I installed a pair of new Yokohama YK580 245/40/19 front tires on my wife's 2006 XK8 ragtop yesterday. The car is approaching 99,000 miles....

Her old YK580 front tires delivered nearly 49,000 miles but I knew from their excessive inner-edge treadwear pattern lately that her XK8 is currently sitting with too much negative camber on the front end. So I drove her car to my customary and trusty alignment shop this morning. They could adjust the toe but could not adjust the camber or caster due to the new camber bolts and shims supposedly required being dealership-only items per their documentation....

So I phoned my local Jaguar dealership service department a few minutes ago. They quoted me about $500 for the appropriate shim kit and two hours labor, all necessary to adjust the camber and caster back within specs (they say). I had to pick myself up off the floor before I could continue the phone conversation. I'm not sure how many owners are willing to cough up more cash for an alignment than they did for their new tires but I'm not one of them....

There must be a far more cost-effective alternative to align these cars properly. What is it?

Thanks for your feedback....

 

Probably not the cheap fix you want to hear, but have you checked the upper strut bearing? Is the shock bolt off center? Is it showing sign of crumbling apart? Does the front end sit too low (folks have posted about how high the front is supposed to be, center of the wheel to the fender edge)?

One theory would be that the crumbling bearing lowers the car, therefore causes the negative camber. This shim kit seems like the "wrong" way to fix this issue. Just my thoughts.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

Good advice, most of which I had already done. The shock mount bolts are still centered and the rubber shock mounts are not crumbling (although not completely pristine, either). I at least look at them every weekend and sometimes use my fingernail to scratch them to see how durable they still are. The current distance from the center of the front wheel cap to the front fender edge is 15.25 inches for the drivers side and just over 15.25 inches for the passenger side, both well within the "good" range....

I think you are spot-on in assuming that the age and mileage of the car have contributed to some suspension "settling". Whether that's enough to cause a negative camber issue remains to be seen....

My trusted local Jaguar indie shop (Flying Circus English Cars in Durham) recommended that I speak with the owner of the local European car specialist alignment shop that they've sent their cars to for years, then provided me with his name and phone number. They warned me that he is in high demand and is always hard to reach. I left a message on his voicemail an hour or so ago. Stay tuned....

Thanks for your suggestions. Anyone else?

 

The front camber is not adjusted with shims, shims are used to adjust the castor.


Your car may (or can be retrofitted) have eccentric bolts on the lower wishbone which will allow the camber to be adjusted.

 

Even the later edition of the Workshop Manual is not particularly helpful:


(click on the image to enlarge it)

It appears Jaguar don't expect their dealers to tackle suspension alignment without direct assistance from Technical Support.

Given that adjustment is by means of an eccentric bolt (item 18), it can't be that difficult!


(click on the image to enlarge it)

Did the dealer suggest they wouldn't supply this?

Graham

 

Graham,

The dealership led me to believe that new camber bolts would be included with their $500 shim kit. During that phone conversation late this morning I didn't know about the eccentric bolt vs. a regular bolt. Thanks to the good folks here who have educated me once again....

While reading some older threads an hour or so ago that pertain to this issue, I found one from 2012/2013 in which Brutal states that using the new eccentric bolt still may not make enough difference to allow the tech to adjust the camber back within the acceptable range. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

My 05 XKR is a little low in the front and changing the top bushing did not do as much as I'd hoped to lift the front, and reduce the camber angle. The only other 'official ' option is to replace the front springs. Some posters reported using metal spring 'helpers' to raise the front and reduce the camber angle but I thought metal might be hard on the spring. I found a rubber helper and after jacking up the car removing the wheels I inserted the helpers at the top of the spring as the front suspension was as relaxed as could be without disconnecting anything. This brought my front suspension just into the lower acceptable height range. I haven't checked my camber angle yet, but on the other hand I've not noticed any excessive inner tire wear either.
Regards

 

I was told here on this site that the off center shock bolt in the upper shock tower has no affect on the issues the OP is having. When I have my shocks/springs/upper and lower bushings done the shop said that top bolt does not need to be centered.

 

Tim, Not a biggie, but why would they not center it? I couldn't let something like that go. It's just me, I guess.


Wayne

 

I agree. I would definitely want that bolt centered just as it is supposed to be....

 

Update:

Based upon the feedback here in this thread, in PMs I've received during the past 24 hours from several suspension-experienced forum members, and from research I've done yesterday and today, I have decided to bite the bullet and replace the original front shock mounts and front shocks. The front upper control arm bushings may also be replaced. This car is more than 10.5 years old now and pushing 99,000 miles so there's no question that the front suspension has settled somewhat. One very well-respected (and in high demand) European indie suspension tech advised me this morning that this would be his first step. So I'll get the necessary parts on order and then Wayne and I will tackle this job at his home shop once we have everything we need. I'm going with the poly front shock mounts kit from Welsh Enterprises and the Bilstein front shocks from FCP Euro. I'm still undecided about the front upper control arm bushings. The original ones appear fine to my untrained eyes, but we only want to go in there one time so we'll see....

I was hoping to be able to run the original front shocks and shock mounts well beyond 100,000 miles but that is certainly not worth risking the new front tires for....

Thanks to all who have contributed their input here in this thread and in PMs to me as well....

Stay tuned....

 

The upper control arm bushings are easy to replace and you will already be removing the long bolt to get the shock out. You should definitely do those bushings.

I recently replaced them on my 2004 at 60K miles (along with lower shock bushings) and it made a significant difference in ride/handling.

I have these parts in the garage now. Doing them as time permits.

Sway bar bushings and links
Tie rod ends
Lower control arm bushings
Upper/Lower ball joints
Steering rack mounts

 

rothwell,

Many thanks for your advice....

Did you use OEM or poly control arm bushings? Can you supply part numbers and where you purchased them from?

I'm still looking for the best deal....

Thanks....

 

Subscribing to this thread

 

Throwing my 2 cents in (late) to the party. I don't think your shocks will help with the camber, although at 100k miles it won't hurt to swap them.

Normally I would say do the coil springs, which do effect camber. However, you seem to be in the right height range, so maybe not needed.

Take a look at the ball joints while you're in there.

 

FYI, If you are considering using the powerflex items you should call them first and ensure they have your parts in stock, This might help you decide which way to go and source. I just ordered all Rear Bushings, only to get a email indicating 2-4 weeks backorder, which is fine for some but does affect my timeline I was planning. I may go with OEM at this point.

 

I did not order my upper control arm bushings from Powerflex. Wayne (cjd777) found a more cost-effective poly bushing source on ebay, but they must be shipped from the UK. I paid about $75 for all four bushings and the cost to ship them here. They shipped today but will probably require 10 days or so to get here. My poly shock mount kits from Welsh Enterprises should arrive by Saturday. My Bilstein shocks from FCP Euro should arrive in 7 to 10 days....

So my wife's XK8 is parked for now and she's not very happy about it....

 

OK, so now I have two homes where everything is my fault. LOL


Wayne

 

No worries, Wayne. Trust me, Jan sincerely appreciates everything you do to help keep her car roadworthy and safe....

She's still sick with a fairly bad cold, hasn't driven anywhere since last Friday, and won't be driving anywhere anytime soon if she expects to fully recover before Christmas....

 

I hope you didn't buy the black poly ones from BritishParts, they are a disaster.