I am going to rebuild front end of my 2003 XKR. I have priced parts and motorcars (British Parts) are WAY cheaper than OEM. I know the upper wishbone bushings sometimes do not fit but other than that, has anyone used the tie rod ends, ball joints, lower shock bushings etc? If they wear about like OEM, that is the way I will go. If they are junk, I will bite the bullet for OEM.
Any observations in real life usage would be appreciated.
Thanks!
David in Edmond, OK

 

I used them, had a local mechanic install the whole kit and he said the parts seemed fine. His only trouble was one of the upper wishbone bolts was frozen and had to be destroyed. Had to wait two days to get one from Jag. I think the car is awesome now, although I'm less than 4,000 mile on the rebuild.

 

Are they a recognized name brand? Lemforder, Quinton Hazel, etc? Or or they brand-x in an unmarked box?

Personally I'd have no reservations about using the former but the latter...not so much.

Cheers
DD

 

Sorry, can't help. I didn't open the kit. I guess you could contact them and ask before buying. All I know is my mechanic (mostly Mercedes, but some British) said "they're aftermarket, but they seem pretty good" when I asked him about the parts.
Mike

 

Polyurethane bushings last longer than rubbers as far as I know ,but you may sacrifice comfort a bit if you go for them

 

In addition to the upper bushings that I bought from britishparts.co.uk, I also bought lower bushings. They didn't fit, either. I bent a 12 ton press trying to press them into the lower control arm. That's AFTER putting the bushings in the freezer overnight and heating up the control arm in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. The bushings were simply too big to fit.

 

The bushings REALLY aren't that expensive for OEM, if you go through our sponsors, either Nalley Jaguar or Gaudin Jaguar. The online price is $57 for upper bushings per side, and the same for either the front or rear lower arm bushing. I'd stick with OEM for these at least.

Ball joints I got aftermarket from britishparts.uk (very good), OEM sway bar end links from Welsh at $34 ea, regular sway bar bushings from Gaudin also, tie rod ends from rockauto.com (beck/arnley)

 

The balljoints, lower bushings, and sway bar links I got from britishparts.uk were all great. The upper bushings, however, didn't fit and I sent them back. Could've been wrong parts, but the rubber didn't look like very good quality part.
I got the upper bushings from a local Jag dealer. They're about $57 a piece, not per side - you'll need 4 of them.