I am ordering all the parts to refresh my front upper and lower control arms. I ordered 4 Lemforder ball joints and 4 Meyle lower control arm bushings, but I need the 4 upper bushings and I can't find any of the brands I'm comfortable ordering.

There is either URO for $6.99 each or OEM Jaguar for around $40.00 each. Does anyone know of a Meyle, Lemforder etc. for this application?

Thanks

 

Nothing wrong with the URO ones.

 

Mr Harvest,
You may have already found these guys as they were the supplier for my Lemforder ball joints but FCP Euro seems to carry lots of Lemforder stuff for our cars. Did you pick up any tips on getting these out of the car? I've been working on changing the joints over in situ and have to say it hasn't been fun...

 

Thanks Mark, I am wary of URO because of some other products in their line that have consistently gotten bad reviews, but if you have experience with their bushings and are happy, maybe I'll give them a shot.

dwgates, I am in the parts accumulating stage right now. My plan is to remove everything, press out old and press in new, and then put it all back together. I don't plan on starting this for at least a week or two during which time I'll be doing much more research on exactly how I'm going to do everything. I have been buying from FCP Euro for years, you are right that they are a good source for Lemforder products. Every suspension component on my BMW is new Lemforder and it all came from FCP. I got the sway bar links for my XJR from them as well; Lemforder of course.

I did this same "refresh" on a Volvo 850 and a BMW 325i, but I'm not going to just assume I can do my XJR without doing some vehicle specific homework.

 

I did that job on my 04 XJ8 last week, front and rear. I ordered most of my bushings from Berkshire Jag components. There's a guy there named Anthony who is extremely knowledgeable about XJ8 parts and he seemed to have almost everything available in Lemforder if it's still made, as well as aftermarket brands at competitive prices. I called him on the phone and he was very helpful and pleasant to deal with--he knew the parts I would need by p/n in his head. The shipping costs are an issue, so you would want to consolidate your order.

I wanted OEM parts wherever possible as I plan on keeping the car for a long time and I didn't want to risk getting an inferior product in the aftermarket.

For the upper arm, I elected to buy the entire "Ford" arm, which is actually a Jaguar part, at a cost of about $130 from Delray Motors on eBay. That way I got all OEM bushings and ball joints and I didn't have to press the bushings. I am not experienced at pressing bushings and the time savings was worth the extra cost to me. I don't know your experience level, but you may want to consider that option. I can send you a picture of the part, which is stamped/cast "Jaguar" if you would like to see it.

I also found bushings at FCPEURO and RockAuto. Powerflexusa has a complete bushing set if you want urethane. They are fairly expensive, but they claim it's a superior product.

 

When replacing my front upper balljoints I went with an entire front end kit from https://www.britishparts.co.uk/ , I think for the entire kit including upper and lower balljoint, bushings, sway bar end links and mounts, and tie rod ends, after taxes and shipping it was about $230. Ordering the entire control arm isnt a terrible idea either since pressing the old bushings and balljoint out is a bit of a pain......but doable.

 

Unfortunately the OP has a completely different XJ - an X308, vs. your X350. The X308 has one long bolt through the upper arm.

At least, I'm assuming the OP is posting in the X308 forum concerning his X308, not his X350.

 

Correct Mark, the 03 XJR.

I have another thread going in the X350 section regarding a transmission issue for the 04 XJ8. It seems my wife's car is jealous of all the attention my XJR is getting so it's started a transmission slip to liven things up. Apparently it needs a new adapter seal, so that project just jumped in front of my XJR for a few days.

 

For the upper arm, I actually found the pressing of the bushes to be the hardest part. The balljoint was not so bad.

Certainly not a bad idea to buy the whole arm if the price is reasonable, and especially a good idea if you don't have a proper hydraulic press.

 

I'm in the middle of the ball joint swap and have been trying to remove & replace on the car as that long bolt and the short one that looks like it will run into the steering rack when it's half way out made taking those parts off like too much of a PITA. Probably trade one PITA for another though as I haven't been able to get the upper ball joint to budge and the lower looks like it's going to be just as bad and I haven't even got the joint to pop out of the bearing holder. Good thing I've still got plenty to do so I can still fell like I'm making progress even though this job has been one roadblock after another! If I'm making too much of the removing arms from the car to work on the joints please chime in, I'm a flexible person.

 

How to separate the balljoint from the bearing carrier :

You need a balljoint separator, like this :



You also need a lump hammer. A regular hammer will not do.

Procedure :

1) Loosen off the nut a few turns, but leave it on - loosen just enough to get the nylon in the nut clear of the thread.
2) Install the separator, and tighten it up. Not too much - we are not trying to separate the taper here, just apply some pressure.
3) Hit the nut with the lump hammer, sideways, ie on the side of the nut.

It should just pop apart.

The impact momentarily distorts the taper, and breaks the hold. This often works even without the separator. It worked on my track rods, just on its own. The upper and lower balljoints seem to need the tool and the impact together.

If access to the nut with the hammer is tricky, you can use a cold chisel.

There's a variation using two lump hammers, where you hit the arm one way, and the nut the other, at the same time.

BTW, eye protection would be a good idea!

 

Thanks for the OTC link Mark. The tool looks like the one I was working with but with the extra pivot hole should fit nicely. My separator worked on the outer tie rods and a pickle fork worked on the upper ball joint. Now I just have to figure out the right combination of tubes to get them detached from the car. So far the upper is putting up quite a fight. I can't wait to get to the lower, I've heard they come out hard!

 

bought the same kit. All of the parts have been on for about 35K miles. no problems. pressing out the bushings truly is a pain.
If you go this route press out the center rubber of the bushing first, then cut a notch into the steel sleeve that is left. then the sleeve will come right out. you need a jag specific spring compressor to remove the lower arms. Some have made there own - plenty of posts here covering that

 

So does anyone have a good source for complete arms for x308 XJR's? (specifically 01-03, if that matters.) I saw the post near the beginning, but that was for an '04 XJ8. Wondering if I could find them for "my" car..

 

Why do you need 4 front upper & 4 front lower bushings, not 2 each?

 

To do both sides I would need 4, right? Two (2) on each arm x 2 arms?

Am I mistaken?

 

Each arm has two bushings.

 

I saw you came over to the other thread there Harvest, I'll post those exploded views here for ya....I didn't change the pics, so the shock is still circled, but should be blue or green for your purposes. But the shock tower bushing probably ought to be seriously considered for replacement, if not already done.

Orange to be replaced, green & blue to be checked and/or replaced....

 

I already have the outer tie-rod ends and lower ball joints on the shelf in the garage. The upper ball joints and all 8 bushings should arrive by the end of the week.

I will spend tomorrow replacing the adapter seal in the transmission of my wife's 04 XJ8, but on my days off next week I hope to do the suspension re-fresh on my 03 XJR.

I replaced the upper shock mounts and lower shock bushings the first week I owned the car. The next week I replaced the sway bar bushings and links (front and rear). When I'm done with the front I will probably shift my focus to the rear suspension; upper and lower shock bushings maybe?

I have still not sourced a spring compressor. I have a regular one I've used dozens of times, but it's the type that attaches to both outer sides of the spring. It appears that won't be useful on the Jaguar.

 

Another thing...

I have a 12 ton Harbor Freight hydraulic press with minimal attachments. Should I be planning to do all the press work with this or is it beyond the scope of my particular hydraulic press.

Should I just take it to a professional shop to have everything changed out?