An interesting "shortcut" method for replacing rear shocks/bushes on X300, and I assume the same on X308s.

30 minutes per side!



.

 

I have watched this video a couple of times, very efficient mechanic! When I do mine (96XJ6) I will reference this video. The only things I noticed was that he did not replace the big round upper rubber spring seat that gets flattened with use. He did not use any antisieze on the long lower bolt and I wonder how many mechanics actually use torque wrenches when they are putting the parts back together or is the "air tool torque" good enough?

 

I have been trying to convince everyone to use this method for over a DECADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please remove the ENTIRE caliper assy with the frame COMPLETE. It allows more room and no need to remove the spring clip. Just pry the piston back a little and slide the frame/caliper unit off the rotor. Hang it up out of the way. There is a stud on XJ8 wheel arch on the forward area.

Please remove the Wheel Speed Sensor connector (or the speed sensor complete) to prevent damage.

The caliper should be held FORWARD so the entire assy can be removed instead of dismantling it in pieces. It is easier to do this on the floor.




Pry the plate down and jam a spacer into the gap.

If you put a spacer (socket) in the gap, you will not have to force the damper/spring AND plate down like the guy in the video. Just pull down slightly and use a prybar then lever the spring out. The plate is already out of the way. The lower rubber spring isolator is a little fiddley but it is not too hard.

I just did this today to replace all the foam isolators on my Wife's 2001 XJ8.

bob

 

Yes, my observations too. It would seem silly not to replace the spring seat/isolator, and to put nuts/bolts back with no lubricant is a sign of a poor mechanic. Air guns are fine for some applications, but final assembly is not one of them, a practiced hand, or a torque wrench, is what is needed.

But, I have to commend the shortcut methodology compared to removing the rear axle unit.


.

 

Bob, so this is a relatively easy procedure for someone to do in their home garage using just jacks and axle stands?

CK.



.

 

I did it basically this way (although dropped the A frame complete for a clean), lifting the rear on stands in my B2 parking lot.

I really don't understand if I see people struggling with spring clamps and the like.

It took me ~8 hours all in, taking it easy in 3 sessions, all in, including coffee, the usual clean up of tools by the end of the session, and buying a spanner in the right size.

 

In a home garage, without a lift, its easier to jack the side up first, so it is lifting the back of the car, then clip a compressed spring compressor on the spring. This makes the spring much easier to come out and isn't that hard to do

When you compress the shock, stick a a 6" 3/8" socket extension in the lower shock hole to keep from having to compress the shock, which can wear you out.

You have to Zip tie the top hat to the spring if you compress the shock, but after you hand tighten the top hats bolts, you cut/remove the zip ties.

Also in a home garage, marking the location of the rear eccentric, and removing that bolt swings the hub out of the way for easy spring/shock removal.

 

Don't use an airgun on CAT shocks ... it will twist the inner part and rip the cat wire to pieces

And don't extend the wishbone to far , will screw op the bushings.
Or untighten the long wishbone bolt first.

 

the garage I use for some things on mine have used this method to replace the shocks

 

I can vouch for Bob's method, having used it to replace both the rear shocks and springs (and spring seats). No fiddly spring clamps required, and easy to do for this home mechanic in his garage.

 

Bob, thank you very much for this post. It was very timely for me as I needed to replace the rear shocks and foams (and I did not have to dismantle half of the rear end, as one of the articles I found showed, or do any violent struggles like in the video).

All I did under the car was to remove the four large bolts of the bottom plate and it was the only slightly difficult part as the bolts were very tight and had strong thread lock. The rest was enjoyable, sitting at the side of the wheel well. The thing I did differently was that, instead of prying down the bottom plate and inserting something, I used a scissors jack to jack down the wheel hub as necessary to free the spring (see pics) and the swing arm pushed down the bottom plate as much as it needed. The spring/shock assembly came out nice and easy (didn't touch the sides).

 

Very Clever!!!!!!!!


bob

 

And one more thing (probably known to others who have done this work) - I found out that, if you position the UJ in the "X" orientation (not "+"), it allows highest travel down.

 

I have had my new Bilstein shocks/dampers for a few days now, and have already fitted the fronts, but was waiting for the spring top "donut" bushings to arrive before doing the rears. These top donuts arrived today from Merriam Jaguar Parts, so, referencing the demonstration video, and the several hints from members from this thread, I set to and replaced one side rear shock/damper. For no good reason, I picked the (right) passenger rear, probably subconsciously because that was the side used in the demonstration video.

It took me longer than I thought, but this was my first time, I proceeded cautiously, I don't have an air gun, or a hoist, and I clean the parts as I go, and grease them when I put them back, and I torque bolts the proper way, but even so I was a little surprised at 2 1/2 hours. I will do the (left) driver side tomorrow morning, and I'm thinking it will take much less time now that I'm "experienced"!

As per Bob (motocarman) I found it is best to remove the complete brake caliper, including frame, this gives that extra clearance needed later.

There is "strength ledge" running inside the wheel arch, just forward of the rear wheel, which I drilled a small hole in, and then threaded a zip tie through it which then held the brake caliper and wheel sensor cable back, this kept them well out of the way, and it is there for future use.

I used M. Stojanivic's scissor jack method, and found this worked very well. And also agree that you can get even more clearance with the UJ in the "X" position.

The lower damper bushing was completely shot. It is even worse than it looks in the picture and has a lot of slop and movement in it and can be easily wobbled by hand.

The new donut is much thicker than the old worn one, and the new damper bushings are slightly thicker too. My ride height on that side now measures 5/8" higher than before after a 3 mile test drive, and although there may be some early settling, I am pleased with this. I will re-measure once I have done the other side tomorrow, and also after a few weeks of driving.

So, I am extremely pleased with the results. I will tackle the (left) driver side tomorrow morning, and hopefully I can cut the time down a little!




.

 

Did the left side rear shock/damper this morning, didn't shave much off the time, it took 2 hours. The top nut on the damper unit was as tight as hell, had to cut the rubber gaiter off and put the unit, complete with "hat", in the vice to get the nut loose. Then I didn't have the half-shaft UJ in the right position and so couldn't get maximum drop, and so struggled for a while with the removal and replacement of the spring, but all in all it wasn't too bad, definitely better than paying the 10-hour typical labor charge for this job. The left side has fuel lines running along the chassis so you have to be careful when using the scissor jack. The damper unit bottom bushing wasn't as bad as the right side, but it was soft, and the unit itself definitely juddered under rebound.

The car now has the correct ride height front and rear as quoted in the Jaguar manual, and the thing that amazed me the most is the "road noise" I have been feeling that I thought was coming from the front suspension is now gone, it's source was the rear shocks all along!




.

 

Carnival Kid, did you use the comfort VDP shock or did you use the stiffer sport shock? If it was the stiffer shock what do you think of the ride. I have to do my rear shocks also (96vdp) and I have been trying to decide between the comfort and xjr shocks.

Besides the noise coming from the upper bushings and the worn out spherical lower bushing, the rear end is definitely lower than it should be, not quite low rider but not correct. I am looking forward to getting rid of the noise and restoring ride height.

I will probably get my shocks from Shock Warehouse and surprisingly the XJR shocks are slightly cheaper than the softer version.

 

Yes, I went with the stock Bilstein comfort shocks. I like my rides to be as soft and comfortable as possible, I'm not a fan of a "firm ride", I think the Jaguar Sedans/Saloons should have a soft ride, especially a VDP. They handle perfectly okay with the softer suspension and I enjoy the softer ride.


If you have noises, and a low ride height, I can pretty much guarantee you will be amazed at the difference new shocks and bushings will make (you have to buy the top donuts as well as dampers/shocks to make a complete difference). I would recommend doing the front shocks and top mounting plates also. I got the front top mounting plates from Rock Auto at a ridiculously low price, I think they were something like $12.00 each!


I noticed that too, not sure why that is. I am completely satisfied with the e-bay deal I got on the complete set of Bilstein shocks, front and rear, for $451.00. (I think I have the link posted earlier in this thread), that was a really good deal with free shipping and no tax. And I got the genuine Jag top donut bushings from Merriam Jag parts, they were the cheapest deal out there for OEM parts.

Let us all know what you decide.




.

 

Have you mangeled a CATS shock before? Does the car send an error message that the CATS shock is damaged?

 

Any time the CATS damper is damaged or left disconnected, it will set a DTC for that damper.


bob

 

I will give a little feedback on my experience working on my 2002 XJ8. First, I did all the things listed above to get better clearance. Even with doing those things the springs on my car still had some tension in the lower cup where they seat. So I used a long handle screwdriver with a broad blade to coax the spring out of that bottom mount. It was not a major snap when it cleared but enough to make me think it a little dangerous. I also became concerned on how I was going to get that spring safely back on.

So for the other side I went to a car parts store that lends tools and got a pair of strut mount spring compressors (btw, these are different than usual spring compressors). I only used one compressor on the side of the spring that faced the outside of the wheel well.I adjusted the spring compressor by hand and sight. As I lowered the arm a little, I stopped and just slid the spring compressor in place. I did no adjusting of the spring compressor once in place. I lowered the arm the rest of the way and that allowed that spring to stay compressed about 1 inch and that was great for removing the whole assembly. I would not compress a spring with just one compressor more than an inch. I left the compressor on that spring so it would be ready and easy to install.

Now, I am not sure why I did not have clearance as others. And just some FYI: I have my own lift, pneumatic tools, and just about every hand tool imaginable. I do work on all sorts of cars including restoring cars. I an not going to say this is an easy job. For some of the pan bolts, shock bolts, etc. I had to use a breaker bar. The long bolt that mounts the lower part of the shock was frozen in place and took an hour to work loose. This was on the first side I did and I expect that it was due, at least in part, to the spring not being fully disengaged.

It helps to have a good floor jack, very good jack stands (doubling up if you are having to do any strong wrenching or banging under the car), small bottle jacks (or scissor jacks) and lots of patience.

And as to the video, I do think it is helpful, but I have the suspicion that they had just done it previously, reassembled, and then did again. The bolts, shock bolts, etc. just do not come off that easily. They knew all the right bolt sizes and the immediate selection of the right tools, lengths of tools, etc. Their goal was to show it being done super quick. Just my thoughts, tho I am wondering if anyone else suspected this.

Be safe with this job. Best of luck.