Finally got rid of the suspension knocks..
 

So, for those that care, I finally finished installing the upper shock mounts and the sway bar bushings. The result of which is a completely quite and compliant front end..I cannot believe the difference a few bucks and a little bit of time and elbow grease have made on this car. For those of you wondering if you can do it, if I can, anyone can. The shock mounts have a few good write ups on this forum so I will not add but this, get a GOOD spring compressor, OR take the springs to a shop to have them compress them. Otherwise it's a simple straight forward job. As for the sway bar bushings, they took me ten to fifteen minutes (your mileage may vary) jack the car up pop a couple long extensions and a wobble on and unscrew them from the top with the hood popped. climb underneath for installation and BAM. No more knocking!!

Squirrel,

Glad to see you still lurking around!

How about a summary of all you have done to that car? Gotta be about new by now.

Hi squirrel, of course we care, we idle and leak coolant together (<- did that even make sense, I was trying to be philosophical in a fraternal sort) glad you're making some good progress. A quiet, smooth ride makes all the difference in how it 'feels' right?

The good fight continues, eh? Still don't feel like jinxin the good luck with an avatar change? :)

You know Tom, I have been keeping a running list of my repairs/improvements/mods in my garage (pre-dating me as well)...its staggering now at the extent, I almost forgot some of the earlier stuff.

I too would like to get a summary of your completed repairs/improvements. I lost track. lol

Oh I'm still around, I just moved and have been buried in work. I also still pop in here quite a bit to read but not so much to post as of late.

Oh good lord, the list of repairs....



Steering column motor
spark plugs
Throttle body
brake rotors, all of them, and pads
headlights, both
upper shock mounts, front suspension
Sway bar bushings, front
water pump (twice)
serpentine belt
seat module, power seat died
idler pulley's
all 4 timing chains w/ new second gen tensioners. While I was in there I got all new gaskets for EVERYTHING as well.
flush and fill the trans
thermostat (twice)
thermostat housing cracked, now replaced with the metal one.
both key fobs
one key lost an emblem, super glue to the rescue
a whole host of small stupid things like hose clamps, and crapped out clips.
Trunk emblem just fell apart, so on to that over the weekend... Edit not gonna happen family in town.

Now I'm getting a very nice coolant smell in the car and i can only assume that it's the heater hoses. Which if memory serves, run under the damn intake. Additionally the pcv hose cracked and then disintegrated. The bad camber from the bad strut mounts murdered my tires so more of those coming soon as well. That is of course whenever another shipment of these odd sized tires reaches the island.

SO next on the list will be heater hoses and intake gaskets. Along with a pcv valve hose, tires, an emblem and lord knows what's next. Oh the sagging clotch on the A-pillars the center console and drivers seat leather and yet again another key fob.

I'm not so sure if it's "the good fight" at this point but it's a fight none the less :)


And for the record, the timing is off again. I think it's chain stretch but I can "feel" the lumpy idle caused by a 1-3 tooth misalignment of the cams. How annoying. I have to take it all apart again :( I might change the avatar if I ever felt the car was fixed, but just as soon as I get one thing done BAM another problem rears it's ugly British head! The problems coupled with the bad Joo Joo = no changing the avatar to FIXED :)

I looked up Jaguar in the dictionary and it says "Jaguar: A hole in the road into which you pour money."

OK I showed you mine....

What emblem do you need?

Here's my list squirrel, maybe it'll make you feel better. :)

Engine / General
Spark Plugs
Air bag light blinking 2-2 (harness repair)
Upper Radiator Hose
Thermostat
Parking Brake Shoes
Idler Pulley, Belt Tensioner w/ Pulley
Coolant expansion tank
Power steering line repair
CCV, breather hose and vent tube replaced
Transmission service
Convertible hydraulic lines replaced, top rams replaced
Upper steering column (reach motor died)
Water pump
Headrest cable repaired
LF Engine mount replaced
Front brake rotors, new brake pads all around
Heater hose assembly (just ordered)
Navigation DVD unit died...haven't replaced yet to maintain my 'clock'

Suspension
Front: upper shock mounts, lower shock bushings, front and back lower control arm bushings, upper control arm bushings; sway bar bushings
Rear: both wheel bearings, RR shock, suspension shim kit, sway bar end links

The trunk emblem. :icon_rant:

The irony, it looks just like mine :):icon_drink:

Although you have certainly gone to much greater lengths on the suspension :eek:

And the battle continues!!!:icon_starwars:

Did I mention I haven't quite put 2,000 miles on the car yet? That's a helluva list for 2k miles.... the car only has 64k on it as we speak. Simply Amazing.