Hi all,

I brought a XJ40 gold recently and have been trying to sort out a few problems that it has. I have replaced the front shock bushes as there was a knocking from the front and this is now ok but there is a knocking from the rear even over the smallest of bumps I have read that the backs are easy to change except for the later XJ40's and X300's which mine is. I had a quick look yesterday and the shock is inside the spring so I would imagine the whole lot has to come off to do the bushes or can the shock be unbolted and levered to a compressed state inside the spring and the bush slid off the top and a new one put on?.
If anybody has changed theirs any help would be appreciated.
The car has always started fine and I have used it a lot over the last 2 weeks but today it just wouldn't start it turned over but wouldn't fire, its was raining today so I didn't investigate but just hoping it isn't the fuel pump!!!!, will have another go tomorrow.

Andy

 

The rear suspension is fairly easy. Jack up the car and put it on stands and then you will remove the rear tires. After that you will see where the rear strut mounts to the suspension(forgive me I forget the name). it is mounted through with one large bolt and nut. Remove that and rest the arm on a block. Then you will see the 4 or 6 bolts mounting the strut mount to the body of the car. Remove all of these and with a little finagling the whole unit will come out.

Then you will want to compress the springs and unscrew the top bolt from the strut to disasemble the strut and spring assembly. I did it without a spring compressor however I do not recomend this as it can be dangerous and you will need a compressor to put it back together. If you still have a self leveling suspension I can help you with that but otherwise it will be self explanatory how to replace the old struts and bushings with new.

As for not starting the same thing happened to my car, ran fine then all of a sudden would not start. Turned out because my engine got severly flooded. I think because my crankshaft possition sensor got gunked and messed up the timing. Try holding the pedal to the floor and turning it over.

 

Thanks for the advice, I am going to try to get her going today and will probably have a go at the rear suspension at the weekend.
Do you know where would be the best place to get the rear shock bushes from as I brought the front ones from britishparts.com but they don't seem to list the rear ones, unless they are the same as the fronts. I would rather have the parts first then take them off and have the car sitting up on stands while I find some.

Andy

 

There are 3 bushes on the uppers for the rear shocks:

http://www.motorcarsltd.com/CBC2257-60A.html

http://www.motorcarsltd.com/CBC2933A.html

http://www.motorcarsltd.com/CBC2254-55.html

You need 2 of each.

 

Thanks Ken, Do I need to order these from America or is there a uk supplier of these bushes?

 

Got it started today, I think I might have dislodged the HT lead from the coil when I fitted the front shock bushes because I had a fiddle with it and refitted the battery and she fired straight up!!

 

http://www.europartsdirect.com/epc-items.asp?type=jobs they have some of the parts there. I would also check out the autoparts stores I mean they are bushings, not fine tuned machines. If you can find something that closely resembles one of them then go for it. Once you take the strut out you will see where each bushing go and what purpose they serve.

Some shock/struts come with some bushings as well depends.

 

Andy,

I had my rear converted from SLS to standard shocks during the summer. It was one of the best things I did for my car. Unfortunately, I had to have my mechanic install the system because he has a lift (something I wish I had). There are conversion kits that are cheap and others that are pricey but complete. Complete meaning that it has the proper replacement springs, shocks, spacers and associated brushes. I had the proper conversion which retails for about $500 + but I got a deal, believe it or not, on Ebay. A big component of the system are the shocks. I went with Sach. You can use Bilstein's as well. Any other shock, from what I heard, will break down in a year or so.

The conversion is straight forward. You will need a spring compressor as one of the main tools. The rest are your standard metric ratchets. I did have one minor problem after the conversion however. This problem has cropped it's head on other XJ6's as well. For some reason, even though the shocks and mounts were installed properly, I had a 1/4" sag on the drivers rear, making the car uneven. I proceeded to make a shim out of King starboard high density PVC (the stuff used on boats), had that installed and all is well. The PVC shim comes in various sizes. I used the "C" shaped shim (mounting spacer) beneath the spring mounting bracket (that's where the shim would be mounted) as a template.

I have several pictures for the conversion on Jag-Lovers Forum:

http://www.jag-lovers.org/snaps/snap...?id=1258126297

BTW, my car is a 1988 VDP.

Good luck!

 

I have that sag too but I think it is because my spring is worn out on that side because the strut failed badly. I paid like 15 bucks for my conversion kit, and bought the KYB shocks and struts for about 120 or so. Did not buy the springs. Plus some threadlock for 4 bucks. I had pepboys do the front shocks with new tires but the rears were easy enough...

 

Gunnerman,

With the old springs still in place, does your rear sag? That was a concern of mine which is why I went with the full conversion. I was surprised that I had to make a shim for the passenger side. I had a friend who used to work for the Jaguar Parts Department back in the 80's. He told me that the Jamaican mechanics that used to work on these cars were always curious as to why the rear would "list" when replacing the shocks. Not much documentation on this issue, even on the Jag-Lovers site.

I'm impressed that you did the work yourself. Wish I had a lift in my garage. I'm not comfortable doing this kind of work on floor jacks. Whatever the case is, we do whatever we must to get our cats on the road. I still need to do the brake booster conversion as well as have the entire front cross beam undercarriage replaced. I have a badly rusted through area on the drivers side where the anti-sway bar attaches to the undercarriage. The sway bar is only connected to the passenger side. I will replace all of the other things like rack and pinion, tie rods, ball joints and all rubber as $$ becomes available.

Those damn car enthusiasts blues!!

 

Thanks, my jag look level enough I just have a constant knocking noise from the rear which I suspect to be the rear top shock bushes, I have one of the last XJ40's so it has the X300 shocks which are inside the springs so hopefully will get away with just buying the bushes. Just waiting until we have a dry sell before I look at it as I am going to be crawling about under the car doing it, think I will do one side at a time!!

 

Yes my jag sags on the passenger side because of a worn out spring. The car when I bought it had a hole in the gas tank. After removing the gas tank I saw the the rear strut punched itself through the strut mount, through the car body, and hit the fuel tank causing a hairline crack in the tank. Sitting on nothing but the spring for so long caused the spring to wear out. I then JB Welded the hairline fracture...still holding strong since last October.

I did have a few logs and jacks supporting the car however tme spent with body parts in a danger zone is very minimal, the bolts to the strut mounts are fairly easy access up in the wheel well.

Is the brake conversion hard/expencive? I am having a hard time finding info about it.

 

Gunnerman,

There are several people that have done the upgrade in Jag-Lovers (I know you've been there) with all sorts of pictures. Here is a link on line for one place that has done it:
http://www.jaguarspecialties.com/XJ40-VBB.asp

Here is another from a restoration project: http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?xj40lttf.htm

The work doesn't seem to difficult. You need to make sure that all the holes for the mounting plate are drilled correctly. Sourcing the bolts has been an issue for me. Laziness I guess. They have to be metric. Something I probably have to visit a Marine store for because Auto Stores don't carry these type of items. The biggest PIA I see would be 2 things: 1) Removing one of the intake elbows in preparation for the drilling into the engine top and 2) removing and re-installing the pin that connects the booster to the pedal box.

It's a serious task for me to undertake since I do mostly light automotive work (tune ups, oil changes, thermostat replacement, power steering hoses, etc). I look forward to removing all that hydraulic hardware after it's done. : )

 

Don't forget the 'A' frame bushes can fail and also cause a knocking noise. They are cheap and fairly easy to replace.