Nate -
The parts arrived yesterday ahead of schedule via FedEx not USPS, so that's good, although the box was clearly opened and re-taped shut very poorly. I thought for sure I'd be missing something but everything was there.

The originals lasted 150K, so I'm not likely to need another set. I don't have clunking but a series of creaks and such when the car is cold and driven slowly. Now that I'm hyper aware that things are truly worn, the car is not nice to drive at all.

Although you did put the idea in my head that having an extra pair around is a good thing, I would not rebush the arms myself so there would be another unnecessary cost for me as the originals lasted 150K and I'm assuming that these high quality OE parts will do the same.

As an aside, when I bought the car 2 years and 15K miles ago, my shop alerted me that this work would need to be done sooner than later. The bushes lasted another 12K-ish. When I finally noticed the uneven tire wear, I was (am) at 153K.

My car has always had an annoying shimmy that I was told is primarily due to old rims, but now realize that the bushes must have been a contributing factor.

Just to be sure I'm going to have my shop put on my rims that I know are round but have summer tires on (Toyo T1 Proxes). Should be OK for a month while I decide to recondition the original 19 inch rims or buy a set of new all-seasons for a set of 18 inch rims I got from a 2012 XF (demonstrated round). Yeah, I'm a little stupid.

Obviously I'm looking forward to a smoother ride.

Anyway I'm taking it in tomorrow and so I'll know by mid or end of the week the result and will PM you.

Thanks again for your help.

 

Frazier -

Always good info and completes the story on what bad arms (or it seems only bushes) can do.

 

The work on my car was completed today - - Lower rearward control arms, wishbones, and since my shop found the upper ball joints to be bad, they decided to replace those as well.

The car I have now bears no resemblance to what I had the previous 2 years - With the front end done the Eibach springs are performing as they should and the car corners and handles like nothing I've ever driven before - The creaks, inappropriate roll, sloppy handling, and annoying vibrations are all gone. I feel like one of those people on the car makeover shows - Oh my God I can't believe this is my car!!!

Many thanks again to all who helped with advice.

Nate -I'll PM you now.

 

Glad you got yours squared away, they are really nice vehicles, when they are right.

 

So I got my driver's side front lower arm replaced today. I'm still experiencing a CLUNK - but perhaps it's a bit better now? Anyways, the tools needed for the job:

Jack, jack stand(s), wheel chocks, and ramps
18mm and 15mm box wrench/spanners
21mm socket
18mm crowfoot or 18mm deep well socket
Torque wrench (45 ft lbs outboard bolt; 130 ft lbs inboard eccentric bolt)

Steps:
1) Loosen lug nuts on the corner being repaired. Place wheel chocks, jack car up; then place jack stand(s). Remove wheel.
2) Mark eccentric bolt position on the inboard side with paint pen. Loosen with 21mm socket.
3) Loosen outboard nut with 18mm spanner/socket. Hold bolt head with 15mm spanner. Remove inboard & outboard bolts, along with control arm.
4) Replace arm. Remember - the arm curves INWARDS towards the car I had to pull the arm off & correct this.
5) Replace outboard bolt/nut with new hardware. Tighten to 45 ft lbs, then another 135° to ensure tightness.
6) Install eccentric bolt on the inboard arm. Use 18mm spanner to return alignment with your markings. Hand tighten, then tighten until snug (perhaps a proper spec is 65 ft lbs until the car is on its own weight?)
7) Reinstall tire. Remove jack stand(s). Lower car.
8) Set ramps in front of car & drive into ramps. Ensure eccentric bolt is still correctly aligned. Tighten inboard nut to 130 ft lbs. Back off of the ramp.
9) Set appointment at the alignment shop!

I so far skipped step 6 - new outboard hardware, and step 9 - realignment. I drove ~10 miles, which is not advisable per more experienced users. Still experiencing a CLUNK from the front left corner. Perhaps I have more bushings to replace, or the air compressor, or my calipers not having the retaining clips.





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I rebuilt my 2005 S Type both lower control arms with OEM bushings. I have my own press at home because searching for someone to press for you is pain in the butt. You can purchasing manual pressing tools for under 100 bucks from eBay and the 12 ton press is less than $150. Anyway, I am writing the part numbers for anyone who wants to restore his suspension to OEM quality even cheaper than the aftermarket junk. I purchased all the parts from www.fcpeuro.com. FYI, upper control arms bushings are only available on eBay from a Taiwanese seller for about $70 and also available from Powerflex for $160 for a set of 4 bushings as polyurethane.

1- Control arm bushing located in the curved front forward control arm (part # C2C36029) brand Lemforder for $31 each and you will need two for both sides.
2- Front lower control arm rearward, each control arm has 3 bushings (part number for the big one #C2C4437 brand Lemforder and price $40) + (the smaller bushing part #C2C36866 for $20 available in both Corteco and Lemforder brands) + (the tiny bushing part number #C2C4438 Lemforder brand for $8)
3- Sway bar links are available as OEM Lemforder for $50 each part #C2D24220.

BTW, FCP Euro offers lifetime warranty for everything they sell. I have been shopping from them since 2015 for BMW, Volvo, VW and Jaguar.

 

MM -

Thanks for the VERY useful post regarding pressing bushings and how to do it. These parts fit the XJ models as many know.

I just replaced my total front and nor rear suspension and my car is really tight - I can now really tell how sloppy the back end was before the repair.

I have all the old parts and will refurb them at some point. Thanks for your efforts and posting.

 

Quick update - my CLUNK was resolved by changing the sway bar links all around. In my opinion, this is the worthiest upgrade to date I've made. I did rear lateral arms while doing the sway bar links, and resorted to a hack saw 4 times to take the rear links & lateral arms off. Still worth it