Had the car in to Alpine Jaguar in Ft Lauderdale for wheel alignment and was told they couldn't get the front end into spec. Camber is out. They say new control arms with an eccentric bolt will allow them to adjust camber. All it takes is a bunch of money. Is this eccentric bolt something that can be retrofitted to existing lower control arms or do I need new? I just replaced the front tires, which had scalloping on the inside and want to get this fixed before I destroy the new tires.

 

Get a second opinion! I was told that I needed the lower control arms by Jag as well.

 

The tires were wearing on the inside of the front tires. No uneven wear noticeable on the rear tires. Also, the guys who put the new tires on (not Jaguar) tried an alignment and couldn't adjust camber. Then Jaguar told me there are new lower control arms that have an eccentric bolt that allows camber adjustment.

 

Sounds like you may need to change them. I understand that an aftermarket control arm is available at a more reasonable price.

 

Hey Gus,
Any idea where I could find the aftermarket version? Judging by the cost, the OEM version must be made of that special Jaguar alloy, unobtanium.

 

Let me check on Monday and I will let you know.

 

Thanks!

 

unobtanium, that's funny!

The new eccentric bolt won't give you but maybe a tenth or two of the camber, not that much. In my situation, my upper shock mounts were worn bad enough, and new ones brought the camber back up to spec. But, I did add the eccentric bolt, might as well while they had the suspension apart. I've done alot of work on my suspension and documenting it, check out the threads i've started in the xk8 forums for other input from techs and such.

 

Shock mounts? So if shock mounts are responsible for camber alignment, lower control arms aren't going to help. What I need are new shock mounts?

 

At one time I thought I had to replace the ball joint and control arm on my car but it was found not to be a problem. I looked at that time but could not find an aftermarket but the garage I use said one was available. I called to get that information and they called me today to say that part was not available. I did however find a used control arm on Motorcars LTD at http://www.motorcarsltd.com/jaguar/x...n/control-arm/ for $213.50. Sorry I was of no help.

 

Visual inspection of the upper shock mounts will determine if your car needs them. Being a couple years older than mine (time moreso than mileage affects these mounts), I would not be surprised.

Unless the control arm is damaged, it should be good. Now, the front and rear lower control arm bushings may need replaced (but that does nothing for camber)

And, if you do go upper shock mounts (MotorcarsLtd - see link from gus above) also fabricated an aftermarket upper mount... MUCH cheaper than the dealer part, plus I highly recommend getting the lower shock bushings replaced while your doing it...$20/ea extra.

 

Thanks Gus. $213 is better than $463. Now if I can just figure out if I really need them...

 

h20boy,
Thanks. You mention visual inspection. What am I looking for?

 

I took the car to my shop and the mechanic and I got under the car and inspected everything from front to back. I was told by Jag that the ball joints were dangerously worn….. Well my inspection reviled that the boot around it had a hole in it!!! I am still driving the car and it is not a problem. It pays to have a mechanic that will let you review with them…

 

On the upper shock mount, you'll notice that, if worn enough to affect camber, the shock will be offcentered, and you can see buckling so that the shock is farther up into the mount more than normal. It should be completely level with the surrounding metal. I'll shoot a couple pictures later tonight of my new one, and you can compare with yours, ok?

 

Here's MotorCars Ltd's own version of the upper shock mounts for our XK8s, if you can't find the jags...plus, its custom, so it might last longer?

Here's the OEM part and price from Jpamporschejaguarparts.com

Awhile back, when doing mine, the upper mounts were rare and nationally backordered.

 

ok, here's a couple pics of my new mounts. The first shows a top down view, exactly centered middle. Click each pic for larger image.



It looks like the bolt from the shock sticks up maybe just a hair under 5mm when the ruler is laid across the sheetmetal.

Take a look and see if yours is sagging or off-center.

In the right DIY hands, this could be done fairly easy, replacing a couple bushings along the way. Just need the right tools. IIRC, they had to lower the steering rack to get the work done also.

 

Bingo! Just checked. What a mess. Passenger side visible off center. Bushing material corroded with small piles of bushing dust on both sides.

 

Just got the car back. New upper mounts. My guy said lowers were fine. He said this should bring the camber back to factory specs. Car seems to handle better...then again it always seems to run better, faster, smoother after dumping a bunch of cash into it. BTW, the upper mounts ran $750 and change for parts and labor.

 

I'd guess all of the bushings on this car rubber. Does any company make or sell a set of Poly.. bushings? They would be stiffer, and they would make the cat handle much better and last a heck of a lot longer than rubber.