My 1997 XJ6 has the wonderfully uncommon trait of slight oversteer vs ponderous understeer (it's way more fun in turns than my prior 2002 XKR).

I have ordered Andy's drop links to gain the sharper steering turn-in others have reported, however, I am wondering if a tighter front end is going to make the rear a little too loose.

Does the XJ6 have a rear anti-sway bar?
Would a rear sway bar from an XJR6 be a simple bolt-on item?
Perhaps something in between from Ultra-Racing?

Anyone care to provide a summary of what XJ6 has vs XJR in terms of suspension? There were no XJ6 sport models here in USA as I understand but any lessons from those models would be appreciated. I like the XJ6 springs as they are...

 

The XJR had firmer springs and shocks, a larger front anti-roll bar, addition of the rear anti-roll bar, and the 17" wheels/tires.

The rear bar can be installed on an the standard XJ6 if you get *all* the pieces.

The XJRs also had different locating struts on the rear suspension. Or maybe that was just the manual trans versions.....poor memory on that one. I'll have to look that up.

Cheers
DD

 

The Sport was very popular in our market. The stiff suspension set up on mine is stock and I believe it's pretty much the same as that in XJR (although experts will confirm if any minor differences). Sport also came with 16 inch wheels as standard, not 17. Ride is very firm, great on smooth highway and can be bone-jarring on prolonged rough. Upside is go-kart handling, zero roll on cornering, steers exactly where you point it.

 

The rear anti roll bar makes a significant change.
I once attached one onto my sovereign and I was totally impressed how it improved the handling of the car.
Even with a combo with a normal diameter front bar, it works great.

But trouble is that you also have to change the wishbone tie, which is a part behind the diff tying the diff and the lower arms.
To change it is a PITA, plus it is a bit hard to find.

Ref the pic attached, the upper one is a normal one and the one below is the one to attach the anti roll bar.

 

The Monostrut was only installed on the manual shift XRR6 but was also used as a field fix for a few issues. It is a great improvement to any XJ6.

 

Can you provide a little more information about this "monostrut"?

What is it, where installed, etc?

.

 

Japthug, thanks for the warning. Yikes, I just ordered the XJR rear sway bar parts from Jaguar Heaven so I have inquired about the extra parts re the wishbone. As far as the PITA part, would a normal mechanic be able to handle it easily?

I ask, because if this becomes enough of a combined expense I would rather stop and switch my resources to the PowerLock LSD with the 4.09 rear axle ratio.

The monostrut sounds neat. Probably have to get one from outside the US though.

Al, Attached is a diagram that XJRengineer Andy sent me re related questions and answers.

 

weisberg,


Yes it would, I think it will be 2-3 hour labor and with a lift and transmission jack it will be an easy job.
If you get parts from Jaguar Heaven, they can get parts according to the parts number, so you can specify the parts by the parts number.

wishbone tie: MMB2855AA or MNA2855BD

X308s have the same mechanism but the wishbone tie has smaller holes (2 inner holes out of 4 ones) where it attached to the diff bolts, so the tie has to be X300's or early X100's.
If you want to use X308 wishbone tie, you also have to change the diff bolts, which will really be a hard job because loctite locks the bolt so hard.


Ref the monostrut, you can use the X308 strut, for all the X308 use the monostrut.
FYI, if you get a strut from X308 XJR, the bushings are a bit firmer.

 

What benefit does the monostrut offer on the X300 if fitted?

It is just a bolt-on item?

.

 

It limits the movement of the rear axle assembly.
I drew a picture. As you can see in the pic, 2 strut bar hang the diff/lower suspension arms via wishbone tie, but when force is applied, the wishbone tie can twist and doesn't allow the suspension arms move properly.
When the monostrut is attached, it hold the wishbone tie firmly so the arms can swing properly, which gives stabilized cornering.

And yes, it is bolt-on.


(Apologies if English is weird)

 

Where can I get this mono-strut and where is a good used source for the rear wishbone mount and sway bar from an XJR? USA...

 

Jaguar Heaven, Coventry West, Motorcars... they have a large salvage yard.

 

Also all over eBay, for about $50-60 used.

Just search for XJ8 or X308 differential, rear brace, etc.

...one of the reasons I was wondering if there was really a notable benefit, since so many were out there cheap it would be an easy modification.

.

 

Japthug , what is the monostrut relationship to the rear anti-roll bar?

I presume this should be done at the same time as the install of the rear anti-rollbar onto an XJ6?

My car goes to mechanic Thurs am to ascertain if rear anti-roll bar kit from Jaguar Heaven (from an XJR) will fit into my 1997 XJ6 without the additional wishbone parts Japthug warned about. Jaguar Heaven says it should fit as is.

Also, my front roll bar gets measured for the PowerFlex bushings that Andy says are best compliment to his droplinks.

 

You will definitely change the wishbone tie to attach the rear anti roll bar if your car is not a sports or an R.
You could have the mechanic take the photos of the wishbone tie so you can visibly check.

During that procedure you need to unlink the tie and the strut, so it will be cheaper to change the strut and the tie at the same time.

 

So it's a bit more complicated than it looks. Jaguar Heaven did in fact send me the anti-rollbar with the extra pieces that Japthug said were needed but it still turns out to be more difficult to install than it appears and my mechanic is struggling with it. Oh well, hopefully he and Jaguar Heaven can figure it out.

 

I emailed jaguarclassicparts and they said MNA2855BD is superseded by the following. I might have to go down this route since The original x300 manual xjr wishbone ties are nowhere to be found!

1 x MNC2856BA - Wishbone
2 x CAC4713 - Pendulum Bush
2 x NNC5715AA - Stud
2 x JFX11404E - locking Nut