Hi,

My tyres are old so I will have to put new ones and I want to chanche some worn front parts, too:

- Wheel bearings
- Tie rod
- Ball joint

My questions are: what is the difference between upper and lower ball joints? I only want to change front parts, which (upper or lower) must I change? Should I change something else?

Thanks!

 

The Upper and Lower Balljoints are similar design but different part numbers:



Here is the location of Upper and Lower Ball Joints:



Whilst examining your front suspension, check the Upper and Lower Wishbone Bushes (items 2, 5 & 7):



The Upper Wishbone Bushes (item 2) are particularly prone to wear.

Graham

 

The uppers are easy, a grinder, press and 20 mins you done on each side. The lowers that a whole other ball game. Make sure you get spring compressors, those would make the job a whole lot easier. The process removing the ball joint from the arm is the same.

 

Easy my buttt!!! LOL I hope you have a better time at it than we did man. We had to heat the metal up spray PB blaster, let it sit, heat more and more and more and more and more...2 days later the press popped thru the middle of the balloint so it seperated but didn't come out. We had to get a cutting torch and actually cut the balljoints out! Originals of course and what a PITA! Let's not even talk about the wheel bearings! We decided to replace just the driver side bearing because it was howling and bad...so far we damaged the ABS ring which is 30 bucks on order, then the balljoint seperated, another 30 bucks. This job is NOT easy and if you can afford to, take it to a mechanic unlesss you have alot of experience you're not gonna be done with this in a day. If I could have afforded it, I'd have done it! GOOD LUCK!!!

 

This thread has pics which you may find useful to scope the work:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...l-joint-78634/

The fulcrum shaft on the Upper Wishbone can be seized in the cross member and take time and effort to release.

Both Ball Joints need a workshop press to remove and refit.

There's a pic in post #18 of the thread showing the correct Jaguar spring compressor. Several have used threaded bar as an alternative but that approach needs to be very carefully planned.

Graham

 

Well my car was easy with me that day.

THe first lower ball joint took me a day to completed, of course it was the first time. Two months later, I order the two upper and the other lower. Did all three in a day, of course the lower took the longest.

The longest part of the job was trying to figure out how to line up the control arm on the press. Then 5 pumps on the 20 ton press and it popped out, realigned and pressed in the new ball joint and install.

 

Thank you very much for your help!

I will take the car to a mechanich. However I would l like to know if you think it is a good idea to change all the pieces in a preventive way or do you think is good enough to do the wheel bearings only?

Thanks again

 

It comes down to how much you want to spend.

Replacing only failed parts keeps the vehicle safe and reliable and is therefore a perfectly reasonable approach.

At the other extreme, a full suspension rebuild makes an amazing difference to the 'feel' and handling of a vehicle with a few thousand miles on the odometer.

You need to consider if it is worth the considerable cost difference to you.

A compromise is to examine the suspension with your mechanic and allow him to point out any other components which may be very worn. Doing other work at the same time will reduce the labour charges of doing them separately.

Graham

 

I changed the lower balljoints on my 2001 XJR this summer & it was a real nightmare of a job to break the taper of the balljoint. I tried various balljoint splitters, heat from a blowtorch, hammers etc but nothing worked.

In the end I had to saw the threaded shank off the bottom of the ball joint taper & then drill out the remaining taper from underneath the car with a titanium drill bit, staring with a small pilot hole to centralise the drilling before using progressively larger drill bits-I needed to centralise the drilling hole so that it didn't veer off into the vertical link.

But it was a real evil job & not something I wish to repeat-I damaged 2 balljoint splitters & hit my thumb with the hammer a few times, although not on purpose due to frustration

 

2 front upper ball joints for a 05 jaguar s type with a 4.2?

 

How much to have the upper and lower ball joints, plus the bushes, replaced at an independent shop? Ballpark amount?

Dan
2000 platinum XJR