I have done work on this 03 XK8 intake/tb taken apart put back on w/no issue) but i still get spooked with repairs I have not done to it or to any other car of the same thing.
I am buying the Upper mounts/shocks/springs and plan to have someone LOAD them if you will for me so I can just stick them back on. I have seen the Youtube video on doing it. Is it as relatively easy as it appears? At this moment I only had a mildly heavy duty tool collection, NO air compressor at the moment, can I do this. Looks like I have to support the hub to keep from hurting the ball joints and just disconnect the sensors on the wheels. take it apart and put stuff back on just as I took it apart (shims).
Am I overthinking this? Like I said, repairs I have never ventured to do spook me, specially on a Jag,

 

Honestly, it is not that hard... the hardest part for me was compressing the spring so I replace the shock mount (which you aren't doing anyways). As long as you don't have issues with corrosion and binding on the top bolt, you should have no problems. I watched the video and did both of mine with no problems getting the unit our or back in... GO FOR IT

 

My car is very clean as for bolt corrosion issues for the most part. Anything i have touched on this car yet has came off with ease, not fight. It was a southern car then always in the garage here in Cincy.
there are no bolts or the like that would need to reuse?

 

the shock comes with the perch or whatever it is called that the spring sits on? If so is there a pad there or anything? The shock is coming with bottom mounts installed.
My top bolts inside the engine bay should come off I would think cleanly, like I said they are very clean, no rust or the like on them.

 

BRG, Take them out and go to a automotive parts house that also does machine work. They will that your old stuff off if you are going to save the spring pads, or if you have new ones then you don't need anything that comes off unless you are installing the poly upper mounts and your new shocks don't have the bottom spring housing, then you will need the metal parts. What ever you do, before installing the new unit, run a nut with lots of oil down the shaft of the three mounting studs. Full of paint and will break off in a heartbeat, a tap would be better.


Wayne

 

what is the spring sitting on at the BOTTOM of the shock, that part is connected to WHAT? Seen in this video, the bottom metal plate is part of the shock when you buy it????

 

here is the Jag shock, look at the bottom of spring, I am CONFUSED. That metal plate the spring in on is held on how? Sorry this one is not making sense.

00 05 Jaguar XKR XK8 4 0L Front Left Right Strut Shocks Fit 2001 Jaguar XKR | eBay

 

The shock body has a small flange around it that the spring perch sits on.

 

BRG, not many shocks come with that medal plate on it. There is a crimped ledge it sets on. Just take a hammer and tap it off, as you have little rust this won't be a big problem, unlike a lot of the northern cars.


Wayne

 

ok, makes sense now.

 

The spring sits on this sort-of "cup". I suspect yours will not be nearly rusted away like mine was !!



Photo shows old & replacement. There's also a thin rubber packing washer, and a plastic seat that, if original, is shaped to locate the bottom end of the spring.

 

The video above completely mis represents how difficult and potentially dangerous the spring removal on the XK8 is. The XK spring needs extreme compression and is extremely stiff, and on to of that is conical in shape making it tricky to get the compressors to fit.


I hope I never have to do it again on this car.

 

I will be paying someone to do my stuff. I prob will pull the old and have the new "loaded" so I can put them right back in. I am hoping this will fix my 1.25 lower than normal front end. I assume it will and get the tires sitting correctly again??? The tops of them lean IN. Can bad or worn springs and shot top mounts cause all that?

 

Good call. The cost is minimal. I think I paid $50 to have the pair done. As noted, the DIY can be very dangerous. I tried the free tools from AutoZone, but never again.

Yes it can. And be sure to take a look at the lower ball joints as well.

 

when I had it in to put new back tires on it I asked the shop to look at the front end and among other things they said the ball joints were in good shape. Is there not a quick test I could do at home with the front off the ground to see if they are bad? Moving the tire up and down or side to side means there are issues?
The damn front tires are so toed in at the top it is starting to work on the inside tire tread a little. Got to get her fixed soon.

 

well I ordered the whole ball of wax for the whole spring/shock/mounts set up. I will pull off the old ones, have someone LOAD my new ones and I will put them on.

 

By looking at your photo, it seem like it was super stiff due to where you were trying to compress?
if you tried to compress the springs on the upper area, it shouldnt have been as stiff as the one on your picture.
I could well be wrong. (Havent done it with xk8)

Rui

 

Rui, I know what you are saying here, but (and this isn't my photo) the photo is misleading...if you saw a photo of the assembly prior to being compressed, you would see that the spring compressor cannot go on the next rung of the spring because there is not enough clearance between that next rung and the final rung of the spring. What you see in the photo is a large space only AFTER compressing. I actually ran into the same issue as seen in the photo and used a 2nd set of spring compressors to help carry the load. It is indeed difficult, but with care, and a safety pin lock on the spring hook, doable.

 

If you try an XK8 you will find what you suggest is not possible, I had my spring compressors on as high as they would go.


Here are a few more pics.




The spring was compressed just enough for the top of the shock to poke through the new upper bush. There is an internal hex on the top of the shock plunger to hold it steady while tightening the top nut.



One done, one more to go.

 

I ended up using two sets of spring compressors when I did mine - that enabled me to compress the spring part way then get the second set in as the coils opened up at the top.