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Anyone with the equipment can align the suspension.
When I quit the dealer, I used a local guy with the same $50,000 alignment rack I used when I worked at the Jaguar dealer.
He did just as well as I did.
Inquire about the rig: Seek a Hunter Alignment system. It'll be laser- based, the industry standard, it's default is the oem specs. IF you need or want a differing layout, research that first.
Should I take my 2001 XK8 to a Jag dealer/garage for an alignment, or can any shop do it?
Trick question. "Any" shop can measure the alignment as well as do toe adjustment (front and rear). Camber is regulated by ride height, which typically points to the upper shock mounts on the front and funky Jaguar-only shims on the rear. Front caster has to do with properly stacking these washers on the upper A-arm bolts, a one-time thing AFAIK. So, unless you know your ride height is OK, i.e. these upper mounts are near new, expect some work to be required before being able to bring the alignment into spec.
How do I know my ride height is OK? Or should I just go ahead and replace the upper shock mounts? And should replace the shocks too, unless I know their history. The parts are cheap, but I'm guessing the Jag garage is not.
Last edited by Potvinguy; Mar 9, 2020 at 11:56 AM.
Ride height should be 15.75 inches from wheel center cap to apex of wheel well arch. Pop the hood and look at the top of the shock tower - if you see crumbling foam bits near the center bolt or the center bolt is not truly centered, then you have upper mount issues. It is not a matter of just miles but also time that causes the foam to disintegrate - see below threads for examples.
If your upper shock mounts are original from the factory, you can bet they have deteriorated significantly. Many of us have installed the poly upper shock mounts from Welsh Enterprises in Ohio. They tend to be much more durable than the OEM Jaguar ones. And I chose to replace the shocks at the same time we installed the Welsh components. That was in early January 2016 at 99,000 miles. We also installed new shock bellows, bump stops, and poly upper control arm bushings as part of the job. The car continues to handle exactly as designed as it now approaches 120,600 miles....
Go to jagrepair.com, find the Jaguar Spec Book, and locate the page that lists the ride height for our cars (it has lots of great specific information as well). You can also check the shock mount from the engine compartment and see if there are foam bits or if the shock is off center. If this is a stock part and, say, more than 5 years old, it likely needs to be replaced. Folks have had much better durability out of the Welsh mount as compared to Jaguar. You can also find the lower joints separately, but the entire shock is not terribly expensive. While the spring has to be removed, you might want to replace the other plastic parts too.
Typically, the ride height is way too low, and you can visually see the top section of the wheel tucked in under the fender, and the bottom section sort of sticking out. This is (excess) negative camber as the wheel should look more vertical at rest.
sklimii, jon89, fmertz, thanks for the great info and links. I have some reading to do.
Does the front ride height look OK? I will have the car in a few weeks and can measure it. Here's a link to lots of pics: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1v7...oNJiGCGftkiWOD If you have time to look them over and note any problems I should address I will be forever grateful. I have some shop records, but no mention of shock or mount replacements...if they are really 19 years old I'm thinking it's high time I get it done. This is my first Jag and I'm trying to get ahead of any problems (like the plastic chain tensioners) before they bite me.
The link only seems to be to one pic but I may be missing something obvious.
From that one pic of the engine bay I can see that you do have crumbling upper shock mounts that should be replaced.
From the other pic I see that you have a somewhat rare color since it was only offered for that 2001 year. Nice color too. I don't think the wheels were chrome from the factory though.
You can get a radio antenna on amazon for under $20 to fix that.
Try this link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VD...HWXsiGJaSdDuJZ
I figured the mounts and shocks would be toast. Probably should do rear shocks too, huh?
Yes, Jag calls it "Roman Bronze." I've been watching eBay for years and see very few of them.
Radio antenna?!
Try this link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VD...HWXsiGJaSdDuJZ
I figured the mounts and shocks would be toast. Probably should do rear shocks too, huh?
Yes, Jag calls it "Roman Bronze." I've been watching eBay for years and see very few of them.
Radio antenna?!
That link got me to all the photos. Looks to be in good shape on the exterior. Interior just needs a bit of restoration. The wood color/pattern you have is really nice.
If your budget can stand it then might as well do the rear shocks/bushings, although they are a completely different setup than the fronts and might still have some life left in them.
Perhaps read through my working thread since it probably addresses most of the stuff you should consider tackling.
I have personally seen only two bronze XK8s in Florida. Both convertibles. Don't recall even seeing a pic of a coupe in that color. Its a very classy color.
Yeah your radio antenna looks bent/stuck in the pic above.
Thanks, rothwell. The "Roman Bronze" was only available on the 2001 XK8/XKR. My favorite.
Dumb antenna. I'll put a racoon tail on it.
I got a new burled walnut shift knob from British Autowood to match the dash:
Flying to Dallas in a few weeks and driving the Jag back to Minneapolis. Can't wait.
