Hi all

I bought my 2004 back in the Spring - maybe that was a sign that I'd have to replace air springs...

I'd read lots before buying the car, so I was expecting air suspension issues to come up sometime. I fitted bagpipingandy's compressor o-ring kit as a preventive measure and replaced a leaking rear unit with a refurbished unit from Arnott. All was well for a short while, then another leak popped up. It's my daily car, so I decided to simplify things and convert to coil springs. I chose the Strutmasters kit since it's a little bit less expensive than Arnott, and for the Eibach spring and Bilstein shock combination.

The conversion was straightforward for the most part. The only tough bit was pulling the suspension down far enough to get the bottom ends of the struts into position. On one of the rears, the metal insert to the lower bush was a touch wide for the suspension arm, but a little attention with a file sorted that.

The only thing left to do is to disconnect the suspension module under the back seat. I couldn't see how to remove the seat - any pointers?

I'm impressed how similar the conversion feels to the air suspension. There's a little more jiggling over small bumps at low speed, and more dive under braking. Otherwise, it's smooth but still very well controlled in corners. I liked the air suspension, but I've no regrets about the change - the car still drives very nicely.

Cheers

Andrew

 

Thanks for your feedback on how the ride feels and handles after the conversion. I am sure it'll help others who may be considering the swap too! I am not looking at a swap (yet), but if it becomes too costly to continue swapping pneumatic shocks, I'll be in the game for the swap and you comments go a long way...

 

This thread was a big help to me:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...removal-19489/

especially the photos by jaxj8 red.

Requires much patience and perhaps long fingers. Eventually you will get the seat removed, though.