Ahhhhh...peace at last. Decided to get some parts in and fix my rattle this weekend. Changed out the lower shock bushes as well as the fulcrum pin bearings. The lower shock bush is pretty straight forward to replace on the car. The bottom of the shock will drop below the swing arm onece the bolt is pulled. The old bush was a beast to get out, actually bent my U-Joint press in the process. I popped the new ones in the freezer for a few hours before hand and the went in quite easily. I didnt have the special too so I used the threaded bolt from a small bearing puller and and some appropriately sized sockets.

The fulcrum pin bearings are also straight forward to replace on the car too. Just disconnect the hub and support it on a jack, just be careful to keep an eye on your brake line, don't let it get stretched or bent too far. I cut the races in the hub with a small cutting disc in a dremel and gave them a sharp tap with a cold chisel. There is a recess behind each race and you work from the opposite side to knock the old race out. You can modify a drift or make one with the required bend, because it is not a straight shot. They pop right out. Tap the new races in using the old race to fully seat the new one. Be sure to have the wider side innermost or you wont have anything to tap it out! Reassembly is very straightforward...but! Make sure you keep the shims that go on either side in their correct locations and also mark the fulcrum pin with a punch to ensure goes back where it started. It has an eccentric bolt head to facilitate setting the camber. Grease everything up well!! The bottom of the carrier sees a lot of weather,depending on your location of course.

I thought that would be it but I still had a knocking!! Turns out that during my investigative stage I was experimenting with spring compressors to see just how far I could get the bottom of the shock to protrude. I was unaware at the time but I managed to move the top of the coil spring out of its "hat". This allowed the top of the shock to rub on the spring and make all kinds of mysterious noises. Any way, once I realized my **** up I threw the spring compressors on and reseated the spring in the correct position. Problem fixed, scary thing was I was about to order new shocks!! with CATS...$$$$...ouch. Just goes to show how a small mistake can really throw you off. Then again a touch of humility is good for the soul once in awhile.

Incidentally I ordered my parts from JustJagsUK.com, incredible prices even with the exchange rate. They have nice schematics for most parts and they got here from England to South Dakota in 3 days!

Thanks to all of you who helped me diagnose the issue with your tremendously informative posts. Best wishes to all, Blackhillsjag.

 

replaced drivers side rear shock bush on saturday..now its heaven to drive but im listening for the rattle thats nor there..i must be going mad..was a lot easeir than i first thought..used the tool that i got off this site thanks to XKRacers diagram

 

Just a minor note: The Eccentric Bolt Head is a Toe in adjustment, not Camber. The Eccentric function only changes the position of the Front of the Bolt.

Camber is adjusted by changing the Shims on the Differential end of the Half Shafts.

 

of course that makes sense, it is only eccentric at one end, thanks for the correction!

 

I know what you are saying, I am driving over all the bumps I can find with the climate control off....daring it to come back!!