I've been having some issues with a low front end on my 2001 XK8, and apparently i'm not the only one according to some threads on this forum

So after some reading, I went ahead and replaced the upper shock mounts (which was completely destroyed!), new shocks and new springs hoping this would raise the front end back up. This tightened up the front end nicely and all the rattling and squeaking is gone which is good! However! Just after the swap it sat just a tad higher(didn't measure), but now, after a week it's just as low

Measured the height from center of the wheel up to fender and it was just under 14" which is way too low. The wheel is rubbing the arches over small bumps or breaking and cornering at the same time. This is very annoying!

So is there anything else that wears out over time and affects the ride height?

 

Wil, I don't have a answer to your question, but look forward to see what you get. I am no were near having your problem but did ask about rubbing in a bit of spirited driving.

Wayne

 

You used OEM springs? Did you compare the height and diameter with the old ones? It sounds like you have lowering springs.

 

Well, I didn't order lowering springs. I ordered some Jaguar spec aftermarket springs. Partnumber JLM20712. Manufactured by Suplex.
No, didn't measure old vs new. Springs was changed by a mechanic.

 

Anyone with any thoughts?
The mounts were original Jaguar parts, shocks were Bilsteins. I guess it has to be the springs? Is there anything else which may affect ride height?

I might lower the rear end as well. Anyone who's got any links to new springs which can be used with the stock shocks?

 

Where are you located? After springs, shocks and mounts, you should be dead on with the OEM curb height specifications. Do you have wheel spacers, by chance? Can you measure all corners and post up here for us to evaluate?

 

Any lowering springs you use will work with your existing shocks.

 

Daytona Beach. That's what I thought as well Don't have any spacers. Measured all corners.

Front left: 13"
Front right: 13 1/4"
Rear left: 16 1/4
Rear right: 15 3/4

Right now I don't really care about the difference on the rear. As shown in the pictures, the front is WAY too low.

And BTW, is the spring seat supposed to extend downward over the shock? I thought it was just a flat seat so the base of the spring was leveled with the notch on the shock? I also see there's a difference in the white material between the spring and the seat. The side with the most white stuff is the right, which corresponds to the right side being just a bit higher. Might be a coincidence?

Thanks

 

You've got something in your left rear jacking that corner up, causing the front right to be lower. This happened on my xk8 when my indy routed some wiring above the rear shock 'hat' instead of below it, and that did cause the same extra height difference.

Beyond that, I still think there is something else wrong with your front suspension. Lets take a look at the top of your front shock mount...see if we can see something wrong there...snap a pic on each side?

 

OK, here si some snaps of the mounts.
The car has an aftermarket XM radio installed by previous owner. Could those cables make the same lift on the rear axle if routed above the shock?

 

The top mount seems to be good, though I didn't know Jaguar was now using a different color...my replacements were orange. Anyway, the next thing I/we'll can try to post photos of the suspension...can you take one wheel off at a time and snap a photo of the arms, shocks, springs...etc? Maybe one from the front, side and from the rear on each corner? Maybe we can spot something that isn't kosher.

 

The remaining foam (which was almost nothing) on the old mounts were orange as well. The pictures distort the colors a bit. They're not as yellow as they seem, but definitely more yellow than the previous. According to the box they came in they were Jaguar originals

I will try to snap some picture of the suspension in a couple of days. Both front and rear? Any specific items or just a few general overview from each corner?

Thanks

 

general overview for now would be good, multiple angles of each corner....and please make sure we can see the control arms and the top & bottom of the springs where they are seated.

 

Here's some picture of the front left corner. Didn't have time to take pictures of all corners. Everting seems right?

I also drove by the shop that changed the parts. They say that the shocks were identical to the old ones and that the springs was about the same. And since the springs change over time they didn't notice any obvious difference in height/compressibility. And they'd be happy to take another look at the front end in a few days.

Springs was ordered from SNG Barrat, so they should be good...

Very confused right now...

 

Some of the areas that affect ride height are, top shock mounts, lower shock bushing, control arm bushings, ball joints [mainly lower] and sub frame bushing. It is a shame you didn't get measurements on the springs, old vs new there should be a noticeable difference in their unloaded height, as long as they are the same part number. If they were the same height then that wasn't the problem. H20boy is right, with the changes you made you should be dead on Specs. I would check lower control arm bushing and bolt, ball joints, maybe bolts are loose or mounting holes elongated, which would explain it sitting higher when first done. Good luck

 

Thanks for the tips dieseldoc! I'll check out those items!

 

Any chance they accidentally put the front on the rear on one corner?

 

holy crap! Something is very wrong here. If they did not mix up the front from rear,it has to be the springs.I bet the aftermarket springs don't have the same"rate" as the OEM.

I just got aftermarket and they are softer than oem, that's scary, your siting way too low.

 

Agreed this is far too low. Wiljulrin I've sent you an email to check the manufacturers markings on the springs. We shall check they were boxed correctly by Suplex and go from there...!

 

Happy to see ya step in to try and help out William! Great service, indeed.