Another Shock Bushing BLOWOUT!
 

This was "accomplished" by using one of those "upgraded" upper shock mount bushing kits. First the left side tore on the top in December immediatly after installation, and today I noticed (while checking on the washer reservoir) that it had pushed out the bottom:
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/7425/mounts008.jpg
So I figured I'd better check the right side and (while it looked normal on the top) I noticed it tore in two at the bottom recently and wrapped itself around the spring:
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9323/mounts001.jpg
It was completely separated so I took it out:
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4184/mounts006.jpg
"Not good", as they say...

Definitely not good, Skid Mark. I guess "upgreded" isn't always improved.

Agreed. I already emailed them and said I wanted to exchange the remains for some OEM shock mounts.

Holy mackeral, Skid. I'm glad I bought the oem bushings now. Were you off-roading? jk

I've been contemplating buying the $300 mina 1" lowering springs. Stuff like this makes me think its probably gonna cost me more than 300 down the road

new here just got a 2000 XK8 w75K is this front shockbushing something that I should be looking at?I had been thinking of buying a 07 XK8 from a dealer and they had changed the front shocks and control arms at 46000 miles. I did not buy because of too high dealer DOC
fee.

Actually, there was a brief period of being airborne.

I keed, I keed....;)

Yup, no more bushing kits for me. Don't know if it was a bad batch or what.

The service records for our 2006 XK8 (we've had it just over seven weeks now) show that the front shock bushings were replaced by Jaguar under warranty at about 22,000 miles. What causes these bushings to fail so early and apparently to quite a number of low-mileage XK8s out there? Our car is now approaching 39,000 miles and I'm wondering if this will be a relatively frequent concern....

Are you talking about the shock bushings (located at the lower end of the actual shocks), or the upper shock mounts that Skid is showing in his pics? The shock BUSHINGS should last at least the 100K that the shocks should last. Apparently, the upper mounts are a bit of a crapshoot.

The shock bushings are more of a pita to replace than should be so most just replace the entire shock. The replacement Bilsteins can be bought for around $100 each, while the upper mounts are about $220 and up apiece. Of course, you can double that at the dealership. Either are a big job to replace, but can be done at home if you have the tools and the courage.

The information I have indicates that both "front shock mount bushings" were replaced. That may be incorrect terminology, but that's what I was told when I inquired about what was done by the dealership that performed the work. I do not have a copy of the actual service receipt. It was warranty work, so perhaps I can call Jaguar Corporate for more specific information....

Question on the shock mount 'upgrade' kit. Did it just come with the new rubbers, and the existing metal mount was used after drilling out the rivets, then putting new rivets in after replacing the rubber? Normal use should not cause that rubber to 'cookie cutter' itself out.

Dang, Jon. That sounds way too soon to have a problem with the upper mounts. Most of us here who have had to change ours have either much higher mileage or certainly LOTS more years for the rubber to deteriorate.

Skid; That's really ugly. It must be George Bush's fault.

You can bet I'll be keeping an eye on the shock components going forward. Thanks for the information in this thread, guys. I learn more about our XK8, good and bad, every day thanks to this fantastic forum....

That was the procedure, yes. Agreed that this shouldn't be happening, either a bad batch of materials or a flaw in the design.

It's gotta be Bush's fault.

And Cheney's, too....

Yeah...and the medical providers actually had the gall to let Cheney wait on the list for a match, do the transplant, and probably pay for it with his private insurance. He's "allowed" to live and be public enemy # 2 or 3 for sure.

God help us when the govt. takes control of all healthcare and and some clerk makes these decisions. Get ready for Soylent Green, folks.

Given his age, general condition, and heavily-compromised circulatory system, I doubt if Cheney will live more than a year or two with that new ticker. Someone much younger and actually human would have been a far more appropriate recipient...

I do not use those black bushings anymore for this exact reason. They dont last near as long as the factory material. Jon, if yours were done under factory warranty, they can only use jaguars complete upper mounts, not a bushing replacement kit. Ive seen this same issue on the XJ kits too now:(

Thanks, Brutal. Ours were supposedly done under factory warranty. I'll keep an eye on them....

Doublechecking my records, I see that our XK8's front shock mounts were actually replaced at just 5,170 miles on January 19, 2007. Man, that's scary....

Is this a problem with just the front shock mounts, or are the rear shock mounts just as likely to fail?