was installed with the head end forward instead of rearward I'd have it out already so I trust that the engineers at Jaguar had a good reason for making me remove more stuff.
Maybe the shank end of the bolt that protrudes past the nut would have interfered with the steering linkage so the bolt is going back in the way I found it.
I split the upper ball joint but the lower ball joint seems to require a special tool that looks like a forked C-clamp. There isn't enough clearance to use my ball joint splitter. I'll be removing the lower control arm and the spindle in one piece and deal with that later, either on the workbench or let the shop that replaces the ball joints handle it.

 

I'm sure that question has been posed before without a definite answer, and I don't see any obvious reason why Jaguar chose to make things difficult?

I've read that simply setting the steering to maximum travel gives enough clearance for the control arm bolt to be 'finagled' out. Alternatively, disconnecting the inner tie rod coupling definitely does. Depends on which is the smaller job.

I haven't yet done this, although it's on my to-do-shortly list together with the ball joints (I already have the parts) so I'll be looking at the easy options first before tackling those Torx and the steering rack UJ.

I have one of these which sounds similar to what you're using:- and worked fine; clearing the joint gaiters OK, although they're not a concern if you're replacing the joints:



Good luck!

 

The left side front suspension is completely removed and I have all the new ball joints, bushings, and parts in hand. Tomorrow I take all that to a shop to get the new parts installed on the control arms and strut assembly.
I was able to split the lower ball joint after I removed the lower control arm. I laid the wheel hub/control arm assembly on the garage floor and after a couple of whacks with a small sledge hammer and the ball joint let go. I would say that this is the easiest way to split the lower ball joint. No special tools required.
This morning I removed the steering gear and it wasn't difficult at all. I loosened the pinch bolt for the input shaft from the steering column but I did not do anymore to disconnect that because it didn't move easily right away.
So I removed the four bolts holding the steering gear in place and move it a little bit, enough to remove the control arm bolt. I only needed a few inches of movement and I got it right away.
I would do it this way again. I don't believe that the steering column disconnected at all but I'll check that when I put it back together and tighten the pinch bolt.

 

Dude! You're doing amazing. It's all pretty serious work!

Perhaps you already know... but the pinch bolt (the bolt itself) needs to be completely removed from the,,, pincher,,, as there is a grove in the shaft of the knob at the top of the rack tower that "accepts" the bolt... It keeps everything in place until/unless the bolt is completely removed. Then it should slide up and off...

Be careful to (try) to mark the orientation of the pinch at the top of the rack tower and all's alignment,,, or the steering wheel could end up in a funny (not so funny) position when everything is put back together...

 

OK, then most likely all I need to do is tighten the bolt. Cool. The bolt didn't move,, it's just loose.
I took the shock strut and wishbones/control arms to the only shop I know and trust this morning. I was in the office with all the parts sticking out of a milk crate.
After explaining everything to the woman behind the counter she asked me for the keys. For what, I asked. She replied, "For the car". I asked, "What car?"
At this point I knew we had communication problems so she got the owner to come out and help me.
The owner had some concerns about what I'm asking him to do due to the lack of material surrounding the ball joints to press against. The bushings were the same problem but he said that he can beat those out.
He said that he often just replaces the entire control arm with a new ball joint and/or bushing already installed because with parts and labor factored in the cost is close enough to make it the best choice. But he doesn't do much work on Jaguars, which is why I removed and hand carried the parts to him.
He checked his sources and found that the control arms cost $700 each so it's worth replacing the ball joints.
I'm not looking to spend $3000 in suspension parts for this project.
Right now I hope he is successful and I'm glad about two things: I'm only doing this once and I didn't try to do this part myself.

 

Stu, I'm not 100% sure how you left it with them, and I forget what area you live in, but they can be pressed out/in. Some experts have posted how to's about it before. I bet they will chime in.

I had a local garage do mine, yes its a tough job but it can be done. I lost count how many mechanics wanted me to replace the whole arm $$$ before I found this guy.

John

 

John,

My name is Greg (the state of New Jersey designated the Jaguar as STU46H when they issued me a license plate, LOL). Check my signature.

Yes, the shop is going to press the ball joints out and in but they are not the easiest arms to work with since there is so little material around the ball joint and the lower arm is beveled below the ball joint, making it difficult to secure in the press. Basically, this is not your father's Oldsmobile. You would need a wedge to place under the control arm and then apply thousands of pounds of force and pray that the wedge stays in place and doesn't shoot across the room and lodge itself in the wall, or worse.
This is a job for someone who knows what they are doing, or the guy that nobody liked anyway.
This is why I'm not doing this at home. There are certain jobs that I farm out and this is one of those.

 

LOL - that's just cruel

Confess I've previously called you 'Stu', then your sig registered...

 

That is my twisted sense of humor.

And, no problem. I've been called worse.

 

Thanks Greg, glad you have it covered!
John

 

Greg - I replaced the lower ball joints myself - tried to have local places replace but they broke the new ball joint trying to press it in. I ended up buying a 20ton press from Harbor freight and used a piece of 4x4 as a brace under the beveled edge of the control arm. this 4x4 had some give but eventually held under pressure to allow the new ball joint to be pressed in

 

That's great news. You are a braver man than I am.
If you can do it with a 4x4 I'm sure that this guy will get it done.
I have no interest in finding out just how fast things can go really bad with 20 tons of force. I kind of like my arms and legs where God put them. In fact I've become very attached to them.
My press is 6 tons which is plenty for me. If 6 tons won't do it, I shouldn't either.
I'll just do yard work until the shop calls me to pick up the parts. I expect to hear from them in the next day or two.