2008 XJ VDP Suspension Problems
#1
2008 XJ VDP Suspension Problems
Well after more than 16 weeks and $6000 in repairs, we finally found out why my right rear air shock was blowing O-rings.
I replaced the R/R shock 5 times in 3 months, it would work for a week or 2 then the next morning it would be flat.
I kept telling the Jaguar mechanic that it COULDN'T BE THE SHOCKS, that it had to be something wrong with the car because NOBODY is unlucky enough to get 5 defective shocks in a row! RIGHT?
So after 5 shocks, I got a refund for all of the shocks and bought a conversion kit from Arnott with the EBM module. After doing this, then you could really tell that something was wrong with my car.
The drive shaft had to be replaced! WHAT, I know. Jaguar said they don't make these because "They never go out", yeah that is what they said when my rear end went out in 2011, and that is also what they said when my radio amplifier went out in 2013, and that is what they said when all the speakers (except the front doors) went out in 2013, and that is also what they said when my seat heaters went out in 2014. WOW, it sure seems like a lot of stuff that NEVER goes out on my year/model Jaguar goes out, at least on my car!
Evidently the drive shaft had gotten twirked a little bit, not enough that you could tell with the air shocks on it, but you could tell when there wasn't air shocks on it. The mechanic said maybe this happened while driving 70 and hitting a big pot hole! Well I do remember hitting this giant pot hole during 5 o'clock traffic with no where else to go. And this happened about a week before the 1st R/R shock went flat! After hitting the giant pothole, I had the car re-aligned, and it seemed to drive fine, but evidently the drive shaft had gotten damaged.
So the moral of this story is....if your right rear shock continues to be the only one that goes flat after replacing it, have them check the drive shaft.
I had to locate a used/salvaged drive shaft since Jaguar couldn't get me one! Now the car had been converted, and I hate the ride as it rides like a Corvette when you hit just little bumps in the road! But at least I won't be replacing the Air Suspension AGAIN....EVER!
I replaced the R/R shock 5 times in 3 months, it would work for a week or 2 then the next morning it would be flat.
I kept telling the Jaguar mechanic that it COULDN'T BE THE SHOCKS, that it had to be something wrong with the car because NOBODY is unlucky enough to get 5 defective shocks in a row! RIGHT?
So after 5 shocks, I got a refund for all of the shocks and bought a conversion kit from Arnott with the EBM module. After doing this, then you could really tell that something was wrong with my car.
The drive shaft had to be replaced! WHAT, I know. Jaguar said they don't make these because "They never go out", yeah that is what they said when my rear end went out in 2011, and that is also what they said when my radio amplifier went out in 2013, and that is what they said when all the speakers (except the front doors) went out in 2013, and that is also what they said when my seat heaters went out in 2014. WOW, it sure seems like a lot of stuff that NEVER goes out on my year/model Jaguar goes out, at least on my car!
Evidently the drive shaft had gotten twirked a little bit, not enough that you could tell with the air shocks on it, but you could tell when there wasn't air shocks on it. The mechanic said maybe this happened while driving 70 and hitting a big pot hole! Well I do remember hitting this giant pot hole during 5 o'clock traffic with no where else to go. And this happened about a week before the 1st R/R shock went flat! After hitting the giant pothole, I had the car re-aligned, and it seemed to drive fine, but evidently the drive shaft had gotten damaged.
So the moral of this story is....if your right rear shock continues to be the only one that goes flat after replacing it, have them check the drive shaft.
I had to locate a used/salvaged drive shaft since Jaguar couldn't get me one! Now the car had been converted, and I hate the ride as it rides like a Corvette when you hit just little bumps in the road! But at least I won't be replacing the Air Suspension AGAIN....EVER!
#3
I was told it was the o-ring on the airbag! Not really sure. I bought the used drive shaft for $150 from a wrecked jaguar. If you have a lot of potholes that are really big in your town you might need the driveshaft someday. Mine that went out was the original, so I guess it really doesn't take much to ruin them. I am/was a pretty descent mechanic back in the days before the computer stuff, but now I really don't/can't do much especially on my 2008 VDP. All I know is that my mechanic said that the right rear is the main drive/torque? wheel so that with just a little twirk in the drive shaft after driving it a few days/weeks it would wiggle the shock just enough that the seal would leak on the shock itself.
What is kinda funny but not really is the fact that Arnott stopped selling the re-manufactured OEM shocks because of my problem. They even went so far as to tell me that their O-Ring supplier had given them bad O-Rings, which at the time sounded correct, but now it simply doesn't.
I preferred my ride with the air suspension, but at least now I won't ever go thru this again! LOL
What is kinda funny but not really is the fact that Arnott stopped selling the re-manufactured OEM shocks because of my problem. They even went so far as to tell me that their O-Ring supplier had given them bad O-Rings, which at the time sounded correct, but now it simply doesn't.
I preferred my ride with the air suspension, but at least now I won't ever go thru this again! LOL
#4
About a year ago, I had to replace the air suspension compressor and 2 front air shocks on my 2005 VDP with about 75,000 miles. My Jaguar dealer initially used Arnott air shocks at my request, as they were cheaper, but to their credit, replaced them under warranty with Jaguar OEM shocks as the Arnott's failed in 30 days and created a fault code that couldn't be cleared with replacement Arnott's. Shortly thereafter the main propeller shaft bearing went out and fortunately, I had a mechanic that had the shaft rebuilt in the metro Chicago area, so it only cost about $700, while a new Jaguar propeller shaft is around $1,500. I think the propeller shaft bearing failed because of the stress caused by the air suspension going flat. Anyway, all is well now about 5,000 miles after the repairs.
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