A few things I can think of:

The front lower shock absorber bushings are mounted in the control arms and tend to perish, so while you're at it, have those checked along with the other lower control arm bushes already mentioned by electechbw and Fraser.

The air spring-to-body retaining nuts that go on the top studs of the air spring have a low torque specification, just 25 Nm / 18 ft. lbs. Some of our members have snapped a stud off of the air spring by overtightening those nuts.

Also, the torque spec for the air hose fittings is an even lower 5 Nm / 44 inch pounds. Some members have stripped the threads in the air spring by overtightening the fitting. Be sure your shop knows and applies the correct torque. Sometimes when the air hose fittings are loosened they don't want to retighten properly without leaking. In this case, you need to cut 1/2 inch off of the hose at as close to a 90-degree angle as possible and install a new compression ring or "olive." Jaguar recommends special hose cutters by SPC OTC or Snap On/Blue Point (both are made in Canada by Anderle).

Cheers,

Don

 

I may be looking at doing this shortly - will probably go with Moog, but TBD...

Question: how are the upper pivot bolts removed? is there a nut on the back side that I'll have to figure out how to reach, or are they threaded into the chassis somehow so that all I have to do is back out the bolts? I assume I'll need to drop the vertical link from the ball joint first to make it a bit easier on myself. Any tips?

 

I believe they are threaded into the holding brackets, I don't remember any nuts on those bolts. They were easy to remove though, even if there were nuts on the bolts. The upper A arm ball joints on my car were loose and needed to be replaced. I bought inexpensive replacements on EBay that were for a Lincoln. They had the same mold markings as the OEM parts.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pair-of...53.m1438.l2649

THis price is almost for free with ship included

 

You will have remove both shocks to retrieve the two bolts.

 

Thanks Anna - was afraid of that. Oh well, they aren't too difficult to get out in the scheme of things. Great tip on the ebay Lincoln LS parts, makes it a lot cheaper :-)

 

how about the XJR?

 

Yes.
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Hey folks,

Lots and lots of good stuff here. From experience, I used to work for the supplier of the front and rear subframes on these cars. As you mention, they were first introduced in 1999 on the X200 platform (S-Type, Lincoln LS, Ford Thunderbird and even a Lotus modified version on the Aston Vanquish). We made those in Michigan. Then in 2002 a redesign went onto the X202, X350 and then onto at least the X250. That was Jag only and was made in the UK. So yes, there's a ton of carry over parts here, including upper and lower control arms on front and rear.
Good find on the Moog front uppers, but be warned, you get what you pay for. I replaced the OEM ones on my 06 XJR at about 120,000 miles and had to do it again at 180,000. I'm up to 216,000 miles now and the second set are still good. I also put them on my 09 XF supercharged at about 100,000 miles.
If you're looking to save money, it ultimately comes down to how many miles you plan to drive. I figured that at 180,000, I was never likely to put another 60,000 miles on it.

As for changing air shocks, or at least removing them, they're really easy and plenty of YouTube videos on how. BUT, always be careful with compressed air as you gently undo the air feed at the top. Just a crack and let it release slowly. Again for cost savings, there are a number of cheap new alternatives on Ebay. Make sure you have them confirm whether theirs is for stiff or comfort suspension. XJRs need the stiff ones. They have thicker rubber bladders as it runs at higher pressures. The first time I replaced the fronts (yes, I'm on my third set now), the supplier accidentally sent me one wrong one and I had it explode on the interstate outside Chicago, leaving me to drive 300 miles back to Michigan on the bump stops.

Good luck.

Chris.

 

Do you have details on what changed in the redesign in 2002 and did both front & rear subframes change?

 

Sorry for the delay in replying.
The rear changed from a hydroformed tubular design to a cheaper, heavier, easier to manufacture stamped and welded design. I believe all the body mount and control arm mount locations stayed the same. The bushing supplier changed but I believe the compliance didn't.
Pretty sure the front remained unchanged.