Hi there, can anyone tell me if the front struts on a 2003 x type are handed left and right or are they universal.

 

Chris: Left and right struts are interchangeable. That being said, different struts are available for Sport vs. Comfort models, and for All Wheel Drive vs. Front Wheel Drive. A good auto parts supplier sells the different versions of struts and can match them to your X-Type.

Suggestion: Download the Jaguar Electronic Parts Catalogue (Jaguar EPC or JEPC) to look up the part number of the correct style struts for your X-Type. It's the first link at the top of the "how to / quick links" page: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...essories-5915/

If you're a do-it-yourselfer, this forum has several excellent threads discussing how to change the struts on your X-Type.

Good luck.

 

Hi there thanks for your answer but I am still confused.

 

Chris: On some cars the left and right front struts are not interchangeable. But on our X-Types, the left and right front struts are interchangeable. What is confusing to you?

 

Hi there, thanks for you answer, now I have looked at the front struts I can see that they are interchangeable as you said, but can you help again please, is the stud that holds the brake hose retaining clip to the front strut, removable or pressed into the strut bracket, I hope that makes sense to you, Cheers, Chris.

 

Chris: The front struts have two metal brackets: one for the brake hose clip, the other for the top of the sway bar linkage. Both the brake hose clip and sway bar linkage are relatively easy to removed and reattach using hand tools.

The front bracket of the strut holds the brake hose clip, and the rear bracket is where the sway bar linkage attaches. The front & rear brackets are identical, which makes the left and right struts conveniently interchangeable.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi there, thanks for your reply, it's tremendously helpful as I have got to change the struts on Saturday , and I was really worried about it after looking at the old strut with the car jacked up , and thinking that the brake hose clip mounting to the strut bolt , was pressed in, thanks again for your help,Chris.

 

Chris: You're welcome. Changing the struts on our X-Types has one risky step and one sometimes challenging step.

The risky step to replace most struts is moving the spring from the old to the new strut. It's not difficult; you just need understand and respect the stored energy in the compressed spring. Most auto parts stores here in the US will lend spring compressors to safely compress and transfer the spring from the old strut to the new strut. The internet has many videos on this. Or you remove the old struts and pay an auto repair shop to transfer the springs to the new struts for you.

The sometimes challenging step is to lower the steering knuckle a few inches in order to fully extend the strut and spring so you can remove them from the car. The official Jaguar procedure is to lower the front subframe a few inches. Unfortunately the 2 rear bolts on the subframe can be difficult to loosen. Here's a thread with pictures of the troublesome bolt and an ingenious solution by PaulC732: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-free-113243/

Here's a "brute force" approach - cut a hole in the floor to access the bolt. I admit that I did this before reading about the other methods: Suspension overhaul nightmare

In this thread, Paulc732 describes how change the strut without lowering the subframe: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-wear-142968/

And in this thread, iownme describes another approach: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...bframe-144153/

Read them over, then decide what approach you're most comfortable with. If your fortunate, the subframe bolts on your X-Type will be easy to loosen. But it's always good to have a backup plan B.

Good luck.