From the other forum, theres the definitive bushing thread which really isnt that definitive because theres not many facts in there. So I did some buying and some measuring and some picture taking. Heres what I posted there and I will post the pics I tooks.

I just recently bought these for the rear of my 2006 STR and they are slightly different than my originals. For instance, my originals seem to have more meat (metal) for the bushing supports. By more metal I mean the length of the aluminum bushing area(longitudinal not diameter) is longer than they are in the new arms I got.

I took some pics and will post them up here or on the other forum and link to them so you can see what I mean. I believe the older STR arms are more study than the replacements

lengthwise end to end overall (for the bolt), the STR rear bushings (outer and inner rear) are 2.125" or 54mm for both my original STR bushing and the replacement lemforder 32704-01 bushing. the length (longitude not diameter) of the metal outer sleeve on the bushing itself is longer on the original bushings measuring 1.110" or 28mm while the Lemforder 32704-01 bushing has the outer sleeve measuring only 1.065" or 27 mm. close but not the same. pic below

So with the greater support surface of the original arm coupled with the longer outer bushing sleeve, you have a stronger system with the original parts than you do with the replacement parts.

So now you know- at least about that!

 

Pics

 

If I recall correctly the newer suspension arms are stronger than the previous 2 generations. Over the years, the manufacturers of the control arms have improved the components through the use of a stronger aluminum alloy and better manufacturing processes. This allows some reduction in volume of material used and a better, lighter, suspension part.

I will try to find the article about how aluminum suspension part manufacturing has improved over the past 10 to 15 years.

 

Ya, that will be good to see. Right now I am contemplating rebushing my original arms because they are thicker but if the alloy changed to a stronger alloy then maybe i wont.

 

Good find....are the arms the lemforder ones from fcp euro i mentioned.... haven't bought mine yet.....will wait until you get info on updated construction

 

yes it is.

so I tried pressing out the big rubber bushing in the rear arms front pivot. No luck. In there good.

 

Do you have a replacement bushing assembly? On the control arms I have replaced only the 2 hydra-bushings and didn't replace the large bushing. They have been in good shape so far. I did remove the large bushing on a pair of control arms several years ago and it was not fun. I ended up pressing out the rubber portion with my 20 ton press, then used a flat plate to try to get the sleeve pressed out. I was able to move it flush to the aluminum of the control arm, but becaust it is so thin, I couldn't get any sockets or shafts to fit on the thin lip. I ended up using a high speed cutting disc to very carefully cut across most of the sleeve on both sides, and then was able to hammer down an edge on each side and then press it out.

 

yes I have two replacement bushings. They are close but not exact. Looks like ill be destroying them to get em out

 

my big rubber bushes are shot also....so, I will trust lemforder and their design and manufacturing expertise and get the new arms....besides, I only have a push-pull bushing tool that cannot match the force of a 20 ton press...thanks for the info aarcuda and tijoe

 

How time flies. It was about 6 years ago when I tried installing custom spehrical bushings, back when stock replacments weren't readily available. The spherical bushings I tried to use to replace the smaller stock hydra-bushings had problems over time, so I removed the control arms and went back to stock. But the large one appeared to work well. It was a lot of effort because I had to have a custom housing machined, $$$, for the large one, but it worked well. See images. The large one stiffened up the rear suspension and I could feel more vibration transmitted into the car body. (Probably why OEM used rubber for the large bushing.)

 

You might check out PowerFlex too?
They have listings for most Jaguar's.
Bushings
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.
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I will never try urathane bushings again in the rear lower control arm of an STR. I purchased a set once and they were close to being dangerous in my STR. Perhaps they have refinded the designs, but the ones I purchased 7 years ago for the rear were horrible. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s-type-s-type-r-supercharged-v8-x200-15/rear-lower-control-arm-bushes-98635/

On a side note, my memory must be fading because I wrote that all 3 bushes pressed out easily with my old 10 ton press. I have removed bushes from several pairs of rear control arms, so perhaps I only remember the ones that were hard to extract.

If you think about it, the rear lower control arm is a semi trailing control arm. This puts side loads on whatever bushings you use. This is why almost all semi-trailing control arms use a "mono-ball" style bushing, Urathane as a material isn't as good for compound angle flexing, no matter how stiff of urathane is used. Spherical ball joints/bushings control the suspension geometry's path with almost no deformation and flexing across the range of motion.