When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I recently replaced the shocks with new Bilsteins and new shock mounts from our fellow forum members.
I did the rears myself since a spring compressor was not needed. The fronts were done by my neighborhood Tire Kingdom and even though I marked the position of the spring in relation to the spring seat and gave them specific instructions on how I wanted it done, I have serious issues with the ride height of the car.
Right now, after putting 100 miles on the car, The rear sits at 16" from the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender and the front sits at 17" from the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender. As a result of the front being so high I have a lot of floating while driving at speed.
Now I am questioning whether Tire Kingdom assembled the spring/shock correctly. I spoke to them and they want me to pay them another $114 to check them.
Here are some pics of the car as it stands now.
I recently replaced the shocks with new Bilsteins and new shock mounts from our fellow forum members.
I did the rears myself since a spring compressor was not needed. The fronts were done by my neighborhood Tire Kingdom and even though I marked the position of the spring in relation to the spring seat and gave them specific instructions on how I wanted it done, I have serious issues with the ride height of the car.
Right now, after putting 100 miles on the car, The rear sits at 16" from the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender and the front sits at 17" from the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender. As a result of the front being so high I have a lot of floating while driving at speed.
Now I am questioning whether Tire Kingdom assembled the spring/shock correctly. I spoke to them and they want me to pay them another $114 to check them.
Here are some pics of the car as it stands now.
Can you get some pics more specifically of the spring and mount assembly. Both top and bottom seats.
baxtor, he used my mounts in the front and yours in the rear.
I told him to get that height the tops could have been have put two on each side.
The top nut is showing 5 threads, so the washer is down to the seat on the shock stud. He did say he had 3 felt washer on the bottom seat but no way could they had that height.
Thoughts? Wayne
baxtor, he used my mounts in the front and yours in the rear.
I told him to get that height the tops could have been have put two on each side.
The top nut is showing 5 threads, so the washer is down to the seat on the shock stud. He did say he had 3 felt washer on the bottom seat but no way could they had that height.
Thoughts? Wayne
Hi Wayne, hope you're well.
At least another isolator thickness in there Wayne.
Rough calculation 15mm at spring lifts around 23mm at measured height point. (Rough measure)
@baxtor and Wayne: I will get the car up on jackstands, remove the wheels and take some pics. I did mention to Wayne that the large spring mount you supplied to me was not seating all the way in the metal top hat. There was a 1/4" space between the mount and the metal top hat. He told me that the spring pressure will seat it all the way. Whether that happened, I can't say but given the flexibitity of the material you used I would say yes. I would know for sure when I take them apart.
@ wayne and Baxtor: I came down with the flu so I was unable to do any work on my car. I am hoping to get back to work on the car by midweek. Rather than paying Tire Kingdom another $114 to disassemble/assemble the front springs, I purchased this to do them myself New Strut compressor
I will get back to you as soon as I get my friend to come by and help me take things apart.
Sanchez, first off, look after yourself.
That machine will need to be adjusted to get the full throw of the springs of a Jaguar. Make sure you test the hold and install the chain every time. Getting the whole strut to set straight in there is a bit tricky.
As info, my car with new springs in the front is 15 7/8 and the rear 16 with a very good ride and control, so not so much of a worry on the rear but we need to get that front sorted out.
Take care and let us know how it goes.
Even though I am not well, I peeked into the front fender well and the first thing I noticed is that Tire Kingdom assembled the front shocks without the bumpstops and gaiters/shock bellows.
(In my rush to install the front shocks I did not notice that they were missing). I have to order the gaiters/bellows and new bumpstops. Motorcarman posted a while ago that he found a replacement bumpstop at Advanced Auto but I have been searching the threads for his post but can't find it. I am ordering new balljoints and tierod ends for the car from Welsh. I hope they have the gaiters and bumpstops too, so when I get back to work I will have everything I need to complete the job.
Since Tire Kingdom left out the bumpstops and gaiters, I wonder what else they did wrong. I will sure find out when I take it apart. With them its money down the drain.
Is lowering springs an option here? H&R springs will lower the car 1 1/2 inches. (17"- 1 1/2" = 15 1/2")
Removing 2 of the 3 spacers from the bottom of the spring will lower the car by how much?
@sanchezMOOG PN: K90460 is equivalent to Jag PN: MJA2150BA for the front spring assistors (bump stops) also comes with gaiters> Can get these from advance auto
Update:
I finally got back to working on my car. Wayne and Baxtor. I forgot to take pics if the front and rear shock assembly before I took it apart. My apologies.
Anyway this is what I did.
1) lowered the car 1.5 inches all around with a set of H&R lowering springs with Wayne and Baxtor's top mounts. I had to shave a little bit on the circumference of baxtor's mounts the get them to seat properly.
2) replaced all the front bushings, upper balljoints, Lower control arm assemblies, swaybar links and outer tierod ends.
Once the job was completed I took the car out on the highway and for the first time since I got the car I was able to put it through a thorough workout to see how the car responded to highway speeds and (way above at times). Drove it for around fifty miles round trip and I had a smile on my face all the way.
The car responds very well to everything I put it through and with the lowered suspension the car felt as if it had the OEM springs on it. It was very smooth. I thought that with the lowered suspension I would get a harsh ride but that was not the case. Back home, I measured the ride height from the center of the wheel to the fender lip.
Front: 14 15/16" on both sides
Rear: 14 1/2" both sides
I am aware that the more I drive the car, the more it will settle and at that point I will make the necessary adjustments.
Here are some before and after pics.
Tomorrow, I am going to the alignment shop to do a 4 wheel alignment and get my tires balanced.
I want to see what toe specs are and also see where the camber is with the lowering springs.
BEFORE
BEFORE BEFORE BEFORE AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER
Any and all comments and recommendations are welcome.
FYI - I have the H&R lowering springs on my car and to get the REAR camber dialed in I needed a 9mm shim on each side. And, since they don't make a 9mm I just bought a 5mm and added it to the oem 4mm shim and it worked perfectly for me for the last 5 years. I tried 7.5mm but the rear camber was still too negative.
@blindside Thanks for giving me that info. I would not know what size shim I would need until I get the readings from the alignment shop. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I definitely know that it is something that will have to be addressed in the near future. I just like the stance of the car as it sits now.
As with all things pertaining to alignment on the XK8, I plead total ignorance on the topic. I will find the correct specs later today. In the meantime...........
Can someone look at the specs below and interpret the readings? I need to know what I have to do to correct things. If I need shims for the rear can someone who knows about how much adjustment a particular shim will give me will be very helpful. Also what else need to be done for both the front and rear. Please help me understand the readings below.
Thanks
Hi guys. As per the alignment graphic above, I have been trying to do the math to figure what size shim I need to correct the rear camber issue on my car.
Using the going conversion on theforum every 0.5 mm shim will adjust the camber .25 degrees.
Regardless of what size shim I presently have on the car the reading states that the right rear camber is at -2.6 degrees. Would this mean if I add 4mm of shims to whatever is on the car, I would gain 2 degrees of positive camber, leaving me with a camber reading of -0.4 degrees. Specs are somewhere between -0.9 and -0.1. Am I correct with this calculation? The reason I am asking is to get an idea before I purchase the shims and as you all well know they are expensive.
If my calculations are wrong please let me know so that I can correct it.. Once I know, I will do the calculations for the left side.
Please, Please.
Whenever I did a rear camber adjust (if the customer wanted to pay for it) I found that the factory shim was 4mm.
The parts dept kept 6mm shims in stock and that was pretty much what got it close or exact on a well worn stock suspension.
The parts dept would not stock the full assortment of 3.5mm to 7.5mm so 6mm was the compromise.
New shocks and top mounts conundrum
