Just before X-mas I was in Stavanger to pick up newly bought 98' XK8 convertible (X-mas present to dad )
I'm now in the process of finding out of the car; ( milage is 175.000km, imported from California in 2018 to Lituania and to Norway in 2021. No rust can be seen, has not yet managed to get under the car)

-Cam tensioner changed (took of the left head cower and it has been changed :-))
-Wear from NICASIL lining ?(No oil consumtion, engine is running fine on all 8 cylindersn no miss sounds, only some very tiny ''rasling'' sound above 4k rpm..? what can that be? Oil service just before I bought the car )
-fault searcing on several electric switches suct as the right recliner control, side mirrors control switch.. (new control swith orderes on e-bay, print coroded.
Need to switch left/rear seat controller to eliminate errors on the seat back before opening the seat back to investigate either recliner motor or bad connections?
-New (used double 5) rims ordered from e-bay in Germany, need new paint during the spring time.
-Possibly worn bushings in the upper control arm front (not into checking yet, only that steering is a little floating, can be other things)
-Upper suspension/chock mount seen from under the hood seems fine, at least in center and no sounds in bumps.

But how do I know if the car has been lowered? Someone that can give me some measurements/info for ride hight front & rear?

Many thanks.

Jon

 

You can follow this link to find the ride heights.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...3/#post2146849

 

Jon, I will try to give you some information that will help on the stance of the car.
Does the overall stance look even, meaning the tires fill the wheel well and the distance between the top of the wheel well and the tie the same distance?
If so, and the front is not down, then measure the distance between the center of the wheel, (front and back), and the curve in the fender at the highest point. The front should be 15 3/8 and 15 3/4 for a car in fair condition, if the rear looks consistent with the front, then your car has standard suspension.
A lowered car is in the 14 1/2 range. Again, consistent stance would mean the whole car has had work to get it in that condition.
Hope that helps.

 

as its a california car, you have very little to worry about re nicasil - my understanding is california gasoline is refined to a different standard from both the rest of the US and Europe, and has lower sulphur content - if it hasn't failed by now, it probably wont, and if I recall sulphur content of european fuels is much lower now too than it was when these cars were released.

 

Thanks for info.

Mine is 363mm on the driverside (left) and close to 380 on the right side.
It could be a heavy guy had this car resulting in reduced spring coils?

Any way, I guess I need to tear down the shocks to check spring height etc.

Jon

 

Jon, they are not good numbers in any case, too much difference in the sides.
I would think you need to look at the stance and if the front only looks dipped then new springs and mounts are in your future.
The 363MM is very low, surprised its not hitting the ties on a rough road.

 

This was a good thread!

Any special brand or type to b reccomended or awoided for std springs?
Lesjofors Pair Set of 2 Front Coil Springs for Jaguar XK8 XKR 4.0L Convertible | eBay

Jaguar XK8 Convertible 4.0 294 hp Coil spring - Petrol 216 kW 1996 - 1999 AJV8 ▷ AUTODOC

Jon

 

Any advice for new upper strut mount?

 

Yes, either Wayne (cjd77) or myself can help with quality polyurethane mount solution.

 

I have now measured both springs free length and they are equal and 370mm long. Spec’ says 376mm, and I have seen 400mm as well.. What is correct?

I think therefore the 1,5 cm ride height difference is from something else and I’ll therefore reuse the ones I have but switch left/right.

My worry now is what could cause the front left less ride height (1,5 cm)?? I have not been able to chech the rear suspension springs yet so maybe one is broken?
The upper strut mounts were also equally thick and not destroyed/compressed abnormally.

The new I have is slightly thicker though but that is OK.


Any thoughts?

Jon

 

Are there paint marks on the springs? What color?
Red indicates a lowered spring (or so I've been told). My red-marked front springs measured 375mm and 377mm on both sides at 58,000 miles. I have been unable to confirm what the free length was when new.

 

Yellow marked.

 

Ok, so not lowered, which means there's very significant sag if you're at only 363mm.
Probably a good idea to go with new springs, bushings, upper shock mounts, and maybe lower shock bushings (or new shocks altogether).
I'd offer you the new (never installed) pair of Lesjöfors springs I hastily bought before I realized I actually need shorter ones, but...I'm in PA, shipping would probably rival the cost of the springs

 

Now finally got things together.. but the upper strut mount I purchased from Germany was really crappy! On one mount one of the 3 bolts was Imperial treaded. Can you belive that??? In an attempt to use a 5/16-18 UNC nut the bolt came loose. Also on the other mount, one bolt came loose but managed to use locktite to lock it enough to fasten it. The one with wrong treads I had to cut off and weld on a new m8 bolt.

Just be aware that some supplers are not good. I have filed a compliant and I'm waiting for an answear.

New bolt Welded on

The bad bolt

The shitty quality mounts...

 

Ouch, sorry to hear that.
Looks like the original mounts are sitting on the ground behind the struts in the last pic. Don't throw them away.
And if you haven't mounted the struts back on the car yet, you may want to hold off and follow member baxtor's recommendation in this trail to order new inserts from him or member cjd77. Many users here will vouch for both.
Good luck!

 

I really don't like the way some of the aftermarkets have the pop rivet heads proud of the top surface of the mount (cf OEM). This disc locates against what is essentially a flat metal surface, so something has to bend...