I took my 98 XJ8 to the shop today for the rear diff as discussed in another thread. They said the rear differential and a wheel bearing was problematic. Both making undesirable noises. They said they could get a used rear differential from a 89,000 mile car and ship it in. To keep it short, obviously the fix for the bearing, rear diff, and labor is pretty expensive. They had said they will look to see if they can get the whole assembly to help save money.

I was thinking that I could remove the entire rear suspension off my parts car and take it into them. That car has 140,000 miles on it. The mx manual makes the removal look pretty basic, as long as i have a jack , and some jack stands. Then I could take the entire unit to the shop and have them swapped out.

Any thoughts on doing this? Is 140,000 too many miles? I figure it would take me a day to remove it. It seems like that would fix both problems...?

 

Hi iflytb9,

Below are links to photos of the process of dropping the independent rear suspension (IRS), including the differential, on our '93 XJ40, which is very similar to your X308. Not hard at all, but easier if you invest in an inexpensive transmission jack like the one I bought at Harbor Freight for about $70. You can definitely do this work yourself, but you'll need help lifting the assembly into a vehicle to take it to the shop. The differential alone weighs nearly 100 pounds.

I would not recommend paying to have a differential with 140,000 miles swapped into your car. Odds are good that the pinion bearings are already going, which requires disassembly of the diff. (If you're interested in what that involves, at any of the links below, click "My Photo Albums" and look for my albums on rebuilding the diff, diff output shafts, rear wheel bearings, etc.). At 89,000 miles, the other diff should at the very least have the output shaft bearings and pinion bearings checked and the pinion oil seal replaced.

Coventry West rebuilds Jaguar differentials on an exchange basis, which may be an option to consider. I don't know the current cost of an X308 diff but it might be worth a quick phone call. If you go that route, you can do the entire swap yourself and forget the labor costs at the shop. You can also replace the rear wheel bearing yourself (I'll go ahead and add links to photos of that job too, which is essentially identical on the XJ40 and X308).

Cheers,

Don

Independent Rear Suspension / Differential Removal & Replacement
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

Rear Wheel Bearings
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

 

@Don and @Jim,

I wonder if a stickie with "All of Don B's albums" might not be a good resource?

 

Plums,

Thanks for the kind thought! I hope to find time to reload many of my photo-tutorials here at Jaguar Forums because I can then upload hi-rez photos and give more complete descriptions (the Jag-Lovers site was built at a time when Internet speeds were a lot slower and storage was more expensive, so it limits photo file size to 250kB and descriptions to 300 characters including spaces).

Any tips on the best way to create photo-tutorials here would be greatly appreciated. The air suspension compressor tutorial is currently 72 photos long and if I add servicing the exhaust and pressure relief valves it will be even longer.....

Give me a little time and I'll try to get it done!

Cheers,

Don

 

Don B. Thanks for the photos they are very helpful. I also have a transmission jack and can see now why you recommended it. Thanks again for that tip.


I started removing the rear today. I have the brakes, sensor, shock absorber bolts, parking brake all removed as needed. I removed the drive shaft to differential drive coupling bolts. However, I couldn't totally remove them since there doesnt seem to be enough space. They're loose as can be, and free from the shaft. The snags i've hit are as follows:

I can't withdraw and lower the drive shaft from the differential coupling. I can spin it independently of the differential and get about a half inch of space between, but that's it. It worries me to leave it as is if it needs to be fully withdrawn. I don't want to damage anything when i lower the rear. Any thoughts?

The other and only other thing that i see being a pain is removing the exhaust mounting to suspension bracket bolts. There isn't alot of room to get a hold of them. Any advice on removal?

Thanks again for any help. I'm glad i'm doing it myself. It's not bad at all, minus the snags i hit above.

Dan

 

Hi Dan,

First of all, congrats on your decision to do this work yourself. You're saving yourself a lot of money and learning a thing or two about your car.

Regarding the drive shaft, it is possible you will simply be able to pull the rear end a bit rearward as you lower it to separate the diff fully from the drive shaft (if your transmission jack is on wheels). If you're concerned that you won't have enough clearance, you can unfasten the drive shaft center bearing support plate (scribe around it first so you can return it to its exact position or the driveshaft may vibrate). Unfastening the drive shaft center bearing should give you more "wiggle room" to separate the drive shaft from the diff. Tie the drive shaft up with a bungee cord or wire to prevent undue stress on the center bearing.

The exhaust mounts for the X308 appear to mount differently than on the XJ40. Photo #10 in the album at the link below shows the two 10mm hex head screws that secure each exhaust bracket to the front differential mounting bracket or frame of our XJ40:

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

The X308 parts diagram at the link below shows that the exhaust hangers are U brackets that are fixed by two screws each. Do the screws thread up into the differential front mounting bracket? I've found a 1/4" ratchet with a long extension and universal joint to be handy for fasteners that are difficult to reach. My most-used 1/4" extension is 14" long.

Exhaust Pipe-Rear-3.2/4.0 Litre-V8 - Parts For XJ Series from (V)812317 to (V)F59525 (X308) | Jaguar Classic Parts UK

Sounds like you're almost there, Dan! Keep us informed!

Cheers,

Don

 

It looks like I have to get on top of the exhaust mounting bolts. They thread down. It's hard to even get my hand up there. Not sure what to do.

 

A ratcheting box-end wrench might be helpful, but I'm wondering if you may be able to just slip the hangers off the rods on the exhaust as you lower and pull the rear end rearward?

 

Yeah, that might be possible. I'll see if I can get something up there in the meantime.

 

Even with it's restrictions, the jag lovers format is quite handy. Reproducing that format on JF would not be possible in the current state of the vbulletin software used at JF. Really what I had in mind was simply a list of pointers to the different albums in their original locations.

On the other hand if you want to do them in .pdf format or pull them into custom html pages you can hit me up in a PM for permanent hosting.

 

I just did it a few weeks ago.
If you remove the rear bumper, you will be able to remove the rear exhaust boxes supports (2 nuts on each side), and all the exhaust will go down. You can then go with the right socket to remove the 2 bolts on each side of the suspension exhaust mountings.

 

I want to say thanks to everyone for their help. I was able to get it out today. The two snags weren't as bad today with a fresh set of eyes. I was able to get a wrench on the exhaust mount bolts. A ratcheting box end wrench would have made it easier/faster, but i didnt have it in 10mm. I was able to remove the drive shaft from the rear diff once i removed the center plate further up. After that, plus a couple more steps, it came down real easy using the transmission jack.

All in all, it took me 3.5 hours in total to remove it by myself.

It's very heavy and awkward. Definitely need two people to lift it. probably nice to have more to get it in a truck.

Thanks again!!

Dan

 

Dan,

Congratulations! Please keep us informed on the progress of the rest of the job!

Cheers,

Don

 

All done and running great. So happy to no longer here the squeals!!! Took 12 hours in total. That includes dropping two rears and installing one.

 

Awesome, iflytb9! Congratulations!

Cheers,

Don

 

This is a job where the "might as wells" will kill you. While re-installing an entire rear subf-rame from a donor car might be easier you'll ostensibly have a bunch of old bushings, maybe worse than what you have now.
Me, I'd swap the diff and refresh any bushings looking bad. It's easier to do now, most of the labor for it will be redundant.
EDIT; I see I'm late to the party, hope all is well with the bushings