this looks bad to me...take a look at the pic...it is the rubber for the right front shock mount...as i touch the rubber it flaked on me...i am assuming this is pretty bad and if my touch and rubbing will cause the rubber to flake that the whole thing is probably in pretty bad shape...what do you all think?

 

Looks bad to me also. Flaking rubber, like rust, is most often worse than it appears. Got any front suspension 'knock' on small bumps?

 

It looks to me that you need to replace your upper bushings you can buy the replacement kit or just bushings form Shock Mount Bushing Kit - MNC2168-69.KIT or Coventry West, Inc. - Online Store or Jaguar XJ8 Front Shock Replacement Bushings (4) | eBay

 

Its not to hard to do yourself either. Just go on youtube and look up how to remove a shock. I know you are not removing one, but it helped me when I needed to replace the bushings. I think all I used was a vice grip and a socket wrench.

 

Mine were flake as well, I replaced using the kit. Also replaced the bump stop on shock shaft and the lowere shock mount rubber. I probably could have skipped the lower shock mount, the upper shock mount was flakey, but wasnt quite as bad as it looks... still glad I did it though. Bumps stops were toast. pressing the kit is apain... ended up taking to a machine shop.

 

After getting the mount off, do you need a press to separate the 2 upper shock bushings? I'm trying to replace the top bushing.

Thank you!

SirJag

 

Will a ball joint press or 5-ton arbor press work?

 

yes, I replaced mine with a C- clamp ball joint press

 

I got it apart myself, but couldn't get it back together. I didn't mind paying a machine shop to do it. Getting it apart is much easier than putting it together.

 

Good deal. My OTC ball joint press has paid for itself ten fold.

 

You dont have to use a press to put back together. Only to seperate. Just line up the pieces and tap the top washer down till seated on the lower center stem with a hammer

 

I'm new to the site and this thread saved my wallet, however being cheap, impaient, and a bit of a mad engineer I came up with some alternative parts. I stopped by the local auto parts store and saw 1 7/8" - rubber expansion plugs. Took thoose apart and thinned them out a bit on the bench grinder, then opened the hole up with the drill press. So intead of even speading the 50-80 bucks for a bushing kit on line. I got out four an hour labor and 12.92 (you need 4 plugs @ 2.99 each). I soon as I install them (tonight I'll let you know). And as soon as I figure out how to post a picture I can attach a few. Note: I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this and that you could even find better materials somewhere else. But this was cheap, quick and got my creativness flowing...

Thanks again Chris

 

lets try this

 

Ok it worked great no issues at all. Expansion Plugs trimmed about an 1/8 in thickness, and ID opened up to about .550 to .620 will work for front upper shock mount bushings. I was able to pull the old one apart with a fly wheel puller and reassembled with a hammer to set and a vice to seat (couple of sockets to space). But yeah they worked great! the rudder compound of the expansion plugs is not rock hard and meant to flex a little I think the ride is great...

 

Us$ 85 for 4 urethane bushings ? that's insane.

beside the outlandish price, urethane is not a good choice for a shock bushing on a Jaguar ( or any street vehicles for that matter)

 

Nice job - MacGyver would be proud

 

I have read all the posts and feel like I'm missing something. On my car there is a sensor plug and then a 18 mm tall nut under the hood at the top of the shock. Then there is the lovely crumbly orangeish old bushing that needs to be replaced. If I start to unscrew this top nut it just spins. How do I keep the shock stem from spinning so I can unscrew this nut. I am reading that I need a hydraulic press..........where do I use this press and how do I use it? Does anyone have a video or pics of this?? Also, are there 2 bushings per side? Do the back shock bushings not need to replaced also? And if so, how do I get to those? And is the removal process the sames?

2002 Jaguar Super 8 121k in Sarasota

 

You have the adaptive shocks on your car. A metric Allen key fits into the top of the shock (after the connector is removed) and holds the shock tube while you unscrew the nut. The press is to separate the (2 per side) bushings from the shock tower which are held in place by a sleeve.

 

Thank you for that!! I saw the allen wrench nut in the top of the brass nut and wondered what that would be there for. Now I know. I don't have a press, but I can take the bracket to a shop and have them remove it pretty easily, right? And all I need to ask them to do is separate and remove the two bushings? The new bushings do not need to be pressed, correct?
Since I have the adaptive shocks do I need to order different bushings than what they are recommending on this site? Is there anything else different as far as removal that I might need to be aware of?


2002 Super 8 121K miles Sarasota

 

You might be able to get away with a hammer, but a press is definitely the correct tool for the job.