Hi all,

I had my upper shock mounts replaced on my old XK8, along with all shocks and springs and various accompanying parts (standard suspension). However the shock mounts don't appear to have been fitted very well/centred, especially when compared with photos of other cars. Within a week the top of the driver's side shock/strut has moved about a centimetre further off centre.

I presume this is shoddy work and will need to be refitted? The mechanic who performed the work messed me around for weeks then appeared to rush the job and I'm concerned it was not done properly. Would like to know what you all think. I do have steering wheel wobble and vibration but this was an issue prior to replacement, however it does feel slightly worse now after the suspension was replaced.

Driver's side

Passenger Side

 

It's not a case of bad workmanship but a defective design on Jaguar's part. All aftermarket parts fail quickly. The OE part can last longer but eventually also fails. However, that being said, a couple of forum members by the handles cjd777 and baxtor, have developed a much improved urethane shock mount. I have had it for at least a couple years without issue.

 

uro moment

real jag part lasts like 10 to 15 years before it turns to dust or you can get it remaned by a dude on here

 

Beating a dead horse here, but l repeat, fitting URO mounts is like signing up for an annual subscription. And that's if you're lucky.
PM me (or Wayne) if you want a real top mount.

 

Please take note. This seems to be the only way forward these days. Mine did the same thing and now I have @baxtor recast versions. Solid as a rock.

 

The mounts do wear do over time but those mounts have not been fitted correctly as there is no way that they can wear within a week and even when they do wear I have not seen them that far off centre. The top mounts have either been fitted incorrectly or an incorrect part used.

Richard

 

The mounts are correctly fitted and the correct part. The problem is a design flaw in general and also a "not fit for purpose" quality issue with the particular brand of mount in pic.
It is not a "wear" issue.

 

As I said, it is not a wear issue.
The parts are either a) Jaguar parts which have been fitted incorrectly, b) Non-Jaguar parts which are made correctly but fitted incorrectly or c) Non-Jaguar parts which are incorrectly made or d) Non-Jaguar parts which are made incorrectly and fitted incorrectly.

I would class c) and d) as incorrect parts and a) and b) as incorrect fitment so I think all bases are covered. 👍

Richard

 

Might be as simple as the garage was tightening up things as they went along.
This particular area needs to be in a neutral position (car on the ground and rolled around a bit) before torque is applied to the upper three studs and the bottom bolt and for sure the rest of the front suspension (if replaced) has got to be done in this way. If not a twist can be in the system and with the weight of the car on every up and down, these twist on all of the new bushings (as the owner of this thread has done), then a lot of things are having resistance in any direction. .
Just a observation and correction could put you back to center. Not going to fix the mount issue through.

 

Thank you all for the responses.

As some have said I think it's most likely a failure to have installed the mounts correctly. The mechanic had been messing about for weeks and I suspect he rushed the job to get the car finished. A lesson learned since I took my XKR to a jaguar specialist (there are very few in Scotland) who fitted new mounts I supplied without any issue that look perfect.

As for the XK8, can these mounts be re-fitted correctly or would it be wiser to get different ones?

 

I would suspect that they can probably be re-fitted correctly but until they are off and can be inspected you won't know whether they have been damaged by the incorrect fitment or, indeed, whether there is a component missing. You could certainly buy new ones if you can get them on a 30 days return basis or similar in case they are not required.

Richard

 

ccm93, I would just talk to Baxtor on a PM and see if he can get you a set of his mounts that have been doing very well around the world.

 

I have a few upper mounts. I would like to send them to cjd777 so there might be a supply for experimentation.

I will PM for an address to ship to.




I think I had more but I scrap metal piles every few years. (I also have piles of X308 front upper mounts)

 

Envious of Wayne regarding the mounts but might take this opportunity to post some pics to illustrate why l went the direction l did on poly top mount components. Calipers in pics are set to internal diameter of mount bell and bush stacks are compressed to assembled stack height. Easy to see where our lateral movement originates and why the poly fixes it.
keep in mind also, the bottom mount hole in URO mounts is 25mm while the damper rod is 15mm so metal to metal is not too far away.

Custom polyurethane bushes.


Original Jaguar bushes

URO bushes

Welsh bushes

 

Hi All,

Just a wee update after changing out the shock mounts for poly units that I got from baxtor. Huge improvement. Road surface/vibration massively reduced. Cannot fault them and I'd expect that these will last me many years. Wish I had known better before I got the aftermarket ones but to be clear, almost every single supplier in the UK is offering aftermarket mounts alongside the Jaguar ones. And every single one of them is selling the same URO garbage and not listing it, except as 'OEM quality' or some other vague statement. I bought my mounts from SNG Barrett and Berkshire Jaguar respectively and it was the same product from both.