I did my car's uppers and lowers myself and had no troubles,mine is a 1984 XJ-6, I wonder if there's any difference. My first thought was that you got the wrong lowers, but I can't be sure. As to using the existing shims, Ireplaced them exactly as they came off, I didn't want to alter anything in the car's suspension/geometry. Check the attached instructions to see if it matches yours.

Jose

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I guess I was not clear with my first answer, but I also installed the newer one-piece joints and I had no trouble.I would do a bit more investigating before machining your parts, because once you do, you can't go back. Let's see what Ken says, he's more familiar with the replacement parts.

 

Sometimes the "cone" from the old ball joint remains stuck in the vetical link. If this is the case, take the ball from the ball joint you removed and place on top of the hole with the stick going through the opposite direction and the ball sitting on top. Then take a hammer and smack the hell out of it. Not only is this loads of fun, it will drive the cone out and the replacement unit will slide right. No shims needed.

If the cone is already out, look at the base of the replacement ball joint. Some of these have lip where the cylinderical portion of the ball joint meets the flat area with the screw holes. If yours has the lip, look in the vertical link and see if the metal washer stayed inside. Just pop it loose (not as fun as smacking it with a hammer) and you should be good to go. I would hang on the the metal rings. Some of the replacement ball joints have the lip to center it in the opening, and some of the aftermarket units do not and requiere reusing the ring. Neither requieres use of the old shims.