We all know about the washer that slides along the bolt and gets cocked a bit and hung up on a bracket, OK, I'm find with that and have encountered other odd things.
This is on a XKR 2005 with 48K miles, nice.
When replacing the mounts, the left side upper bolt came right out, shims in the right position, getting the assembly out was standard, as noted the original mount was dust with the large donut worn thin on the outer side, end of the spring was right at the very center, seen this before with same noted fault. Installed mounts by really being careful of the top nut torque to plug the electric connection in. All is well.
Started the right side, and it must have been laughing the whole time. I did buy a new electric wrench for this job as the normal gun air wrench doesn't fit in there very well, turned out to be a big plus for almost everything that needed taking apart.
The sway bar link bottom bolt had been so overtightened, it had bent the bolt and threads in that area stripped. Fun. Now the large bolt would spin but would only move a quarter inch after some enthusiastic hammer blows, spinning and putting sideways pressure has no effect whatsoever. I used a short, small bolt and had a little luck and got it out an inch or so putting a ring wrench behind the head moved it another bit but came to a standstill. Screwing around for another 30 minutes, only proved I have some patience, note some. There is a tool that comes with an air hammer set with a brood width (5/8) and a slight curve, this fit very nicely under the head, be prepared to file it smooth after. and even then, is was a slow move to get it out and only after getting to the threaded area did it slide out. OK, what is the problem, I took the rubbers out of the A arm, back ones would give no restrictions front one would only let the threaded area through and came to a complete stop. These bushings had a flat washer imbedded in the rubber and the normal concave one on the outside. Not normal, but the car drives fine. Not going to change what was working at this time. There is something different about these bushings and will look around later to understand. There was only one shim at the back, and I can see the adding the concave ones was surely giving an alignment that was close to right, as no pulling was noted. I used a hole opener to enlarge the one washer, and all went together as it should and as it came off. I know that's not right, but it works on this car, tires were good, no inside wear, who am I to change what works.
The assembly was noted to have even wear and crush on the big donut, the spring had the more solid part of the coil to the outside and was installed back as it came off and the other side was put together the same as this one. All was put back with no issues except getting the bolt for the sway bar link straight and rethreaded enough to get the right torque, a bit shaky for sure.
He will need to replace the bottom bushing in the shock in the near future, I gave him the information on doing it in the car, may be a trip back here.
​​​​​​Once again, we had a great BBQ super and made it through without any curse words, not many minutes went by in the job without a few.
Very nice to get to know another member, Garo is going to be a great addition to the Forum.
My point, if you get new bushing for the top A arm, check that the bolt slides through before anything else, even the sleeve should be tested, the aftermarket parts are not always to spec's.

 

Well done Wayne. Hope you guys did not ingest too much pollen while doing the job....

 

Hello Wayne,
FWIW, I thought that I would pass along that I have always used a hex key and combination open end / box end wrench linked to a digital luggage scale along with doing the torque math to torque these "electric" nuts. I would be curious and open to other techniques.

 

Hi Doc, I kind of cheated.
I have a 3/8 air drive with torque settings, I work with mostly 80 PSI and number 1 is right at 25 pounds at that pressure, so when it wanted to spin, I made the adjustment on the air gun and hit it. Stopped the shaft a little over a quarter inch from the top.
Plugged in as good as it gets.
No codes then or on the way home, I'll call it good until I find out different.
Hope all is well in your family and the grandkids are keeping you busy.

 

This whole topic is more fun sung to the tune of Mirror in the Bathroom:

Washer on the big bolt, please slide free
You’re all jammed up, just steel and me
Can I tap you with a hammer just a little, maybe?
Or will you **** and bind completely?

Washer on the big bolt, I just can’t stop it
Every Saturday I’m under there wrench shopping
Find no interest in the racks and shelves
Just ten thousand turns and it won’t budge itself

 

Doing the job we had a few good laughs along with a few frustrated cussing, but all in all a great day! Thanks again Wayne, couldn't have done it so nicely without you!
Garo

 

A update on those A arm bushings.
I think I found what looks to be the same and I must say, for the price the Poly ones are a much better choice for the job intended. On the car I put Poly on, there was no sign of harsh ride. Your experience may be different.
So, if you are thinking of buying these for your install, please check that the bolt will go to the smooth part of the shaft on the big bolt.

NEW OEM Jaguar Front Upper Control Arm Bushing MJA1462AB XKR XK8 97-06 | eBay