Hello All, I am new to this forum so please overlook the misplaced posts and other errors. I have been reading about suspension and could probably find the ansewer to this question if I looked harder. I recently bought a 2000 S type with 137000 miles and want to start with the suspension restoration as necessary. Question - what is the best lubricant for the rubber bushings and is there a better after market bushing other than rubber?

John

 

A bit hopeful - they may well need replacing at that age & mileage.

 

No suspension bushing needs to be or should be lubricated. If it 'squeaks' or rattles it has lost it's grip on the inner or outer mounting surface and should be replaced.

Rubber by far is the best material. The much heralded polyurethane bushings are a serious step backwards in function and design.

 

I agree.

Your car is 13 years old and has 137K miles. Do you really think the bushings are not worn out?

You have a Jaguar. There is no aftermarket. Factory parts mainly and remember your car is a twin to the Lincoln LS so look for those parts too.

If you are serious start reading the Lincoln LS boards. Lots of guys with old cars to rebuild. You will pick up a lot of good information.
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+1 to all of the above advice. And please do learn to use the forum search feature, especially within the S-Type threads, as there is a huge amount of experience and good advice already posted there, on virtually any topic you can imagine. It can be a daunting task, but spending some time with Search will pay big rewards.

Welcome to the forum!
Steve

 

I've did a bunch of work on a set of rear control arms for my STR. I found out the hard way that Urathane bushings were a complete failure for my car. Stay away from them! You can purchase the Mono-ball style "Hydrabushes" off of Ebay. [See link below](From my perspective the price they sell them for is too expensive, but these bushing are all we have available for the rear control arms.) They are an odd 47MM OD bushing and I haven't been able to find out who manufactures them. These bushings are filled with a thick goopy lubricant and after about 7 years the rubber boots crack, then split, and the lubricant leaks out and then hardens. Eventually they become noisy.
(The same style bushings are used on the upper front and rear control arms, and shocks. - Same aging problem.)

Complete new control arms are more readily available, but they are relatively expensive. On the other hand, by the time you purchase the bushings and pay labor to have them replaced, it is probably a wash cost wise. Replacing them yourself is the only way to keep the cost down.

I am working on my own solution for replacing the rear lower control arm bushings in my STR, but it is taking forever due to other priorities. If they work out and cost less than the stock ones, I'll consider having a bunch made.

Rear Lower Control Arm Hydrabushes 2 Bushings for Jaguar s Type 1999 2008 Fluid | eBay