This is a bit odd. The top of the wheel arches on the right side of the car (front and back) are about 1/4" lower than on the left side of the car. That's not much, but when I'm driving the car I can feel it - the right side feels a bit lower than the left. It does not pull to the right (alignment is OK). I had the front shocks replaced and it feels a bit better but I still feel that the right side is lower. Anyone have any experience with this / suggestions?

 

I'm with you brother. Mine is listing to starboard as well. Because mine is more apparent from the bow, I figured it was the front right shock that needed replacing. Sure enough, when I swapped it out, I was good to go... for about 2 days. Then it settled down, and is back to listing. I'm as puzzled as you.

-HC

 

Too many fat passengers?

 

The shocks are not going to change the ride height. That is determined by the springs and mounting pads. Sparkenzap may be right, but you have to watch for his sense of humor. There is a possibility that the edge of the roads the car was driving on were particularly rough, but seems farfetched. If it really bothers you try swapping the springs.
My XK8 was lower on the front left side, so when I replaced the shock mounts I added a 3/8" spacer to compensate.

 

LOL.....this made my burst into laughter at work...hahahah. thanks for the laugh!

 

Does anyone know if ride-height is adjustable on this thing - '97 xj6 (I know it is on some vehicles)? OR do springs have to be replaced / adjusted...or something else??

 

It's not a vanity thing in my case. When making a right hand turn if I hit a bump or hole, my tire will kiss the fender. I might have to have a go at the Spring.

-HC

 

Hi kanjag,

It is not unheard of for springs to sag with age, but the most common cause of sagging ride height is deterioration of the big foam rubber "donut" spring isolator bushes, Part 5 in the diagram below. Since the bushes are more than an inch thick, there is a lot of ride height to be lost as they lose their resilience and compress with age:



The last time I replaced the shock bushings on our '93, the side I measured gained over 3/8" in ride height.

The front shock top bushes are made of a similar yellow foam rubber and they tend to deteriorate also. It could be that your RH rear donut bush has deteriorated more than the LH bush, and that the sagging RH rear end was pulling the RH front corner down also.

To answer your question about adjusting ride height, a small amount of adjustment is possible by using Spring Spacer Rings or "Packers" of different thickness (Parts 2 in the diagram). Jaguar originally offered a few different thicknesses, to compensate for different engine weights and whether the suspension was tuned for comfort or sport. But the last time I checked most of those thickness options were no longer available. The spacers are made from hard plastic, and a friend of mine at the Jag-Lovers forum made extra-thick replacements from marine starboard material (high-density polyethylene) by planing 1/2" sheet down to 3/8" and using a router to cut the rings.

Cheers,

Don

 

Don (and others who commented),
Thanks very much for all the info. This is good food for thought...