Hi,
I'm rebuilding my front suspension due to all the ball joint boots and one rack boot being petrified ( the car was parked for 20 years ). The car is on stands ( Harbor Freight recalled ones, ) I'm removing everything from the sub frame to replace all the bushings, bearings etc while doing the job. I'm about to remove the rack and lower control arms ( I hope ! ).

I bought the upgraded poly rack bushings from SNG which didn't come with any shims etc. The originals appear to have a rubber bushing on the outside of both bottom ones with shims filling up the remaining gap on the right / single side. After searching here and studying all the manuals, I'm trying to figure out if the new two part bushings require the bracket CAC2037 or any of the Shims C29407 or Bushings C29406 ? After reading some of the threads, I think they are installed solo ? The factory manual says there should be .10" float but exactly where ? Anyone have pictures of a correct installation ? Finally, since I plan on only cleaning / rebooting my original rack ( carefully measuring the tie rod end locations ), will I need to do the rack center pin check & weird special tool rack alignment ?





I do plan on taking the car for an alignment "check" DIY adjustments after I'm finally done.

Cheers,
Brian

 

I am familiar with John'sCars kit which comes with a new bracket and shims.

not familiar with SNG's kit.

the shims are very thin fender washers on the side of one of the poly bushings. The bracket protects the left side bushing from any leak of the rack hoses, so the bracket itself is the shim..

John'sCars instructions don't say anything about "float", first time I hear that.

 

Thanks Jose,
Float is my term for the .10-.12 gap they call for "between the rubber thrust washers and the single rack lug". I'm probably over thinking it but hey, that's the Jaguar way !
Also forgot to ask what everyone uses for power steering fluid "G", Type F transmission fluid, "power steering fluid" or something else ?

Thanks !
Brian

 

Brian, the kit I installed came with the shims that allow for the gap,

For fluid I use Prestone Power Steering Fluid with Stop Leak additive which for all I know might be transmission fluid repackaged!
.
Transmission fluid for GM transmissions can also be used but I liked the bottle that says Power Steering Fluid.

 

Brian, I think I remember something in the Jaguar manual about float (good term) with factory setup. I believe most of us that are wrenching on our cars want a more responsive, taught feel to the steering. The idea of going to poly bushes is to eliminate the slight "give" of a standard rubber bush and then to make the fit in the frame brackets snug, no slop. This will probably make the steering experience a little different, for the better in my opinion. I would not build float/slop into any part of my steering system.

I completely rebuilt my rack and made a simple centering pin/tool and will definitely use it when setting up the front suspension, very easy to use. The other apparatus shown in the manual is to locate the rack in the correct vertical location to reduce bump steer. I certainly don't have one. Make witness marks for the current position of the rack before you take it out and just put it back in the same place.

Dave

 

Question:

when the rack is removed from the car,
isn't the position of the rack dictated by the steering column shaft after you insert the bolted ring into the shaft?

I mean, where else can it be? I replaced the rack by myself twice because the first replacement was a leaker, and twice the steering shaft determined the final position.

 

Thanks Jose & Dave,
I just found Kirby Palm's XJS help book last night which covers the issue ( pages 375-377 ) as well as alot of other useful bits. Per his advice, I think I'll reuse the "cage" piece for the drivers side and shim all the new bushings so they are snug in the bosses on the sub frame.

Excerpt from "Experience in a Book" Help for the Jaguar XJS owner By Kirby Palm

"The stock assembly includes a sheet metal U-channel that fits around both bushing assemblies on the driver’s side,
holding the whole mess together as you offer it up to the car. When you lower the rack, this piece might stay up there;
pull it out, it’s helpful for installation. The aftermarket bushing set from John’s Cars includes a new one of these pieces
-- very nice, since the old one might be a little mangled.
Because there has been some confusion due to inadequate instructions provided with these kits, one thing needs to be
made very clear: when these aftermarket bushings are installed, they should fit snugly within the bosses on the subframe.
There should be no gaps or spaces whatsoever. If the boss is wide enough that the bushing assembly fits with space left
over, some 5/16” fender washers should be installed to fill the gaps. The mounting bolts should be tight, compressing
the boss (Slightly! That’s why you need to add fender washers if necessary!) onto the ends of the metal tube within the
bushing."

There is alot more useful info about the rest of the suspension, brakes, etc that applies to all XJ sedans as well since they use almost the same systems.
Download link on Jag-Lovers.org Kirby Palm's Jaguar XJ-S Help Book

One other nugget I just found is the fact that the new sealed XJ40 upper ball joints have bolt holes for 10mm instead of 3/8" bolts so they could shift slightly after installation & front end alignment if not shimmed or otherwise modified ( new bolts etc ). Just checked my new parts, yep, the old bolts really wiggle in the new joint bolt holes !
Time to go find some thin shim stock or bushings.

Monsoon has finally left, time to get back to working on the car ! ( In a carport, not garage ).

Cheers,
Brian

 

Kirby Palm's book is great. During the stay-at-home time it is a great read. Very long but easy to skip chapters (a lot of v12 stuff that doesn't apply to my cars). Kirby is a true expert and our own Doug is quoted several places.

Jeff

 

as far as I know it was John of John's Cars in Dallas that invented this rack bushing kit early 1990.
One day in a meet of the Nashville Jaguar Club, I complained to J.D. (of J.D.'s British Garage), of the sense of "sway" I was getting from the steering.

He told me to order John's kit and problem solved. I did and that was back in 1990. The bushings are still in service today, no wear.

Then around 1995 everybody started copying John's rack bushing kit. Now you can buy this kit everywhere but I hear that they are not as complete as John's Cars kit.

One funny anecdote about Doug:
when he purchased his bushings kit, he threw away the replacement bracket thinking it was some sort of packing material !

 

You are pretty much right Jose, I think I may have been trying to put too fine a point on my tool answer. The rack bolts to the front x-member with 3 bolts. The two on the left side (LHD) are non-adjustable i.e. 5/16 bolt and 5/16 hole. The right side mounting tabs are slotted for some minor adjustment and I think that is what the weird tool is for that none of us probably own. In the real world, that adjustment option at the right mount would probably not be noticeable once you got a good alignment done.

There is enough travel in the double knuckle arrangement where the steering shaft connects to the pinion, I was thinking the lower steering shaft would telescope a couple of inches like other cars I've had, but mine is pretty solid.

Dave

 

FWIW, I just eyeball things to make sure that rack is parallel with the subframe and called it good. If my nonchalance has caused a problem it has escaped my notice

Cheers
DD

 

Ha! I don't remember that but I wouldn't be surprised!

I'm not sure how many rack bushings I've replaced over the years....lots....but I haven't used the shim-bracket thingy in ages. I remember struggling with the brackets years ago, though.

In my experience the bushings being commonly sold nowadays are a perfect fit, no shims or washers (or bracket) needed for a slightly snug fit. Some of the bushing kits of 15-20 years ago were a poor fit and poor materials.

I'd be very wary about shimming too tightly...to the point where the shims are exerting constant pressure on the mounting lugs. On my first XJ6 I had one of the mounting ears start to tear away from the subframe. Luckily I caught it in time. Over the years I've heard from 3-4 others suffering the same issue after shimming. You want zero or near zero float. You don't want preload.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug,
with my rack I just followed the instructions that came with the kit. Yes it was a struggle with that bracket, you need 3 hands. I think I used a hydraulic jack to keep the rack aligned as I inserted the bolt through the bracket and bushings. The third hand was my neighbor raising the jack, a fraction at a time. A total p.i.t.a. Never want to do that again.