Morning All

I recently bought a X350 2003 XJR. The car is from a deceased estate and stood for a few years. It has only covered 48000km to date. I had it serviced, alignment done, new tyres put on and one or two niggles sorted. It really is like new and have had offers from other Jag owners to buy at double the price because of condition and mileage....except that I discovered certain suspension rubbers are perished from age.

My Jaguar dealer feels that it is not necessary to replace any of these as they say there is no "play" on the suspension. I am thankful to not spend more at this stage but at the same time I am worried that it will not be good in the long run. Any advice would be highly appreciated?

 

This is a VASTLY common issue on these vehicles. Agree with your dealer, if there is no play then there is no need to replace the parts at this time.

Rear sway links, rear tie rods, and front tie rod ends are available from the OEM manufacture (Lemforder). The rear lower control arm bushings are sold aftermarket from a few sources and will save you the $500/each of the complete arms.

Search around this forum, there are many threads on this topic.

 

Thank you Mhamilton! Appreciate the reply.

 

Ball joint rubber boots (as on your track rod ends), can be bought separately and replaced. There are internet suppliers for these but you have to measure up the ones that are failed to be certain of getting the right ones. Some suppliers diy kits for a range of known makes so you don't have to measure them. The rear anti-roll bar link ball joints have similar boots, but are smaller.

So get internet surfing !

The perished outer rubbers on the wishbone bushes don't affect their operation, but wear will be quicker than if they were not perished, as water and grit can get in easier.

 

I purchased a 2096 XJR with 99,000 miles. It looked great until my mechanic showed me the rubbers.
The sway bar links are totally disintegrated. The tie rod and ball joint boots cracked.
Ordered bushings for the front lowers. The curved one looks new on both sides. The front uppers, rear upper and lower, toe links, tie rod ends, and sway bar links were all ordered from either Rock Auto or an online Ford dealer in Florida. All arms are Lemforder, whether Rock Auto or Ford dealer sourced. The big install is next week. Expect it to go a long time. Will lube the boots with Krytox before install to prevent dry rot.

 

Hoping not to be charged with robbing this thread since it's almost about the same issue.


Has anyone tried to change the front sway bar bushings on a 2005 XJ8L--or even newer maybe.


After removing all the under pining's from my car, I found it was a waste of time. I still couldn't get to the bushings. They were under (behind) the Sub-Frame.


Any help appreciated.


Chuck

 

Chuck,
There is a thread here showing that by pulling the air box and disconnecting a couple lines the sway bar bushings can be changed from the top. Way quicker and easier.
This is the front. The rear still requires dropping the subframe.

 

panelhead--


Do you remember what the title of the thread you mentioned is, or a way to find what you described?


Thans

 

Panelhead--
Found the post (I think) you spoke of, the only problem is --it's for the XK8, not the XJ8.
A bit different, but a good thought anyway- thanks.

 

I have tried to replace the bushings, yet. Guess pulling the air box on my XJR is not going to help.
There are my suspension part savvy people here. Does the front and rear bushings require dropping the subframe a?

 

The rubbers on these particular suspension parts fail faster than any others I have seen. The rubber boots on my 2005 A8 and the wife's 2007 335i look perfect. I think they are Lemforder also.
I did coat all the rubber on the new parts with Krytox. I hope this adds a couple years to these boots. Sprayed the air spring accordions boots with Aerospace 303. Hopefully this will keep them intact a little longer.
A friend has one of the Ford T-Birds with the same suspension. I doubt he has ever had anyone look at it. He pulled up in front of the house a month ago and his Benz sounded like the brakes were metal on metal. He is low maintenance.

 

Pannelhead---
OPPS! Just read the 2014 post about replacing the bushings on the sway bar by going from the top and must be the one you were referring to above. I'm not to sure about being able to get to both bushings, for in his write up he explains how to get at the bushing under the air cleaner and nothing about the other (drivers side). Have you any idea? I'll drop him a note and see if he can remember how he did it.
Thanks.


Chuck
Anyway, worth a try and I now know which article you were referring to. Thanks

 

Yet mine are OK and original from 2003 and 94k miles !!

 

I believe your 2003 XJ is a X308. The X350 model is the one that has problems with rubber deterioration.
None of the suspension bits are interchangeable. Al least none I have looked at.
These parts were used on S types, Ford Thunderbirds, and Lincoln LS also. I think the X308 Jaguar parts are exclusive to Jaguars.
I was shocked to see every rubber boot on the ball joints, tie rod ends, toe adjusters, and sway bar links cracked and split. Seemed like the car had been soaked in gasoline. But others have had the rubber failures, just maybe not every boot and grommet. The rubber parts on my wife's 2007 BMW look new.
I think they are Lemforder also. Not a single boot or grommet has failed on my 2005 A8 and I know they are Lemforder. Must be the rubber specified by Ford for the X350 suspension is defective.

 

Note that Fraser lives in the U.K., where the X350 was introduced with the 2003 model year....

 

Spot-on ! My car is an early X350. That's probably why I have had a few issues, as the previous owner only drove it for 30k miles so didn't find these out within the warranty period !!

My problems in the suspension haven't been with the front wishbone steel ball joints, but with the ball-type bushes in the rear suspension lower wishbones, plus the lower air spring/shock bushes. These definitely wear out prematurely, far earlier than one would expect of a premium luxury car. I also had to have a new rear anti-roll bar link due to one of the ball joints wearing out, and a new rear track link again, ball joint worn out.

I wish we could have the grease nipples back on these items !!

 

That one is common and it puzzles me.

Surely any competent Engineer wudda been expected to take into consideration that it was to become an item that had to absorb loads traditionally carried by two SEPARATE working systems - the springs and the shocks.

And yet .. the part is actually SMALLER than many cars use for legacy-style shock mounts alone - their spring loads carried separately by a more rugged mechanism altogether.

You are not alone on the grease nipple wish, either. On 'lesser' cars (Dodge Caravan most recently), enough folks have voted that they are a common aftermarket choice, and not just for the ball-joints.

 

Also, remember the best battery terminal and ground terminal grease ever invented is what your electrician uses, as well as the power companies when doing line work. Use this in every ground bond. Gardner Bender OX-100B Ox-Gard Anti-Oxidant Compound is a conductive grease, and specifically designed to bond connections between various types of metal, like aluminum or lead with copper, tin, nickel and other dissimilar metals.

 

Sounds like good stuff, but it does have competition in that field. NoAlox & Alu-Plus.. others.

As to use on a motorcar battery? Not quite the same environment as your average electrical box.

Rather high temp environment for those batteries as are underhood, and even 'non-vented' batteries can add corrosive ions to their close-in vicinity, especially if in a low-air-flow environment. The boot, for example, is generally much cooler than underhood, but has no air-blast from the rad fan should the vents/hose leak.

So.. I don't see any obvious harm.

But as MANY of those pastes are formulated to REMOVE existing as well as prevent new Aluminium Oxide presence - I can't (yet) agree any of 'em have chemistry that is 'best possible', either.

IIRC, it takes a caustic pH to accomplish that cleaning effect. For chassis grounds on a relatively thinner sheet-aluminium shell, I don't think that aggressive a chemistry is necessarily a Good Thing.

Gardner-Bender's web page and .pdf do not specify a pH, but it WILL kill 'aquatic life' if flooding is major issue for your Jaguar..



If I can find a way to 'tin' the area around the lug - the usual approach for aluminium electronics chassis - without standing the motorcar on its **** so the Silicon oil dasn't run-off, I may give that a go.

For batteries, I simply wire brush mine with the bespoke brush, assemble DRY metal-to-metal, spraycoat only after tightening.

That may be imperfect, but it has served ME well-enough the past half-century-plus.

 

Bill, while I appreciate you taking the time to respond, OX-Gard is not a cleanser, nor is it silicone based. (dielectric or non-conductive) It's a low sulfur based (non-caustic) petroleum grease product with zinc and graphite. (conductive, both thermally and electrically) It is in no way damaging to aluminum, in fact, aluminum was one of the primary intended materials for this product. If you don't understand it's usage, there are places on the web you can take the time to understand it's correct usage and reasons why.