Imagine a pair of paper knickers, a curry and a few pints of beer. The result is what the suspension strut bellows look like on my 2004 XJ8 passenger side. I was cruising at 70mph on an interstate when it went with a bang and my wife correctly identified which strut it was by the percussion through the floor.

I ordered a pair of rebuilt struts from RMT for a very reasonable cost ($265 each) as soon as I got home and plan to replace the appropriate front end bushings when I tear both front struts out. Does anyone know of a reasonably priced kit of all front end bushings for the x350 to save me working through a parts list? Also, is there a poly bush equivalent to the standard setup?

Many thanks in advance
Steve

 

Strictly speaking, the only bush you might need to replace is the bottom shock bushes. These are located on the rear of the two arms that make up the front lower wishbone and don't have a long life. Each air spring unit has a bush at the bottom, so these four bushes take the weight of the car, hence the short life. However potentially the biggest problem is undoing and removing the bolt securing the air spring/shock unit to the wishbone. Most shops will not provide quotations for this reason, only estimates. The shop that did mine on my last X350 had no problems, but told me some were so seized that the shock and arm together sometimes needed removing and then separated on the workbench using hacksaws on the bolt !

It will be worth checking the other bushes and the two ball joints, especially the boots of the latter, but don't rush ahead and replace everything without checking first. There is no point in needlessly replacing serviceable components. The large trunnion bush in the front arm of the lower wishbone wears and then causes tow-out that can eat up your tyres quite quickly unless spotted early.

 

Steve;
You may also want to keep in mind the 'struts' need to be removed on order to replace the upper control arms. If the upper control arm bushes are starting to look worn you may want to just go ahead and replace them at the same time. Search the forum for alternative upper control arm pn's (I believe maybe for the Lincoln LS if memory serves me) at a more reasonable price vs. OEM Jaguar.

- Best Regards, William

 

Poly bushes are not recommended they tend to disintegrate.