Greetings Folks,
I am in the process of making up a front spring compressor.
Am using a length of high tensile 3/4" UNC threaded rod.
Two long bodied nuts to suit.
What i would like to know is:
1. Is it better to use a length of high tensile rod for the cross pin?
2. Is it better to us an high tensile roll pin?

I know that the top cross pin location is slightly different to an X300
I'm told you can use an 8mm pin instead of 6.8mm is this correct??
All advice greatfully accepted ;o)

 

It's been mentioned that you want a roll pin, rather than say drill rod because it is better for the pin to bend than shatter.

And fine threaded systems are stronger than coarse threaded systems of the same nominal diameter.

 

Thanks for your reply Plumbs....so, you would consider a roll pin to be more satisfactory?
I have also been led to believe that the X300 has a narrower top cross mounting than an X308....can you varify this?

 

Having seen neither top cross mounting personally, there is nothing I can say.

Yes, I would consider a roll pin more safe in that brittleness is to be avoided in that application.

 

If you are only going to use the threaded rod a few times then a common 3/4" 'all-thread' rod with a few washers, a short section of pipe cut at an angle and a nut will work. (lots of grease or anti-seize compound)

You can use a section of 5/16" 'grade 8' bolt inserted into a tight fitting cross hole at the end of the rod.

If the bolt shank will not fit, you simply grind away the ends slightly to 'shorten' the bolt/pin so it fits through the elongated hole in the top spring seat then turn rod 90 degrees and drop it into the notches.

If it does not fit the notches to keep the rod from turning, then grind the cross bolt a little to narrow it until it drops into the slots.

The Jaguar tool is a high quality fine thread 20mm rod but it is used all the time at auto repair shops. For a one or 2 time use, a lower quality rod can be used, just pay attention to the threads and look for wear, galling etc.

I once worked at a British car repair shop (not a dealer) and we used 3/4" threaded rods a few times and if they showed wear, they were DISCARDED!!!!! The boss would not 'spring' (get it???) for the expensive Jaguar tool but the 'all-thread' worked fine for several suspension repairs.

Then a new rod was drilled and we went back to work. Never had one fail but I kept them greased and looked after.

bob gauff

 

I bought this tool.

For this price it was not worth the diy imo

FRONT ROAD SPRING COMPRESSOR
SPX Catalog - FRONT ROAD SPRING COMPRESSOR FRONT ROAD SPRING COMPRESSOR 204-111

They also have the FRONT CAMBER TIE DOWN LINK , and a lot of other goodies
SPX Catalog - FRONT CAMBER TIE DOWN LINK FRONT CAMBER TIE DOWN LINK 204-114

 

Thanks for your input Bob...most appreciated ;o)
I have decided to go with an 800mm length of H20 class 8.8 HT threaded rod.
The cross pin will be 8mm h8 32mm.
The nuts will be HT 'long case' nuts.
I have a friend who can machine the pan plate profile tool at 17deg.
Plus three 300mm 10mm HT bolts with heads cut off for the pan plate guides.
Considering the number of times I will be using this set up, I thinkl as you say ,it should suffice ;o))

Popeye...I have looked at the SPX tools and yes, I was thinking of buying one untill I worked out the freight component to Oz!! ;o)=)
Jaguars price for this tool and through the JEC is thunderingly rediculous at 330 GBP!!

While I have the front dismantled, I will replace:
Wishbone bushes top and bottom.
Ball joints top and bottom.
Anti sway bar links and bushes.
The steering rack bushes are fine.
I have checked the rear cross member locating bushes and cross member to chassis mounting plates and they are fine after 200,000klm
There's a lot to be said for unsalted roads and mild winters ;o)

I'll let you all know how it goes and with pics....in the not too distant future ;o))

 

Xjay8,

I am sure you know removing springs can be very dangerous. changing jaguar springs can be frighting. the springs are compressed into an arch they like to jump as they are decompressed or compressed (the springs are alot longer then they look). I use the factory jaguar spring compressor and would not settle for anything less study. If you want i can take some pictures of the tool w/ dimensions. From experience i have found threaded rod to be inadequate for compressing or pulling; an acme screw is more expensive but the threads take the abuse much better. I try to avoid 8.8 or grade 5 when ever possible for these applications as the threads just cant take the abuse well. Your spot on with the m10 guide rods for the pan, re-instillation is a PITA with out them. A note working on x308 front arms:

all the ball joints and bushings need to have the flanges cut out to be pressed out. the front lower ball joints usually take around 15tons (30,000lbs) to press out make sure you can do this safely.

have some fun,
Mat

 

With a diy tool you could use a jack under the bottom wishbone to compress/decompress the spring (with your tool in place) and take the load
away from your tool in the first stage of decompression.

 

....>>>>Mvirgil,
I am sure you know removing springs can be very dangerous. changing jaguar springs can be frighting. the springs are compressed into an arch they like to jump as they are decompressed or compressed (the springs are alot longer then they look)......>>>>>

Mvirgil, never fear my friend, I am well aware of the kinetic energy stored in a compressed spring and the uncontrolled damage it can achieve ;o))
I have at my disposal a 30 ton hydraulic press with all the associated mandrels and spacers.
I did my rear suspension about five years ago and have decided the time is right to do the front.

....>>>>>Popeye
With a diy tool you could use a jack under the bottom wishbone to compress/decompress the spring (with your tool in place) and take the load
away from your tool in the first stage of decompression. .....>>>>>

Popeye, we're thinking along the same lines ;o)
I never work on any suspension or under car jobs without a second or third line of defence.
One can compress the spring only to a certain degree using the weight of the vehicle to load fully on top of the jack....with wheel placed under car for emergency.
But you still need that compressor.
As Mvirgil has pointed out these springs are rather long in their uncompressed state.
Of course, one should only keep a spring compressed for as long as needs be.

Thanks for all the advice and tips which I have taken on board with my own extensive knowledge so, should be pretty well OK but one should never become compalacent about such things ;o)

 

How do the subframe bushes look? the off centre ones at the rear always need replacing, last around 100k miles. Also between body and top of subframe, these have a habit of failing with miles more usually on the R's.

 

@xjay8


I had my car on jack stands , put a jack under the lower-wishbone under a little pressure , removed the shock absorber top bolt , and slowly lowered the suspension all the way. I then removed the front subframe and used the spring compressor to release the last tension of the springs. I have no lift and the spring compressor was to long to use with jack stands ;o)
Glad i removed the subframe as i found all bushes to be in terrible condition , and some rust spots that needed a direct fix.

 

Plums, my rear (front subframe) mountings are in perfect condition and the subframe to chassis 'V' mounts are all good, no perishing or delaminating ;o)
Not bad for a car that has covered 200,000 klm.
Mind you we don't have to put up with the attrocious conditions you lot suffer ;o))

 

Poppeye...I don't have a pit or a lift but luckily my trolley jack will lift to 860mm which will allow easy insertion of the compressor up the spring's jacksie ;o)=)

 

"Mind you we don't have to put up with the attrocious conditions you lot suffer ;o))"

Wonder what it is in the water that causes the Oz to rub it in?

 

Just luck of the draw Jim ;o)

 

Just a note: It is possible to remove the springs with most normal (American) coil spring compressor tools (the external kind) but it's EXTREMELY difficult to put them back in this way due to clearance issues. It's also likely a two-person job and still involves plenty of swearing.

Has anyone ever found a more reasonable source for the 204-111/JD115 spring compressor tool? I do want to replace the bearings on the other side of my car and don't want to go through that mess again.

 

If you are only replacing the wheel bearing you can remove the spindle and leave the lower control arms, spring and shock absorber in place. Also, I used a Craftsman socket to remove and replace the ABS ring. Grind the face of the socket down first to allow the socket to fit tighter over the ABS ring. Otherwise it will slip off or round over the ABS dimples very easily

 

Rob,

As rocklandjag mentions, you may not need to bother with the spring, but for future readers of this thread, the photos at the link below show the spring compressor I built based on a design that evolved among Jag-Lovers XJ40 forum members. If I were to do it again, I would just use a stack of heavy washers as the "thrust device" instead of going to the trouble of drilling the large steel ball and spending the money on the self-aligning washers. The threaded rod, high-strength dowel pins and nuts all came from McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com). After I uploaded these photos, I learned that even higher-strength dowel pins were available from M-C so get the strongest ones they offer:

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page


If you use a stack of heavy washers instead of the steel ball, this compressor can be built with just a hack saw to cut the threaded rod to length and a power drill to drill the hole for the 1/4 in. dowel pin.

Here's a parts list:

M20 threaded rod, 1 meter length (item 99055A145) $23.06
High-strength dowel pins 1/4 in. X 1-1/4 in., 10,000 lbs breaking strength (item 98381A544), pkg of 25 $7.09
M20 nuts, heavy, for 30mm wrench (item 90725A740), pkg of 5, $11.80 (you may find a local source for these)
Heavy washers, 7/8 in. I.D., 2-1/4 in. O.D., 0.13-0.2 in. thick (item 98970A137), pkg of 10, $4.52 (I bought mine locally at Tractor Supply Co.)


I could have used an SAE/inch threaded rod, but since I intended to purchase a ratcheting box-end wrench/ring spanner for faster work with the spring compressor, I wanted the wrench to be metric so it would be useful in working on our cars, so I used the M20 threaded rod and 30mm wrench instead of 3/4 inch rod and a 1-1/4 inch wrench.

Cheers,

Don

 

here is the 2" socket ground down to allow better contact with the ABS ring dimples