I promised an update for today, but in truth there's not much to report. The adage of no news is good news, although I have only driven 160 miles since the last update. The ride height remains the same at 14 1/2 the right side and 14 3/4 for the left side. The shock rods have not moved at all from their last position, and the ride remains excellent. The mounts have survived quite a few large potholes without evidence of damage since the last time I updated.
I took pictures from the top of the shocks, but I did not jack the car because I was also chasing a tapping noise from the rear (which predates the mounts, so I know it's not caused by that). More on that in a new thread I will make soon.
Left side; aka Driver's side.
Right side; aka passenger side
As you can see, the shock rods are still centered. The passenger side red bush is still centered, and the driver's side has not moved from the position it has been during the last couple of updates. I think it just settled there. I am very pleased with how Wayne's mounts have been performing. I understand some other members have received them and begun testing them as well? I would love to hear your thoughts.
P.S. I am planning on changing my shocks and springs later this year (when my budget allows it) to correct the ride height and camber, I am especially concerned with the rear shocks, which, seem to dampen less on rebound than the fronts. Although, I do like the lowered look and would love lowering springs if I could somehow keep the camber in spec while using them. If that's not possible, then I'm going with stock springs.
Gian, thank you so much for taking the time to give a report.
So glad to see all is preforming as it should and no ride height difference, but you are going to solve the lowered numbers with new springs and shocks later.
Be sure to give us any update if there is a issue and good luck on the career.
Good morning Wayne and group. I thought I would share a few pictures and an update on the upper shock mount that I will be tending to this week. My 05 XKR has a front left tire with camber out in left field. I will be removing the shock and sending the mount to Wayne for his expert fabrication skills. Here is a first look after removing the front left tire for the first time. All bushings seem to be in good order....:-)
Good morning Wayne and group. I thought I would share a few pictures and an update on the upper shock mount that I will be tending to this week. My 05 XKR has a front left tire with camber out in left field. I will be removing the shock and sending the mount to Wayne for his expert fabrication skills. Here is a first look after removing the front left tire for the first time. All bushings seem to be in good order....:-)
Any shots from under the hood showing shock rod position and top inner donut? If the camber is really 'out in left field' I'd be suspecting weak springs....from the bit of it that's visible, the top cushion doesn't look terrible. Have you measured the fender lip to wheel centre distance?
Robert, that's not all that bad. Don't see any major spacers in there where someone was correcting a chamber situation.
Good to hear you are on the way to recovery and lets hope I can help.
Be safe, do not hurry.
Good evening everyone, I am here to report my findings.
History: 2005 Jaguar XKR with increased front -left camber and ‘clunking/rattle’ sounds when encountering bumps. Vehicle sat with minimal usage for years: Mileage: 29,000. Cat has been driven once by new owner(me) during a test drive, on a freeway, with one (or two) spirited sequences of acceleration from 70-125mph. Shipped cross country, washed, and seeking consultation.
Examination: Visual inspection reveals increased left front wheel camber. Centre of wheel to top of fender:
Left front: 15”(inches)
Right front: 15 3/4”
Left rear: 16 1/2”
Right rear: 16 1/2”
All bushings, including the strut mount, appear to be in good order.
Assessment:
Primary differential considerations:
1. Left front strut mount failure
2. Bad spring
3. Shock failure
Plan:
1. Remove strut/ upper strut mounts. Ship upper mount to Wayne.
2. Evaluate left Bilstein shock(and spring; even though I’m not sure how to do that....)
3. fully evaluate all front end bushings
4. continue to be grateful for this forum and the people that participate in it:-) This is so much fun.
Robert, you lucky devil, only 29K? I hope the rest of the car matches. It sounds like it's already in good hands. You are starting in the right place and sounds like you have read much here to learn what needs to done. It will pay dividends by the time you are done. I will concur about the helpful and knowledgable folks here. I don't want to sound like a broken record but I can't thank them all enough for the kind help. Pictures?? We love pictures, even I figured out how to load 'em up. TM
I did buy a strut press, so I will be handy to get that done for anyone in the area that needs help.
As it's turned out, there is a lot more to installing these towers than we all thought. Getting the 15 5/8 inch without new springs can't be determined until the whole thing is installed and then only after a good walk about will you know if you are within specs. Now a bit short, do you tear it all apart and install some shims on the bottom of the spring or do you add a hard poly cutting board sheet to the top of the bell. That only requires dropping the spring unit down enough to slide it on top of the three bolts. Problem there, we don't have anyone making that spacer but me and the rubber one may be the answer. Won't know that until one system being installed now is complete after a tear down for this very reason. No way to have a measurement before installing the unit as the spring relaxing from the weight of the car, just can't be judged, even with new parts.
Like we don't have enough issues with this bloody thing.
Update on Wayne's Poly Upper Mounts. Recently completed the install on the poly mounts from Wayne. They fit well and are well made. The first install revealed the ride height was low with the complete kit. We originally eliminated the 3 lower fiber packer and the plastic incline ring that fit into the spring. The Red Poly spacer (7mm) at bottom along with the 2 donuts below the metal Clam Shell came up short. We did baseline measurements prior to beginning this trial. The Welsh kit was our baseline and the poly donut (15mm) below the Clam Shell was good. The interior of Clam Shell was destroyed so shocks were off center. The baseline was 15 5/8" prior and 15" after the install of new mounts. Not too happy, so conferred with Wayne and decided to remove the lower Red Poly donut, re installed the 3 packers + plastic spacer since we needed 16mm to reach the 15 5/8" baseline. We returned the lower end of shock to OEM configuration, plus reinstalled the upper spring Top Hat ring with Wayne's thin red cushion. The large 2 piece dounts under the Clam Shell were reinstalled along with the top poly spacer provided by Wayne. These parts returned the measurement to 15 5/8" after car parked for 2 days and driven for 40 miles. We feel the measurement was valid and accurate. This info and work was co-originated with Wayne to share our experience with his mounts. Unless you have no packers and plastic spacer, suggest you re use them and use the upper pieces. Get a Baseline measurement and use calipers to measure the individual components to save having to remove the shocks again. The Clam Shell is a fixed value, the 2 large poly dounts are bit smaller than the Welsh ones. The Welsh measure 15mm thick. Wayne's showed to be 13mm. The top poly cushion measured 7mm.
All in all, the mounts provide a great ride, the camber is correct as specified in the factory ride height, so we are satisfied with the mods we made. Without a baseline, you do not know how much to add or remove to reach your goal. 15 5/8" equals roughly 397mm, we were at 381mm after 1st install. Needed 16mm so the 3 packer and plastic ring were 11mm and top Poly shim ring 7mm (fits on top of metal Clam Shell) gave a total of 18mm as a unloaded pad. After install, the compressed components yielded a ride height of 397mm. Happy Ending. Thanks Wayne.
Just now measured the distance from both front wheel cap centers to the edge of the fender directly above them. Both are still measuring exactly 15.5 inches on my trusty yardstick. It has been just over five-and-a-half years and right at 23,500 miles since Wayne and I installed my pair of Welsh front upper shock mounts along with a new pair of Bilstein shocks. I still believe my Welsh components are from one of the last good batches before Welsh switched to a cheaper supplier (which they denied when I asked several years ago) and lowered their price a small amount. Thanks again, Wayne....
If / when these Welsh components fail, I still intend to purchase Wayne's custom-made set if we still own this vehicle. If we continue to successfully dodge the potholes (knock on wood) with a great assist from daylight-only driving, these Welsh units may last for years to come....
Thank you Kelly for your time in getting yours right and the effort it took to get there.
It does look like we not only have a system that works but can be now be zeroed in to specs with some effort. It's not if you use my system or
any of them, we now know how to get the best final results. When getting an alignment and find your chamber is out, we can get it in specs, sometimes easy, sometimes no so much.
If you know you are not getting any tire wear, be sure and take measurements before tearing anything apart and we need to get back to that point.
We on the Forum can help if you are only replacing the top mounts and have relaxed springs to get the measurements up to specs. Again, you can't fix worn out springs, band aid by adding lifts in the spring would not be the best way, relaxed, a spacer or two on the bottom or one on top (easier) would be a start. New springs best way of course.
Again, thanks you Kelly and Gian for showing how some things go a little deeper than just replacing parts.
both shocks looked similar, however, one piston was quite easily compressed (but returned quickly), while the other was difficult to vomoteds( and returned slowly)......I think I’m going to replace them. Will keep all posted:-)
Greetings to everyone, this is an update on my progress.
First, I want to reach out and give my sincere thanks to Wayne and Christine for their time, commitment, expertise, and in particular, sacrifice. I am very grateful and thank you again Wayne and Christine.
Okay,
I'm enclosing a number of pictures as a point of overview to see which parts were replaced and ultimately to the post repair/refurbish measurements. I will be taking the XKR for an alignment check and I still have to replace the sway bar bushings.
And On to the measurements:
Front right: 16 1/2 inches
Front left: 15 1/2
Rear right: 16 1/2
Rear left: 15 3/4
I'm going to take the device of Wayne and others and drive the vehicle for 30-40 miles to and from the alignment location. I will retake the measurements at that time. I'm confident that I'm going to have to make some small "tweaks" but I'm very much looking forward to the alignment findings. Once again, I will keep everyone posted and thanks again to Wayne and Christine for their infinite understanding. The invitation stands :-)
Here you go guys, sorry I add to this a funny way. Sorry, enlarge as needed. Wasn't going to take a chance on hitting a wrong key and have it all disappear, been there done that. my top bushing and Baxtor's on the right. His lower is going to eliminate any movement. Just seems like a little more positive lock in with a lip outside the bell. Baxtor's fills the top area mostly and is a good fit for sure, but the red is a little firmer. properly a crap shot on which is best compare the top bushing, red is smaller but fits over the washer Original bell in the bottom Welsh or URO bottom? This was as far as I could get the new bushing in without sanding it down in a Welsh bell. This will be the crush factor, so will hold it for sure, screwed together.
I have enjoyed reading about all the modified shock mounts, and efforts to improve. I am about to replace the mounts on my '06 convertible and have seen several(maybe the same) on eBay with yellow washers. Has anyone used these? Are there any other bushings that should be replaced at the time? I see some purple bushings on one of the pix. Where did these come from?
