XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III 1968-1992

Shimming a front spring

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Old Aug 9, 2014 | 04:25 AM
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Default Shimming a front spring

My left front spring is down about 3/8" compared to the right front. I'm told a shim can be added below the spring to raise it up some.

Any one know what thickness of shim would about equate to a raising of the vehicle by 3/8"
 
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Old Aug 9, 2014 | 07:26 AM
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Jaguar used shims to adjust ride height, yes. The ratio is about 3-to-1 so you'd need a 1/8" shim to get a 3/8" difference. As far as I know they were always installed on the top of the spring, not underneath it. I've never seen otherwise. I recall that spring pan under the spring doesn't have a flat area to accept a shim.

Cheers
DD
 
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Old Aug 9, 2014 | 11:44 AM
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When I replaced bushings, ball joints and tie rods recently, I removed the springs to de-rust and paint them. I found a total of four plastic shims on each spring: two above and two below. They were doughnut-shaped and about 1/8" thick. I'm sure they were installed from the factory that way.

If your car has these, it would seem you could simply move the shims as needed from top to bottom or vice-versa as needed to adjust your ride height.

Andrew.
 
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Old Aug 9, 2014 | 04:17 PM
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Are you sure the last 1.5" of the coil wire at the bottom of the steel coil hasn't broken ? This is a common failure point on XJ saloons. Difficult to see unless you look for it.
 
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