greetings. i followed an older tread about the lower control arm bushings actually being replaced ( on my 2004 VDP), despite of what the dealer states, and i tabbed a site that sells them. i think fraziermitchel (sp?) in the UK had a link for the rear ones too. my indie jag mechanic said he could do them for me if i supplied them. so question is..."lower control arm bushings"...implies that there are "upper" ones too? sway bar bushings will go out too, so that's a replacement too. what else do i look for...and more importantly, WHAT and HOW would i look for something to inspect in my driveway before i start ordering parts? the air shocks are relatively new..the two fronts were replaced be dealership prior top sale last year, and rears were replaced about 2-3 years ago by previous owner. has anyone else done this and have any tip and tricks to make it less of a pain?
thanks in advance, wm

 

There has been a lot of talk over the last few years re replacement of the lower control arm bushing only. I don't recall anyone putting out a final post stating that they had actually accomplished it as a DIY project. I think there was one guy who pulled it off but he had extensive machine shop back up.

As far as how to replace the lower control arm with bushing assby, there was a series of posts 18 mo or so ago. Do a through search and you should be able to come up with it. It's not that big a deal. There is an eccentric bolt that has to be carefully marked prior to dis-assembly so that alignment can be somewhat in the ballpark when you're done. You will have to get the front end aligned when you're finished in any case but you don't want to ruin the tire on the way in to the shop.

I did it myself and reported back so I know the post exists. As far as getting your indie shop to do it - no big deal if they have Jag experience but they may be sticking their neck out in committing to replace the bushing only.

The complete assby is avail from Welsh and the bushing by itself is # C2C026267 at North of $40.00 if you can find a source.

 

My wife asked about a squeak she heard coming from the driver's side over the rear wheel, and the local Jaguar dealer called me today to tell me it was the lower control arm, and that it would cost $900 to replace. I reminded him that my car is still covered by the Select Edition warranty which is an "exclusionary warranty" that covers everything except specifically excluded parts (like brake rotors, etc.) and that control arms aren't list amongst the items not covered.

He replied that it is actually a bushing that is worn, not the control arm and that bushings are in the list of items not covered. I said, "good, then replace the $30 bushing". He said "we can't, it is an integrated component of the control arm". I replied, "good, then the control arm is defective, replace it as it is not excluded". His reply - "because the bushing (which is not covered) is defective, you have to pay $900 for the control arm (which is covered).

Is this fraud or stupidity? Why would the authorised dealers of a prestigious automobile manufacturer treat a life long customer this way?

 

Sorry to hear that. I am not fully versed on Select Edition exclusions, but as I have mentioned here before, the Jag dealer I buy my cars from told me NOT to buy the Select Edition because it excluded many of the most common failed components on these cars. Does it say that bushings are not covered? I believe it has been mentioned here before there are bushings available and they can be replaced for less than $100.

 

Here's a UK supplier, £40 each.

Jaguar X350 Rear Lower Wishbone Bush - Detailed item view - Jaguar Spares Northeast

Here's another with complete new arms at less than half the Jaguar price.

Jaguar X350 Rear Lower Wishbone Arm RH (C2C39585#) | JustJagsUK.com

I really get quite cross about these arms. They are made in their thousands, being fitted to S-Types, XJs (both X350 and X351), the XF, and XK . Even some US Fords and Lincolns were fitted with them.

They are NOT made in penny packets by gnarled old craftsmen smoking curvy meershaum pipes in wooden huts in the middle of the Black Forest !!

So Jaguar, if you are listening, would you please start charging reasonable prices for your parts !!

 

BTW - I have seen adds recently re the availability of "overhauled" lower front control arm assemblies at moderate prices. Check out Welsh Enterprises. I think they are one of our sponsors now. The pieces include replaced bushings at each end.

 

I saw these on ebay just last night for $299 each. They will probably be in my future, unless I can figure out how to shoehorn the bushings in mine:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jaguar-XJ8-S...#ht_500wt_1127

 

I was in my local independent on Monday getting my non functional mirror and approach light fixed.

They had a real pile of used rear lower arms with bushes pressed out. I was told they were now refurbishing the arms with the two bushes that fail (the third "silentbloc" type lasts much longer). All arms are bead-blasted, and checked for cracks and damage, then if OK, new bushes are pressed in and the arms put into service. Owner said they had spent quite a sum on equipment to support this process. A press is needed, plus accurate mandrels for pressing old out and new in, plus a jog to check bushes are correctly distanced to each other. I think the beadblasting is contracted out. Beadblasting does not remove metal, only dirt and corrosion. I was not told any prices, but this shop replaced my arms last year with new ones at £215 each, so I assume they will be charging less for the refurbished arms. Two bushes at around £40 each a makes £80 for parts, then there is the refurb labour, so I would estimate around £150-170. It's not all that much less than aftermarket new arms, really, although they may have a special deal on the bushes if they buy in bulk.

 

When I went back to my Jag dealer, who had insisted that they could only replace the control arm at $900 as the bushings were an 'integral part' of the control arm, and explained these posts, the Service Manager conceded that another customer had bought a $30 bushing from the U.K. and their tech pressed it in with no problem. So I'll pick one up and pay for the hour of labour to put it in. It still bothers me that the warranty covers "control arms" but they won't do this under warranty as the warranty excludes "bushings".

 

Some Jaguar dealers will do unofficial repairs, some won't. If the official Jaguar repair is followed, it is backed up by the 12 month warranty on parts. However, it is a rather expensive way of paying for a warranty if the arm is replaced at a cost of £460, plus our UK VAT tax of 20% !!

I was told by my local dealer early last year they could put bushes in, but it was unofficial, i.e not Jaguar approved. They even told me the easy way to get them in and out. By pouring some boiling water over the arm the bushes are a lot easier to press out and in, due to the high coefficient of expansion of aluminium (the arm) compared to steel (the bush).

 

I have the same situation on my 2012 XJL Portfolio. The bushings failed (hydraulic fluid leaking) on both front lower forward control arms, which also caused premature tire tread wear. My XJL is covered under Jaguar's Certified Pre-Owned Warranty but the local dealer (British Motor Car Distribution Ltd., San Francisco, CA) said the integrated bushings are not covered. While I understand that wear and tear items (such as “bushings”) may not be covered, I asked them to please reconsider because of the way Jaguar designed the front lower forward control arm assembly – i.e., bushing is not separate, but actually integrated with the control arm assembly. However, they explained that the bushing has a separate part number; and it can be pressed onto the front lower forward control arm assembly. Because the quote I got was about $2,600 for replacement & installation of the whole assembly, I asked them to provide me instead with a quote replacing the bushings only.

After a few days, they got back to me and said that their pressing tool (or machine) is inoperative, so there is no choice but to replace the whole assembly. That was not an acceptable excuse. I asked again if they could please reconsider covering the problem with my CPO warranty if pressing of the bushings could not be done.

They got back to me and offered to discount instead the replacement/installation of both control arms assembly for $1,485 (i.e., $835 labor & $650 parts, tax excluded). Again, that was not what I was asking for. If, in fact, the bushing is considered a separate part from the assembly, I requested them to give me a quote just to replace/install the bushings. In response to my request, I was quoted $1,480 to replace just the bushings (labor was jacked up to $1,375 + $105 for the bushings). The difference was only $5.00!!!

I sent a formal Complaint letter (re deceptive warranty coverage) with copy to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I have not heard back from them.

 

If you have a search of the control arm part number C2Z10052, you'll find many sources online at very much lower than main dealer prices, often less than $100 for a pair. The nice thing is the control arms are shared over multiple Jaguar platforms. Labor to do both sides should be about an hour or so plus an alignment.

 

lower rear arm bushing removal in 3 minutes .. Here’s how I removed the bushings on a spares rear arm. I purchased rear arms with shot bushings so I can still drive my car while working on them. After a couple of trial and errors (including trying to drill the inner part of the bushing) this is h

Rear arm x350 bushing removal


ow I removed them without a press... Important ! This is for removal of a shot old bushing , do not use this procedure for new bushings as you do not want to press hard on the internal part of the new bushing... Stay away from the part and tool while applying pressure. Use at your own risk of course ...
Notes , grease applied on the thread of the tool... Don’t think it will survive otherwise ... Used an electric impact wrench to gradually apply pressure. Carefull to not have the tool legs in the pathway out of the bushing sleeve... Used pb plaster on 3 of them but did not really did a difference.

 

I would be very careful pressing in the new bushes because these arms are aluminium castings, not forgings, and can crack on you. Best to warm up the arm before pressing to get the aluminium expanded, and keep the bushes in the fridge. Aluminium has about twice the coefficient of expansion of steel.

 

Just got the aftermarket Lincoln LS control arms and be done with it...

 

I rebuilt my suspension, 2004 VDP. The upper A arms ball joint cannot be replaced (at least I could not figure it out). So you have to buy new ones. The fronts were $75 from an online source, The rears I bought from a Ford dealer. $140.00 each as I recall (T Birds are 350 platform). Hubs $50, Detroit Axle. Bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends etc. came mostly from Rock Auto. I would choose Moog if I could. Lower rear bushings are delrin since I could not get the right rubber bushings. I have a lathe so I turned the mandrels I needed to press the bushings out and in with a HF arbor press. Had HF ball joint kit to do those. Use torch to heat the aluminum to remove and insert.








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