I never knew how important the radius arms were until shifting into second during a heavy acceleration runs. The whole car shifted like it had rear wheel steering! I limped it home and looked at the radius arm and it was rusted so bad only the outside part was left. Just crouching down and looking at it it would look fine but the inboard part was gone. So I decided to take out the whole cage and refit whatever it needed. The whole time ive been spraying thart rusted broken bolt with Kroil, PB Blaster, Acetone/tranny fluid mix etc. Every once in awhile I would try to get the bolt out while I was rebuilding the cage but it wont budge. Yesterday was the last straw. I heated it, drilled it, broke an easy out in the hole. I've decided to cut the radius arm mount out along with some of the rusted metal around it. Does anyone have experience welding in new metal in this area? The area that is rusted is pretty much flat and not visible unless you're under the car so it won't have to be pretty, I'll post so pics of the rebuild and the bad area later.

 

Might want to have a Look at this post #11. Just one of many upgrades that helped. The car is done now and does the 1/4 mile at 12.6 seconds pin straight, also was on the track at Lime Rock where is was solid and predictable powering off of corners.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...5/#post1162683

I was in Land-O-Lakes FL once... Somehow my passion for cars landed me at a place called Club Caliente a few years back. Had great day there but that's a whole 'nother story.

 

Wow, I don't want to even go there with my car! Here's what I'm dealing with.



Yes just moved here last year. I have a fewe places yet to visit here!

 

Can you clarify what you mean by inboard vs outboard? Does inboard mean on the cage and outboard means on the car? The way you worded it makes it sound as though it is possible there is an issue with the part on the car body and the outboard/outside part you referring to was just the radius arm itself.

I'm assuming you mean you couldn't get the bolt out of the cup that the bushing sits on, and broke it off. You then tried an extractor and broke that? So your options are to spend a lot of time and a few drill bits getting that extractor out, and then try to drill the rest of the bolt out along, then tap the threads so they are good again or replace the cup. Unfortunately, getting a feel for the elastic region of an extractor is risky and takes experience, but usually if you can't seem to get it after a little bit of flex then you are better off just drilling the entire thing out. The time getting a cobalt through the bolt is worth not having to deal with getting through that tool steel.

I've had this happen in places where there was no alternative, and patience is the only option. Then again you could get it towed to a machine shop that will deal with it for you, if there is one around you that will do the work.

If you are confident in your welding skills then replacing the cup may be more of your cup (HA) of tea, but it could be cheaper to eat up some bits or have a shop drill it out for you. I believe its just spot welding it, so you're either drilling out the spots or going at it with an air chisel or a combination of the two. I'm not going to go into shopping around for you, but the cups are certainly available.
https://www.terrysjag.com/product/BD37193.html

I think the issue is the cup is just that, and in water ingress creates a pool at the bolt. If you plan to keep the car or have any sympathy or the next guy, put some kind of sealant on the threads to prevent this from happening in the future.

 

Wow, I guess you added those photos right as I posted. Seems like you have metal work to do in that area anyway. My approach would be to cut the cup out and let a shop cut the bolt and finish the threads to save some dough on buying a new cup. Then cut some of the rot out of that area and replace with as thick, if not thicker than factory steel. Weld-thru prime and reattach the cup, then epoxy prime everything before adding new undercoat. The question is, would the cup benefit more from sealant around the seams or drain holes drilled in the bottom?

Also, I would maybe re-consider the position of that jackstand or at least add one nearby because that is looking section is looking pretty thin.

EDIT: Careful in that area of any fuel return lines or brake lines when welding.

 

I meant the inboard side of the arm was gone from rust. I thought the cup was just riveted on and one was missing so I drilled and chisled another rivet before I realized the cup was welded on. I got the easy out tip out so I will try drilling away at the bolt the retapping the cup. I might be better off removing the cup so I can repair the area then weld a new one in place.

 

I have two other jack stands holding up the car back there. once i saw the hole I added the other two so I could get that one out of the way. I think a drain hole would be a good idea in the cup. I still have some POR15 left so I think I'll use that treatment once I finish the repair. Thank you for the information and responding so quickly.

 

POR15 is probably a good idea here. I've got some kind of thread sealant that works for sealing out liquid and isn't just a threadlocker that permatex makes (permatex 56521) . Its all anaerobic like regular threadlocker and I think that would be the kind stuff you would want to use to prevent the bolt rotting out in the future. I guess you could also just inject the thing full of grease before putting the bolt in to try and abate water ingress. Good luck and have fun

 

if you have that much rust , you will probably gonna have a lot more of it when you get into it deeper!
good luck

ron

 

Did you do any modifications to your IRS to keep things from breaking ie: mounts, diff etc. I have a 5sp & quarter mile blast's are not very friendly to my stock IRS. Dumping the clutch @ 4K + rpm is a big no no for me .
If anyone has any questions about what winter driving does to the XJ-S , just look @ these pictures. Mean while how long was this car in Florida ?

 

jag xjs and most jag suspension was NEVER engineered for stop light drag races,

most cars converted for racing had major modification to the rear cage and suspension.

pic of my mod altho after some time i'm not 100% satisfied!

hookin up can get difficult.