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Should I change Springs and Shocks or Just Bushings?
Originally Posted by Malihide
I doubt your springs are in need of replacement. The X300 isn't known for spring sag; however, I would replace the foam bushings at the top of the rear springs when you replace the shocks. You can lose ride height there.
As for shocks, everyone here recommends Bilstein Touring for the XJ6 or Vanden Plas. I can personally recommend against the brand Sensen on rockauto--much much too stiff! They are cheap but not worth the jarring! I have heard good things about Konis as well, the dual tube kind. I'm going to switch to Bilsteins after driving an XJS that was fitted with them... beautiful cruising feel without sacrificing handling.
For bushings, you're gonna want Lemforder which are OEM. I'm going to be using them for the A-frame bushings, and the rest will be replaced with Rockauto-bought bushes. I hope that helps. There are lots of guides here and on Jag-lovers. The suspension is almost identical to the XJ40 so you can look up guides for that, too. Hope this helps a bit.
I have a 1996 Jaguar VP. Always been an Arizona car. Absolutely no rust. Just hitting 79k miles. Ride is smooth except when running over manholes, clicking noises and some times pretty loud. I drive this car every other day as I have to alternate with my 08 XKR. I glanced at the springs this morning and they seem to be firm and not sagged. Had a shop check the original shocks a while ago and they said no leaks and no need to replace the shocks. Just wondering if by replacing all bushings of the shock and strut system, will my ride improve or should I consider going for new Bilstien shocks. Any feedback will help me immensely. I have no plans of taking his car for any long distance driving, just for in city driving only. Thanks
Last edited by aacpa15215; Mar 17, 2018 at 03:07 PM.
The bottom front shock bushes on these cars are not up to the job in my opinion and after replacing several sets I finally found some Nolathane bushes which would fit. These bushes were not a direct fit and had to be modified.
It’s been over five years now and they are fine with no clunking and no noticeable change in ride quality.
I dont know, how it is with X300, but is there an option to get polyurethane bushings? They are long living ones and needs no replacement for a long time. May save you some work each year or something... I`m using them on my BMW.
And no, they do not make your car uncomfortable, some manufacturers offer you a choice between various stifness, so you can still have your comfy ride.
I can't argue with Ross' cautions about safety. Working with standard coil springs is dangerous enough, but these bowed springs are even more dangerous, as a few owners have discovered the hard way. I'm risk averse too, but I'm also budget-conscious, so I fabricated my own compressor using quality high-strength parts from McMaster-Carr rather than off-the-shelf hardware store materials.
In case they may be helpful, here are some photos showing the front suspension work on our '93 XJ40, which is very similar to the X300:
As far as sources for bushings, the forum sponsors listed to the right, such as Coventry West, SNG Barratt and Jagbits can all provide excellent quality replacement parts, and if they don't have what you need check with Welsh Enterprises, Terry's Jags, Jaguar Merriam Parts, Gaudin Jaguar, and Rock Auto.
Don't forget the front shock top bushings while you're at it. I personally recommend the OE style yellow foam rubber bushes rather than the aftermarket hard black rubber ones, which may be less expensive and may last forever, but will make the front end noticeably harsher over bumps.
Cheers,
Don
Don
is the link you provided to the spring compressor you made ? I have recently taken on a 96 xj12 project and certainly could use some new front bushings with 100k on the clock. The job looks like a bit of a chore because of the odd spring setup.
also can the control arms be purchased new with bushings for a reasonable price or is it just the standard to press in new bushings ?
anyone on the forum have the spring tool for loan or rental ?
is the link you provided to the spring compressor you made ? I have recently taken on a 96 xj12 project and certainly could use some new front bushings with 100k on the clock. The job looks like a bit of a chore because of the odd spring setup.
also can the control arms be purchased new with bushings for a reasonable price or is it just the standard to press in new bushings ?
anyone on the forum have the spring tool for loan or rental ?
I used the multi-rod method it’s safer. If your car is rusty getting those old bushings off is gonna be a real chore, be patient and you’ll get it done trust me.
I used the multi-rod method it’s safer. If your car is rusty getting those old bushings off is gonna be a real chore, be patient and you’ll get it done trust me.
I did see the multi rod method and thought it looked fairly safe. I’m sure the bushings are a bit rusted not terrible though. I may find a shop to press them out for me once I remove the arms. I have always had issues in the past with other cars. Plus it’s a bit dangerous pressing them out.
is the link you provided to the spring compressor you made ?
Hi wrightbenz,
Yes, the photos in the link are of the spring compressor I made. The steel ball was copied from a fellow member at Jag-Lovers, but the curved "self-aligning" washers were my own addition. Honestly, I don't think it would be worth all the trouble to drill the large steel ball for a compressor that will be used only a few times. A stack of heavy washers works just fine as a "thrust device."
xalty's suggestion of the threaded rod method works fine, but it is tedious. Cut four sections of M8 all-thread and replace the spring pan screws with a threaded rod and nut, one at a time. Then alternately lower the nuts on the threaded rods to slowly lower the spring pan and decompress the spring.
I don't know that I could agree that the threaded rod method is inherently "safer" than a spring compressor modeled after the Jaguar special tool, because the special tool fits inside the coil spring and essentially holding it captive, significantly reducing its freedom to leap out of the car under force. The threaded rod method offers no such protection.
It is really easy to make a suitable spring compressor using high tensile strength threaded rod and dowel pins, and the compressor is significantly faster to use than four M8 threaded rods. I opted to use metric threaded rod for my compressor because I wanted to use a ratcheting wrench on the large nuts, and it made more sense for me to purchase a 30mm ratcheting wrench than an SAE/Imperial wrench since nearly all of the cars I work on are metric.
I do not want to loan my spring compressor due to liability and other concerns, but it really is simple to make one yourself. I bought most of the parts from McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com) and I bought the heavy washers at a local Tractor Supply Co. store.
Hi all. Looks like we're headed down this path (replacing the ball joints and bushings). For the multirod method, when you say M8 threaded rod, what would be the thead size (1.0, 1.25, 1.5)?
Also, would 304 stainless steel rods be strong enough?
I did look into a 3/4" steel rod, but we do not have a decent drill press to drill a perfectly aligned hole for the steel pin.
Thanks!
Bobby
Last edited by BobbyDing; Oct 22, 2020 at 07:16 PM.
Hi all. Looks like we're headed down this path (replacing the ball joints and bushings). For the multirod method, when you say M8 threaded rod, what would be the thead size (1.0, 1.25, 1.5)?
Also, would 304 stainless steel rods be strong enough?
I did look into a 3/4" steel rod, but we do not have a decent drill press to drill a perfectly aligned hole for the steel pin.
Hi Bobby,
The two small threaded rods I use to guide the spring pan while using my 20mm threaded rod compressor are 8mm X 1.25 pitch, so four rods that size should work for the multi-rod method.
304 stainless steel is probably plenty strong, but non-stainless high-strength rods are available from McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com) that are far stronger and probably less expensive.
yeah, i would go for normal cheap steel rods, unless you already have the stainless ones.
i used stainless to extract a torsion bar once, and it galled like crazy, making the job harder then it needed to be.
Thank you. I haven't bought the m8 rods yet, it was just most of my searches came up with stainless products. I'll stick to regular steel then. I'm assuming 200mm length (about 8") should be good?
I'm still wanting to use the single large rod method for compressing and using the m8 for alignment. But if the first fails then I'll use all m8 rods for a backup i suppose. Sure wish i hadn't given away my drill press a few years ago. I just found 3/4"-10 x 2' steel rod in a local tractor store and they have regular and coupler nuts for it. But all I have left are hand drills. So I'm still trying to figure out how to punch a nice straight hole through it.
But all I have left are hand drills. So I'm still trying to figure out how to punch a nice straight hole through it.
The hole doesn't have to be perfectly straight through the threaded rod. You can eyeball it well enough if you go slowly. Start with a small bit, maybe 3/32" or so, and work your way up to a size your hardened dowel pin fits into snuggly. I read somewhere that the human eye is incredibly good at bisecting things into halves, and I have found that to be true, so you can do it!
I used a rod from Zoro.com 3/4"-10 x 2' Plain B7 Alloy Steel Threaded Rod
Zoro #: G9076182
Mfr #: U22180.075.2400
I had a machine shop drill a hole at the top of the rod, and got the dowel pin and nuts and washers from the hardware store.
It compressed the spring so we could get to the ball joint, all worked okay !
Best to have a helper assist or stand by.
Thanks all for the info. Is it best to compress the spring with the lower arm/ wishbone hanging down as far as it'll go (least spring tension) or to put a jack under the lower ball joint and bring the arm(s) up more like it would sit normally with a tire on it? I would tend to think the first, but I'm thinking about the spring curvature. Does the spring snap outward once the upper cup clears its socket?
There are some pix which you will find interesting. The spring, when released, is not curved and in the pic with the compressor fitted the nut is only finger tight so the spring only has to be compressed a couple of inches to be able to bolt up the spring pan.
The front shock is the travel limiter so don’t unbolt it before you have the spring out.
Thank you Jeff. The pics do help. What was the length of your compressor?
Another question for the group. I need to replace the outer tie rod end. Looking at Rockauto. So many to choose from and different part numbers. How do I determine the correct replacement? 1996 XJ6 4.0 not turbo and not a VP.
I made my spring compressor from a piece of 3/4"/20 mm threaded rod about 21.5"/550 mm long. The cross piece was the shaft of a bolt I had and it is 1.325"/33 mm long.
Thanks. I ended up w 3/4-10 (coarse thread) and got the hole drilled last night. The rod will need to be cut down as it's 3' long. I didn't want to cut it too short. Also bought a chain that will go (loosely) through the spring and control arms, as well as attach to to bottom of the compressor rod. Just in case things come apart unexpectedly.
I only have 1 day a week to work on this project so the rest of my week is trying to find out everything i may need to know to do the job. Thus lots of question. Here's another...While we're in there we want to replace a tie rod end. This tie rod has an odd looking end where the threads should be (see pic) that looks and feels like it's a blob of metal. Maybe jb weld? Anybody ever see this before?
Should I change Springs and Shocks or Just Bushings?
