Hi everyone thanks for providing this great forum. My 2006 Portfolio 33K miles has developed a cold temp leak on the PS front strut, works fine at temps above 50F so it's time to address the front shocks. I read some where a few years back that the portfolio had shocks tuned in between the sport and comfort shocks, I'm wondering if this true and if it matters. My gut tells me to buy two new Bilstien's, Rock Auto currently selling for $659 each but no mention of sport or comfort ride part# 44069483 My other thought is to buy two Arnott AS2890 for sport suspension for $376 each at rock auto and have the originals rebuilt at some point in the future in order to keep the car original. Any input is appreciated.

Charlie Pace
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At only 33,000 miles, I would look for exactly where the leak was before changing parts out for general purpose aftermarket items. I would suspect fittings before a degraded air bladder with that low of mileage.

Dave

 

You do not have to replace both shocks as long you getting the same shock from the same manufacturer. I have 2004 with 38K miles and one shock leak due to suspected dry rot. You can get Chinese made and front two shocks cost around $450.00 on ebay.

 

Thanks JRT but it's leaking at the top of shock

 

Do these shocks maintain the ECATS ?

 

Hi Charlie,

Your symptoms are consistent with a leaking top seal in a front air spring/shock absorber unit. Top seal leaks tend to worsen in cold weather, and frequently do not leak much if at all in warm weather. So far, we do not know of an easy way to repair the top seal, since the part is not available from Bilstein and the unit is crimped together and not readily disassembled.

In my opinion, the very best option is to purchase two new Bilstein B4 air spring/shock absorbers, replace both of your fronts, and save the one non-leaking unit as a spare. The Bilsteins have the adaptive damping solenoids that will retain your ECATS functionality. As far as I know, none of the aftermarket units from Arnott, Suncore or others will preserve your ECATS.

As far as I am aware, the Bilsteins were only available in Sport and Comfort versions and there was no in-between version for the Portfolio, but I could be wrong. Regardless, those options do not appear to be available any longer, as the only ones I could find recently were the Bilstein B4s. I have installed these on both supercharged and normally-aspirated cars and they work fine for both, and the ride and handling are superb.

Even though your mileage is low, it is also likely that the piston ring/seal in your air compressor is worn and needs to be replaced. This is a relatively easy DIY job with an inexpensive kit available from our member Andy at bagpipingandy.com.

For more information on the air suspension and ECATS, see the following post:

Air Suspension & ECATS System Summary: Components & Operation

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

 

Thanks Don I believe your opinion is the correct answer just wishing there was less expensive good option but for this car two new Bilstiens is it.
Thanks for helping me keep my thinking straight.

Charlie

 

$1385 at SNG vs $675 for BILSTEIN 44069483 at rockauto. Does anybody know the difference?

 

yes, the difference is $710


I'll show myself out...

 

LOL I needed that.

 

It's done two new Bilstiens ordered from rockauto.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Charlie Pace

 

Hi Charlie
Fate and my mechanic have determined I need to replace right front air spring on 06 Portfolio. I too would like to stick with the OEM part. How did you make out with the parts ordered from Rock Auto? Did you order the Bilstein B4 sport air spring? Would appreciate any guidance.
Van

 

Hi Van,

I have installed the Bilstein B4 air spring/shock absorber units from Rock Auto on a few X350s and they are absolutely fabulous. But they really must be replaced in pairs, since the shock absorber in your old, non-leaking unit is worn and will not match the damping of a new one, which can lead to unsafe instability on rough road surfaces or during an emergency maneuver.

With a properly working air compressor and new Bilstein air springs/shocks, the ride of the X350/X358 is truly world class, the equal of nearly anything available today.

Unfortunately, the Bilsteins are in short supply and not always available on Rock Auto. Check Parts Geek also, but their price is usually higher.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks - I found a pair of Bilstein B4’s for front at AutoPartsKart for $1650 with 72 hr delivery. Bilsteins seem hard to come by right now and many of my usual suppliers were “out of stock.” As far as I could tell the sport variant of the Bilsteins for the Portfolio are no longer manufactured or available anywhere so I went with the comfort spec p/n 44-069483. Hopefully this will resolve the cold weather droop. My car is from Southern California and is now in the northeast; I believe it was not an issue in its previous geolocation. The mechanic found bubbles at the valve block so we replaced that first. I was skeptical because it was just the front dropping in cold weather and sure enough the new valve block did not solve the issue. Anyway, onward…. Hopefully at the end of this week he won’t tell me it’s the compressor lol.
V

 

I'm not sure that the original Bilstein's were not the comfort version on the 2006 SV8 Portfolio.
IMHO only the XJR had the sport version.
When I replaced my front springs (leaking when cold) on my 2006 SV8 Portfolio, I bought a pair of that normal comfort version.
Did not notice any change in handling afterwards

 

Thanks Paydase, reassuring to hear you were satisfied with the comfort air spring. I’ve read that if the original was a sport version it will have a red dot on the spring and the comfort will have a green dot. I can tell you that the Portfolio valve block which distributes the pressurized air throughout the system is not the same part number as the Super V8 valve block. We’ll soon see if my originals have any dots!
V

 

You are correct, my 06 SV8 Portfolio Bilsteins were the “green dot” comfort spec so I replaced with the same. Curious, what kind of tires do you have on yours? Mine are Pirellis and I’m wondering if a softer tire like Michelin or Conti might be more suitable?

 

My tires are Michelin pilot Sport A/S Plus N (a Porsche spec) in the size 255/40 R20.
They are starting to age by now (they are from 2015) but still plenty of thread left after 60.000 km driven and the ride is smooth thanks to the higher sidewall. Very good tires!
You can see pics here: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...9/#post2495327

 

I have been wafflingon changing struts on my XJR. Looked at RockAuto and PartsGeek. Then checked FCP Euro. They show there as discontinued.