About a year ago I replaced the upper front strut mounts on my 1999 XK8 Coupe and shortly thereafter I noticed a severe negative camber in my front tires. Approx 3 degrees of negative camber. My ride height had also reduced to approx 14.5 inches. The upper strut mounts were purchased from URO Parts. I've spent most of the last year trying to diagnose the problem, and have even purchased new front coil springs. So, when I prepared to install the new front coil springs, I was watching To The Garage and noticed that the cushion portion of John's upper strut mount was much thicker than mine. His measurement was 17.4mm, while mine was about 7mm. I've attached a pic showing how the rubber portion of the upper strut mount looks, and it must be at least 10mm thinner than what John's replacements are. QUESTION: Has anyone else encountered this issue, and if you did, did your ride height drop with the thinner rubber portion of the upper strut mount? Everywhere I've looked shows a thicker rubber upper shock mount. I believe that when the ride height drops the camber negative value increases. Thank you in advance for any opinions or experiences with this issue.

 

Warren, you are exactly right.
The URO mounts are made of a foam type material. I have several that are new that were sent to me as a cores.
Give me a PM with a number when you get a chance.

 

URO mounts are garbage. Wayne's custom upper shock mounts are by far the best way to go. Many forum members around the world (including me) have his custom mounts installed in our cars now and love them....

 

CJD777, I bought a set from Rockauto over a year ago. It seems like the high-density foam was never up to 17mm, and has always been too thin, at about 7mm. The order was sent to me by Rockauto more than one year ago, thus, not returnable. One option is to shim the foam up by 10mm. That would be a simple and easy fix. Thanks for your reply.

ÜRO PARTS MJA2170BD
ÜRO PARTS Warranty Information
Parts Ending in PRM - Limited Lifetime, Parts Not Ending In PRM - 24-month warranty against defects in materials and workmanship

 

You can shim the mount, but I don't think that will restore your ride height. The best option is to have Wayne rebuild the mounts.

 

Regardless of warranty term l think it would be pointless replacing replacing URO with more of the same.
They are an annual subscription scheme. Do it once, do it right.

 

The factor that's being forgotten here is the springs themselves. Keeping in mind that they are decades old, and they do sag, which should be no surprise. The best mounts in the world won't compensate.

You could buy new springs, but instead I made and installed spacers, utilizing the extra bolt length on my new (yes, URO) shock mounts. I cut these from a kitchen cutting board, about 3/8" (10mm) thick. Each spacer is sandwiched between the shock mount and the underside of the strut well. Together with the new mounts, my ride height is back to normal.

Don't know yet whether the URO mounts will hold up, but so far, so good.

Bob Frisby
"70 E-type, '99 XK8
Boise, Idaho

 

BoiseBob, This is exactly what I'm thinking about doing. As you have done, I would sandwich a 10mm spacer between the shock mount and the underside of the strut well.

 

Makes little sense, for $100 US you could do it properly with polyurethane kit and be done with it.

 

+1
You're going through the drama of dismantling the shock mounts

...only to have to re-do when the UROs collapse completely and the suspension starts knocking.

Just my

 

I advise you to pay attention to what most of us are telling you. Get that URO garbage out of your wheel wells, send the cores to Wayne, and he will custom-build you the best pair of XK8 / XKR shock mounts available anywhere on the planet....

 

Thanks guys, but the ones that Baxtor has done as a kit will be the answer for the DIY'er.
I have yet to get the time to try some of the Poly's I have ordered. As I tried to get the same material that Baxtor uses, it was not evaluable in this country. Now that I have a couple of batches to try, it's a learning curve to mold and the stuff I have has a 16 hour mold time. Not very good for a one or two day turnaround.
I do think, after watching the URO new ones coming in for a members core that the internals of the metal bell are just not up to the job of cushioning the shock, when I open up the new ones, the top plate hardly lifts and that's from new. The spring large donut is a different story as it's taking all the weight every up of the suspension.
I'm thinking it needs, for long term, to be a harder material, like the Energy Suspension spring mounts I am using right now. So far they are holding up, not that the ones Baxtor is making are far superior to anything out there.
In other words, I'm thinking that a difference in materials might be the answer, with the elastic inner bushings to help catch the up and down of the shock and a bit harder to withstand the knock of the spring into the top of the inner fender.
We (Baxtor) and I are doing what we think is the best for right now, and thanks to all who continue to support us with replacements. So many members giving feedback has proven what we know now of the position of certain parts in the whole assembly, when installed, it has got to help with the longevity with what we are trying to do.

Thanks to Kelly, Nick and Jon for their direction.

I don't really think I highjacked this Thread, it was in discussion of the URO and possible solution. Well, there you go.

 

Couldn't agree more. These are the @baxtor units that I installed on my 98 XK8. I couldn't be happier.

 

UPDATE: I elected to go with Baxter's kit, and it's the correct remedy for the crap URO strut mounts. I also replaced the springs at the same time, and my ride height and camber are now spot on. Thanks, Baxter.