Hello everyone,

I took my 2003 x-type sport model 3.0 into the mechanic and he told me that the previous owner must have lowered the car by heating the springs. (I took it in because one of the tires are rubbing, when i hit a bump, on the wheel well.)

Anyway, he jerked me around and misquoted it 3 times with prices ranging from $1000 to $2000. I don't know if I am ready to do it myself, but can someone help me so I don't get screwed on the parts here? I want to bring it back to factory specs, so what parts do i need if all 4 struts/springs need to be replaced? If you could point me at a website or give me aftermarket parts numbers that would be great. I am trying to do this on the cheap as the car has over $100,000 miles on it. I imagine if the springs need replacing, the struts will need replacing also. Do they just sell the entire strut tower assembly in one package with the springs and everything?


Thanks in advance for your help!

John G
Henderson, NV

 

John, well, this is how I see it: if they were cheap enough to heat the springs to lower the car, then they didn't spend the money to get the proper struts/shocks for the lowering. So, unless there is damage to the strut/shock, I would not worry about them. The factory OEM shocks (made by Bilstein) are pretty durable and will handle a lot of abuse. So, really all you need is 4 springs.

If you do some looking around in the internet, I am sure you can find a set of 4 springs (2 fronts, 2 rears) for around $200 delivered to your house. Installing the rear springs is really easy. Place a jack out at the outer edge of the lower control arm to apply some upward force (hold the lower arm in place). Undo the lower shock mounts, undo the upper control arm, then lower the jack down to relieve the tension applied by the spring. Pull the spring out and put in the new one, reversing the process. Not to hard

As for the fronts, they are a little more involved as you have to get the strut out of the car. If you are not familiar with cars, this may be something that will be worthwhile to have someone do this for you. Probably cost you about $200 to have a shop replace the springs if you hand them the parts.

Do not forget that after putting the springs in, getting an alignment done will be a needed thing too.

 

John:
I recently bought H&R springs from ebay, they cost $256.00 delivered and were well worth the effort for me, took my son & i one day to install all four, the fronts were a pain and we had to pull out all the stops to get the struts out... not for the faint of heart. The rears were a breeze... start there, it'll give you an honest assessment of the shape of bolts (rust) etc
Gary

 

Hi,

While we are on this topic, when I go over rough roads and bumps my front and rear shock/springs/struts make banging noises. I think they need to be replaced but have read other threads that mention worn or missing bushings. I have 124,000 miles on my 05 X-type. I didn't know you could replace just the springs and not the struts. Thought they were one combined unit. From this tread I should start with just replacing the springs? If so what springs do I get, stock replacements? Worried that after replacing springs, finding out the struts need replacing.

Thanks,
Dom

 

Thanks for the info guys! I too thought you had to replace the struts as a whole unit. I will order the springs right away!

 

I am fully aware that my struts/shocks are 110,000 miles old, but based on how the car handled I was willing to just do the springs for now, have to be realistic about how much money I spend at any one time... If the struts last another 6 months, then it'll be worth it since I now am very confident of what's involved in pulling them. The shocks at the rear are too easy to swap to even worry about doubling work.
BTW, very pleased with the new springs, they are progressive type springs, comfortable at normal driving, but they push back when you push them
HTHs
Gary

 

Four wheel alignment cost $85.00 at Firestone (1 year warranty)
Gary

 

Thanks Kota62, I'll replace the springs first.

 

I am having a tough time finding the springs. Can you point me in the direction of regular non lowering springs?

 

John, look on this site for "Nalley Jaguar", they are a sponsor here, but they also offer the members a good discount on factory parts. They will be able to get you everything that you could possibly need for your car. After that, you can try Jagbits.com. They are selling the front springs for $85 each. You can also try jaguarparts.com. Looking on their site, they are selling the front springs for $68 each and the rear ones for $77 each. jaguarparts.com is a dealership out of Cleveland Ohio. I have used jaguarparts before and have been happy with their service. The trick with Jaguarparts.com to get their low prices is you have to do everything via the internet. As long as you tell them the last 7 of your VIN, the year of your car and that you have ordered the parts, they will verify that you have the correct parts (if you don't, they will e-mail you and state what parts you need). If you call the dealership to order them that way, then the cost goes up some.

For reference, what you are looking for are called "comfort springs" or "comfort suspension". Some places even refer to it as "without (w/o) sport suspension". They are all saying the same thing.