I've been away for a while. Sometimes life gets in the way. I finally got around to paying attention to the old jalopy. The suspension needed some attention. After getting new tires put on and having an alignment done, I was told they couldn't get one of the rear wheels "in spec". It was close but still out. It rode fine so I let it go. when I went to put snow tires on last winter (I don't drive it much) I took a look around behind the rear wheels and was somewhat surprised to see most of the control arm bushings were bad. The tie rod and sway bar links were worn out too. Not a word from the alignment tech about anything being worn out.

After inspecting both sides and researching replacing the bushings, I decided to just replace the upper and lower control arms, tie rods and sway bar links. I don't have a press at home and didn't want to find a shop that would do it and it saved a bunch of time. I eventually replaced both the front outer tie rod ends also. I took it to a local tire sop to get an alignment done and was less tan impressed with the overall experience. The people working the front counter were not the most pleasant to deal with. I didn't receive a "before" readout and the after results were worse than the alignment I had previously done. 3 out of 4 wheels were out of spec. Both rears had excessive toe and a bit too much camber. The left front also had too much camber. There were no caster measurements recorded. No recommendations on what to do to resolve the problems were on the final report. I asked the person working the counter when I picked it up what was found to be the issue she said she didn't know anything about alignments and that I should have come in earlier if I had questions as no one there could answer them. I won't be going back.

I did some more "poking around" when I got home and found the ride height was at least an inch too low. Apparently the springs are starting to sag a bit. The wheel bearings are starting to make some noise too. Yay! More time in the garage.

I've been scouring this site and the Google trying to find a source for new springs. I can find springs for the regular suspension cars but I have the sport suspension with CATS. The springs are different according to the parts catalog.

Does anyone have a current source for new springs front and rear for a 2000 3.0L S Type with CATS?

I also want to replace the rear wheel bearings while I'm at it. Can tis be done without a 10/20 ton press? I thought I read a post that someone said they did it without removing the knuckle from the car. The bearings are readily available so this shouldn't be a problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Scott B.

 

Here is a listing by SNG Barratt for the front springs for a 3.0 litre, prefacelift X200 with adaptive damping:

https://www.sngbarratt.com/English/#...20Id%203107300)

It may be best to contact them to determine availability.

The rear springs are listed separately in the epc.

 

Here is a link to the X200 Workshop Manual:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jp6343385h...e_FSM.pdf?dl=0

 

How many miles? Well worth the effort IMHO, great drives.
All rubber boot go with age, so check the condition of the rod bearings before changing.