The front air suspension strut has a small rubber grommet

at the bottom where the bolt fits on the fork.

I think it is an isolator (as in noise isolator)

Are these available to buy or does anyone have

a spare one which I can buy please?

Bob

 

Any chance you could post a picture to help?
.
.
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Does this help?
https://www.berkshirejagcomponents.c...k-bushes-parts

 

I am not aware of any rubber grommet that is part of the front struts in the place you mention, but I can check this afternoon as I still have the old struts that I replaced a few years ago.

What you show in the link to Berkshire are bushings that are part of the front wishbones, and not of the struts itself (at the front!).
I would say that the term "X350 Front Lower Shock Bush" is confusing, as it could be interpreted as the bushing being part of the strut, which is not the case.

Best regards,

Thomas

 

Part not shown on Berkshire drawings.
Originally one of my front shocks developed a leak
I dismantled it and the core is still good but misplaced the grommet.
The core is marked 'Made in Germany' so I suspect that it was mde by Bilstien
and I would guess that the grommet came on a new strut and is not a Jaguar part.

With refernce to the fork on a front strut, on one leg of the fork there is a nut welded
on the outside and one the other leg a hole to take the bolt.
The id of the nut is 12 mm but the id of the hole is 15 mm and the difference is to accomodate
a rubber grommet which isolates noise.
You can see in the photo how the hole is chamfered on the outside toprovide a fixing
for a grommet which will act like two '0' rings stuck together.
Many thanks fo your replies

Thomas my fingers are crossed Sorry photos not working

 

Hi Meirion,

I have been to my workshop and, as I have started to do some work on my car and it is on the lift, I could take pictures of both the struts I had removed and of how the current struts are on the car.

Guess what? No grommet, either on the old struts, or on the new ones, and they are all Bilstein parts.

Adittionally, I have had a look at the Jaguar parts catalogue, the technical guide and the workshop manual, and there is no mention anywhere of such a grommet.
Thinking about it, I also came to the conclusion that technically such a grommet does not make any sense, because if it was where you state there is no noise that could be damped by such a grommet.

I have to say that it seems that the front struts have already been replaced once before I purchased the car, as they were made in 2009. Original Bilteins, also marked Jaguar, but the wrong ones for the car, as they have the red dot indicating that they are the sport ones. As an SV8, the car shoulod have the comfort ones, and the rear ones indeed were the comfort ones... go figure.

Here's the pictures I took today. The first ones show one of the old struts, and the last ones how the bottom of the new struts are bolted to the wishbone.









And here's a diagram from the techncal guide:



Maybe you will be able to post your pictures, I am really curious to see them.

Best regards,

Thomas

 

Hi Thomas
Well I am stumped !!
Thank you for your comprehensive post and great pictures.

I must admit I do not know where the noise comes from except
there is no noise with the grommet in place.

My Jag is a very early car first registered in London November 2003
Maybe that is the difference.

Can you measure the internal diameter of the thread in the welded nut (ie on the fork)
and compare it with the id of the hole opposite please?

Please confirm that there is no chamfered hole in your old struts.

There is not much to see in my pictures except the hole is chamfered.
I will try again to send pictures or if you want to send me your mobile no
I will send you pics that way?

I am 80 years old this year-well that is my excuse anyway.

Many Thanks
PS
Are your struts used useable?

 

I agree with Thomas that there is no grommet other than the bushing in the lower control arm where the shock bolt goes through. I m on my second 2004 XJ8 and have rebuilt the front suspension on both and they were identical. The first car was built later since it had only 3 height sensors.The car I have now is earlier since it has 4 height sensors. Cary

 

My car is even a bit older, built in September 2003 and first registered in Italy in October 2003 (VIN G20252). It's only the front struts that were newer, it seems that they replaced during the second ownership, when maintenenance was still done by a Jaguar dealership.

I am planning to go to my workshop again this afternoon as I want to finish the works on my car, so I should be able to take the measurements.

Regarding the usability of the old struts, I had replaced them in 2019 because one of them was leaking a bit of oil, whereas the other one was ok. So they have been lying in my workshop since then, and I cannot say in what condition they are. In any case, as I said only one was in good condition when I replaced them.

I will try to PM you with my mobile phone number.

Best regards,

Thomas

 

Hi Thomas
I have found one picture which was there all the time and I hope you can see it.

My VIN is 22366 so that fits in with your slightly older Jag.

So in the case of your old strut when the bolt is tightened, the inside of both
arms are touching the ? aluminium alloy bush in the lower control arm, is that correct?

If that is correct if I made the hole smaller to fit the bolt that should solve my problem?

I have sent an email to bilstien asking for help and info but I am not expecting much.
They seem to be a huge company.

Cheers
Bob

 

 

Hi Thomas
I have found one picture which was there all the time and I hope you can see it.
My VIN is 22366 so that fits in with your slightly older Jag.
I have sent an email to bilstien asking for help and info but I am not expecting much.
They seem to be a huge company.

Bob

 

Hi Bob,

yes, they are one of the big and renowned suspension manufacturers, with a few thousand employees worldwide.

Regarding the measurements, as I said, I will have a look, but I actually do not expect them to be different.

Best regards,

Thomas

 

Hi Bob,

It looks like you need something like a stepped spacer washer that has a shoulder.
Something like those used for anchoring seat belts so the bolt can be tight but the anchor point can still swivel.

In your case it looks like the smaller diameter centre would then transition to the larger shoulder via a beveled (cone shape) to suit the angle in the strut.
Some verniers should allow you to get the relevant diameters and depths to create a profile that you can give to an engineering firm to quickly machine you up a couple of suitable spacers.
Failing that, give them a strut and the bolt and they can take their own measurements to turn up the spacers you need.

 

Thanks for that Mark

 

Hi Bob,

here's the pictures that I took yesterday. Basically, the dimentions are the ones you cited.






Then, there is this thread in the forum:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...wapped-288061/

In it, Indyx358 posted the following picture:


No grommets in this picture.

I have looked up the Bilstein parts catalogue, and they do not offer any grommets separately. The struts I bought a few years ago do not have the grommet, as already said.


BUT, and now we come to the weird part:
by chance, I had a look again at the fitting instructions that Bilstein provides together with the struts (I have attached them, they are both in German and English), and I saw this picture:

You can clearly see the grommet you mention, but it is the only place I have found where it can be seen. In the text, it is not mentioned anywhere!

So, for me it seems that the grommet was included originally, at least in the beginning of the production run of the X350, but that then it was eliminated sometime.

I know that, unfortunately, it does not help in finding a replacement grommet...

Best regards,

Thomas

 

just thinking out loud. Why not just weld and redrill the hole and drop the grommet all together?

 

No need to do that. They work perfectly well without the grommet as they are.

Best regards,

Thomas

 

Hi Thomas

Is this correct:

Your old struts have a 15mm hole and the nut is 15mm id

That means your bolt was 15mm?

It also means that the metal bush in the lower control arm is 15 mm id !

and they are not noisy.

My strut has 15mm hole but the nut is 12 mm id


Sorry for the delay in replying
Bob

 

Hi Bob,

no worries for the late reply, I was away in any case and we all have moments were we cannot reply immediately

Yes, I would say that you are correct. If I remember correctly, the thread of the bolt is M12. I could check the holes of the new struts on my car to see whether they are 15mm, as well, but I cannot do it before the weekend.

Regarding the noise, you have to be aware that probably I cannot tell the difference, as the struts on my car did not have grommets since before I owned the car and I therefore do not have any possibility for comparison.

Best regards,

Thomas