Has anyone found a source for front (or rear) quick struts for the XK8? As our cars get older they tend to sag in the front end. A lower cost option would be appreciated by some of us. Any ideas? Sources? Tom :-)

 

New, upgraded upper shock mounts are about $150 with free shipping on Ebay from Jagsjagsjags (welsh ent).

This fixes the root cause of the sagging.

On a rust Free Jag, this is a driveway repair with hand tools and a spring compressor that you can rent for free from any autoparts store.

When the factory strut mounts fail, the shock flops around and the front end eventually clunks over bumps... besides wearing out the inside of the tires.

There isn't a good shortcut here and the long way is pretty satisfying.

 

When you do take out the front shocks, when removing the upper control arm, remember where the washers go...

 

Very good advice...

and get new upper control arm bushings because the old ones will probably squeak when you put them back and you'll end up redoing the arms and by then you'll forget how the washers go.

 

I just recently order and received Bilstein shocks and mounts for the front of my 99 XK8. I checked a few places that carried replacement shocks for 99 XK8, and the cheapest place was Rock Auto Parts. Shocks were less than $100 each.

 

Did you replace the springs at the same time? I've been told that the springs are the prime item in the matter. As they get weaker, the shocks are forced to travel farther than they were designed to do (on a regular basis) and that is why the shocks go bad. In addition, the (rubber?) in the upper shock mount dries out or deteriorates and then it starts clunking. At the Jaguar dealer the other day, I was told the most important part was the upper shock mount. Logic tells me that the springs would be the key. There you have it. (My opinion :-) Now if someone who really KNOWS about these things would weigh in, that would be really good. Tom :-)

 

Or leave the upper control arm in place (if they look fine), and remove the wheel well liner instead. Then disconnect the sway bar end link. The freed strut can then be maneuvered in the (mostly) empty space by the purge valve or overflow tank. This is a ton less work.

 

I think the OP was wondering about complete struts with springs for the XK8. I'm a little curious myself if anybody has done that, or if they can even be found.

 

There are less than a dozen parts that make up a complete front strut assembly. So it should be easy to build new ones for (guessing here) about $300 each. If I ever have to replace springs I will most likely build complete new struts for a quick swap.

Since the OP has a 2005 I would be surprised if the springs are a problem. Unless the weight of all that extra body plastic takes more toll than I would expect.

I would start with upper mounts, replacing shocks only if lower bushing is worn out, and then check ride height. I am betting it will be good at that point.

Look here for some DIY with pics.

 

Rockauto or Summit Racing are my two go to places.


Summit has Bilsteins for $102 each with Free shipping. Also need to get a boot/bumpstop kit for another $12.34 Each.


Depending on the miles, the shocks could still be good. Age kills the shock mounts, not so much miles.

 

At 75K miles, I replaced shock, shock mounts and the shock bump stops. I did not replace springs. Also, at this time I did not replace the rear shocks. I am not a hands-on guy with tools, so I had my trusted mechanic advise me on what was needed.

 

Great info, thank you! I'm tackling this job soon, and would make it quite a bit easier.

 

There is a place where you can get complete coilover assemblies. More money than the regular Jag setup, but height adjustable. They are called Gecko racing in China. I am considering these for their adjustabllity.