Cambo351
Moderator


I see in January of 2011 you posted a list of what generally goes wrong with the X350's. Well, thank god I bought a 4 year maintenance contract when I bought my 2007 Vanden Plas last month. While I only have 45,000 miles on it I have it in the Jaguar Dealership at this time for a 100,000 mile service as well as new differential, brakes, & power steering fluids. They called yesterday and told me the front bushes are bad and the fluid has leaked out of them. They said the problem is if I hit a bump I'll hear the wishbones hitting. They said uneven tire wear will be the problem. Anyway, they said my maintenance contract will cover the $2,500 USD bill. You mentioned in your 2011 summation of X350 problems that there was aftermarket bushes available and it was no longer necessary to replace the entire wishbones. Can you tell me who sells the bushes in the states? Also, it may sound a little funny but, when you refer to "bushes" is it the same as what we refer to as "bushings" here in the states?


Any help you can give me will be most appreciated.

 

The front lower wishbones are made up of two arms bolted together, one straight and one bendy. Both have bushes (or bushings) at their inner end that can be obtained and swapped out.

Look here.
Steering-Suspension | Jaguar XJ - X350 - XJR | British Parts UK

You should also be able to get them from a US supplier. I don't think Jaguar main agents sell them separately. You can also just buy complete arms and swap them out which is quicker but the parts cost more, with less labour to fit so a toss-up, really.

You might also find the lower air spring unit bushes in the straight arms are knackered too. Best to swap these out whilst the arms are off if they are worn out.

 

Yes, bushes are bushings. And yes you can buy bushings separately for some of the control arms. If your maintenance contract covers this repair though, I'd let them do it with factory parts. I replaced every single piece of the suspension in my 04 XJR last year. Some factory, some aftermarket. I have already had to replace the rear anti-roll bar uprights, bought aftermarket so I am less than pleased with aftermarket. Jaguar of Greenville, SC took over the online parts business from Nalley last year, so I find that now I can buy factory parts at nearly the same cost as aftermarket when you include shipping. If you have a contract, I'd definitely stick with factory parts and let them pay for it. My experience is that aftermarket parts have not been an improvement on the factory items and are more likely to be subpar.

 

I picked up my car yesterday from the Jaguar Dealership in Sacramento. Guess what - I was told by the Service Department that since the front control arm bushings were not listed on the work order when I came in that the insurance will not replace them. Evidently they (insurance company) want to see that it was a problem for me that was reported on the onset to the Service Department. Either I'll go back with the clunking noise as a listed problem and have the insurance pay for them or I'll just do them myself.


A question - I had the mechanic raise the vehicle and he pointed out the problem. He pointed at the one arm on the left and the one on the right. The liquid filled bushings seemed to be on the upper part of the arms. He told me the one bushing on the top of each arm is what needs to be replaced. I asked about removing the arms and he told me all I needed to do is remove the upper bolt that goes through the liquid filled bushing and the lower bolt that goes through an insulator and it would come out. Is it really that easy? I know the liquid filled bushing on the top needs to be pressed out at a machine shop. He also said I would want to have a 4 way realignment afterwards.


I built my 1954 Chevrolet truck ground up and I know some things are easy and others you wished you didn't have to deal with. Is this really that easy?

 

Sorry, I may be missing something.....

If your insurance will cover the costs and get the work done by the dealer, why would you want to do it yourself?

Thanks
Jim

 

Interesting, a repair issue is a repair issue whether noticed by you or a mechanic. What did you pay for that 4 year maintenance contract and was it a Jagaur Dealership recommended third party type?

 

Jim, I paid 2,500 for the 4 year insurance policy. The replacement of the bushings is around 2,500. I've only had the policy for two months. Rather than hitting the insurance up for this I thought I might just do it myself. I doubt the arms are bent and thought if it's easy to remove the arms and replace the bushings then I'd do it myself. I think it would be easier to get assistance from the insurance folks in the future if I wasn't already in the hole with them.

 

Fraser, I had Jaguar in Sacramento, California send me the mechanics report from when he worked on my car. He says the two front bottom suspension arms need to be replaced. The dealership shows they are both Jaguar part # C2C39683. Jaguar shows the part costing me $712.25 each or $1,424.50 for both (873.92 British Sterling). They are also charging $936.25 to install both and $336.00 for a 4 wheel alignment. If you add everything up along with tax it comes to over $2,500 USD (1,533 British Sterling)


I looked at Just Jags.com and they have the exact same part number C2C39683-0, a Jaguar made part, for 132.23 Euro each/264.46 for both. That's around $431.07 USD. Yes they charge another 55 sterling to ship to the US. Still, I end up with 2 for the price of one in the states. I went ahead and ordered them and am thrilled. Thanks for the tip.


Fraser, what position do you have to have the suspension to relax it in order to remove and replace that bottom, front, curved part? Can I merely jack the vehicle up and remove the bolts on both ends without everything falling apart. I know you've done this on your car so I thought I would ask.

 

Hi Daveenstra

Glad to hear you have found a better price on these parts ! As you say, two for the price of one has to be a good deal.

In fact I have never done any work on my car personally, as I have a very good Jaguar specialist near me, and having rebuilt a Mark 2 and an XJ6 in previous years, enough is enough now I'm 68 ! As far as I know there is nothing special about this job, the suspension has to be relaxed with the car weight off it, but that's all. This is because the air spring will run out of travel as the car raises, so removing all of the lower wishbone is safe as I understand the construction.

In your case, you're just taking off the front arm leaving the straight one in place, so the air spring unit remains in place. However, if you're doing the job yourself, wait around here a bit until the DIY guys post who have done the job for real, as there may be a few foibles. I have not had to replace any front suspension components, (yet !!!), apart from the lower air spring bushes mounted in the straight arm, and the air springs themselves. I didn't like the Sport ones on my car, so trawled around the internet and found a set of "new old-stock" items, so at 80k miles they were swapped out at the same time as the front lower bushes in February this year.

These are a great car, but I do sometimes get a wee bit exasperated with the failure of parts that, really, should last a lot longer. I call it "unfair wear and tear". Due to my diligence in maintenance the car is running very well, with a German holiday 2535 miles at 28.7 mpg, and everything in order except my wallet ! And I have three other cars to keep running as well, I must be mad !!

 

Fraser, DonB sent me the Shop Manuals for the vehicle. The pages are really clear. Basically all I have to do is jack up the front (both sides at one time), remove the wheels, remove the 2 bolts that hold the control arm in place, put the new one in and torque the bolt that faces downward 60 Nm. (45. ft pounds), tighten the 2nd nut, put the wheels back on and lower the vehicle, then re-torque the 2nd nut to 175 Nm. (129 ft. pounds). I think I'll use Locktite blue on the threads to insure everything stays put.

 

Hi Daveenstra
Good to see DonB has provided the correct instructions. You might like to check the lower air spring bushes in the straight arms as these bushes are a known short-life component, due to the four of them, (four air springs), taking the full weight of the car. I had my fronts replaced when I put the Comfort air springs on. Of course the rear air spring units have the bottom bushes built in.

Now here's a funny tale.....
I bought the car on 30k miles and before I got to 35k, the suspension warning light was on. A service exchange compressor was fitted and all has been well ever since, even though I'm now on 86k miles. So the question is - am I on borrowed time with the compressor or did the car just have a bad one on it when I bought it ?

 

Hopefully the answer to your question is that Jaguar has realized that many of the parts they put on our vehicles had problems and they contacted their suppliers and had the parts modified to fix the problems. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.