Onto my 2nd Jag, 2007 XK 98xxx miles. Older gentleman drove it into a snowbank and messed up a bunch of the right side of the car. Ended up going to auction, I snagged it for $6,500. Salvage title - no check engine lights or dash lights of any kind. Apparently, and I don't know the details behind this; everything on the right side of the car that was affected by the wreck - was fixed or replaced.

Got a bunch of diagnostics done on the Jag today and what I originally thought was a brake issue, might end up being a strut problem. I know I am supposed to replace both struts when doing a job like this, but I am going to replace the driver-side strut in hopes of curing the sound that emits when going over uneven pavement or slight bumps in the 10-30mph range. Strange because when I press the brake pedal - the sound is reduced about 90% - but not ALL the way reduced. I always had some skepticism that there was something else going on. I have not taken a look underneath the car yet and do not know what to expect.

This forum and the members @Thermo @12jagmark were absolutely instrumental in getting me back onto the road when it seemed all internet material couldn't save me. They probably don't and never will understand how appreciative I am for that.

Fast forward to now - I have a strut assembly in my ebay cart for $250. Labeled front left. Done all of my googling, forum hopping, video watching, manual flipping, etc. - that I could before I ended up deciding I need more instruction before I have the courage to move forward. Is there any sort of documentation that will make the install of the strut, easier? Any sort of guide? I see many, many posts about people needing to replace the struts and shocks - but everyone seems to have the general knowledge on what to do. I lack that!



Since this image, I have completely restored the front left headlight & replaced the wheel emblems that seemed to have fallen out.

 

Download the workshop manual in the stickies at the top of this forum, the instructions for removing and replacing the strut are in there.
If you have the whole strut (with the spring installed) it’s a pretty straight forward procedure.

 

Perfect! Thank you! Not even 2 hours and already pointed in a direction. Will have a go on that specific document and will update this post with what happens during the job.

 

Always recommend doing in pairs but f you're trying to isolate an issue.... Be sure to get your front end aligned when done. Instructions are straight forward in the manual. Easy job. Good luck.

 

SNAP, like others have said, it is fairly straight forward. Just don't let the caliper hang from the hose. Use zip ties to support the weight. After that, LOTS!!!!! of PB Blaster to get things loose. If you can do brakes, then you can do a strut assembly. Maybe the only "hard" thing will be breaking the hub nut lose. It is a big nut and tends to be put on their pretty good along with being staked in place (ie, a piece of the nut is bent into the threads to prevent the nut from spinning freely). So, you will need to unbend the staking and then use a big pry bar to get the nut lose. This is where spending $30 is going to save a lot of cussing. Just get a big (3 foot) breaker bar.

 

Hub nut for strut replacement? No.
I didn’t need any big breaker bar when replacing my struts. You don’t remove the caliper either.

 

Got the job done! Took her out on the road after replacing the entire strut assembly, and it feels more firm. I don't know how to explain it, and maybe 50% of that is placebo, or maybe I tightened up something that was loose, either way, she feels firm. I will get the alignment done sooner than later.

Next issue, it seems to have reduced the " clunking " sound by 75%, but there is still sound when going over something uneven. Not sure where to begin, but I will go at this the same way I did originally but just excluding the strut. If anyone reading this has any information on what else could be causing that, by all means, I am all ears! Thank you all either way.

 

And you. I saw your video earlier today on the x150 tesla screen install. I have also been scouring the internet in regards to information on that whole topic. I don't know how I didn't see the video before, but I saved the link to pull it up when it arrives. I ordered my screen from AOSTR in China off of Aliexpress for $700 or so, on April 1st. Still waiting for it to come in. So thank you for putting that content into the atmosphere as well.

 

Done a lot of suspension things to my '07 NA, mostly because I'm keeping it until one of us dies. Chased the speedbump clunk for awhile. "Clunk" was caused by the swaybar bushings. Two hour fix. Do the swaybar links and bushings at the same time. Not much parts cost. Fixed mine. Good luck.

 

Happy to hear you got it done ! Any tips or did you document any of it while removing/installing ?

 

Didn't document, should have but I was 50/50 on if I was even going to be able to do the job that day because of the rain. It stopped for a 3 hour period in which I luckily started working and ended up getting everything finished before it started dumping again.
Not too many tips, job really was easier than I anticipated. It's like 4 nuts to take off. The middle nut on #14. Both nuts on #7. And then the bolt holding the actual strut in place. T60 Torx to get the strut out. Also the top 4 strut bolts inside of the engine bay, super easy. I also replaced my hood struts so the damn thing will open up properly. I didn't need to take off anything else. Your entire suspension will be sagging at this point, I held it up with a jack stand. There is what I assume to be a brake line or some sort of fluid line running to the brakes/caliper that I was very hesitant to bend or stretch. Kept the suspension propped up at an angle that wouldn't hurt the hose. You will need to place a fair amount of weight onto the suspension in order to release the tension needed to finally pull the whole strut out. Would be decades faster with 2 people, but I did it alone.

 

Thanks !