Having successfully replaced both front control arm bushes myself with a simple jig I made I'm looking at the next job on the car which is to replace the rear lower shock bushes which have a significant amount of play.

I'm after some advice on how to tackle this myself. This job looks more daunting than the control arm bushes because of the possibility of having to remove the rear shocks.

First of all can this be done with the air suspension units still on the car so all I need to do is unbolt the unit from the lower wish bone? Is there a specific tool to press the bush out or is it possible with something home made?

I would appreciate any insights from any DIY'ers out there who have tried this themselves

Cheers

Matt

 

Hi Matt,
I've just finished this very job yesterday, Mine was not straight forward, no surprise there, looking back I would have removed the shock absorbers and pressed the old ones out and pressed the new ones in, it would take minutes to do, my fear was if the olive on the air pipe split as a replacement is not easy to get hold of, (as per when I replaced the air compressor 2 years ago).
So I did them on the car, I used a 14mm long bolt and 2 1/4" steel plates with a 14mm hole in the centres, a 32mm socket, a long 3/4 drive power bar.
On one side it pulled the middle out with the outer coming half way with it and with a socket it pushed the remaining out, great, I did the same with the other side, but the outer was well and truly stuck? I ended up using a hacksaw and cutting through the outer sleeve being careful not to cut into the shock absorber, then with the big bolt, and plates and socket it eventually came out. Took 3 hours instead or half an hour tops if I removed them from the car......
Same method to pull the new ones in, the socket I used with some lube just slipped over the rubber nice and had a good contact on the outer part of the bush.
Very satisfying when done though.
Good luck.

 

Banjo.

Did you have it done afterwards and what was the verdict?
Meaning how far out was it, etc.
Just wondering as I am contemplating the same repairs.

 

banjobill

As a matter of interest did you manage to obtain spare fittings for the air pipe?

The fittings are made by Voss (German) and as you say they are not easy to obtain.

Did you get them from a Jag dealer?

Wackymatt-Any pictures of your jig?

 

Hi,
No, the job to remove the both bushes was done in situ, I used 4 200mm x M14 bolts (I needed to replace the bolts because the threads took some damage during the process) about 6 M14 nuts because the same problem, 2 1/4" plates about 100mm X 50mm with a 14mm hole in the middle to pull the bush out and to push the new bush in, I had a socket that just fitted the outer steel part of the bush perfectly to push it out and then back in without damage, and a socket that allowed the bush to fit in but also sat on the shock absorber body without catching the bush.

When I pulled the inner part out of the bush before it let go, the whole bush came out about half way 25mm or so.

But the other one, the inner came out and left the outer in place?

Hi Meirion1,

I did get them from a friendly jag dealer, I spent some time with the store man who ordered three different possibilities to make sure I got the right one.
regards.

 

I've attached a couple of photos.

The jig is made from some bits lying around and high tensile steel threaded bar which I bought from a local nut and bolt shop.

My aim was to find something to support the wishbone with a hole to allow the bush to pop through, something circular to press against the bush and then squeeze them together. I initially was thinking of using a large vice to do the pressing, I opted for the thread bar idea first and it worked.

For the wishbone support I found a large piece of wood (pine) and used a hole-cutter which very closely matched the diameter of the bush.

The threaded bar was the largest I could insert through the wheel, this was M12.

For the push press I used something I found off an old rotary table for a milling machine, it’s a metal wheel with a hollow for the bush middle. It was a pretty close fit. As it was larger than the bush when it pressed flush with the wishbone the bush was still stuck in, I disassembled the jig and inserted the wooden cut out, re assembled and then I was able to fully push out the bush.

The thickness of the wood was not actually great enough to push the bush out fully so I found an oak floor board off cut and drilled a hole into this for the final push. The oak is much denser and didn’t distort very much at all so next time I will just use 3 boards glued/fixed together instead.

I needed support the threaded bar on the other side of the wood to allow the press to work, Ideally a thick steel plate is needed but all I had was some thick aluminium angle (about 100 x 50 mm) , this was just about strong enough to cope with the forces. I drilled a 12mm hole through it.

I used three washers and one nut at each end of the bar, I then slowly tightened everything up and slowly but surely the bush started to move.

Looking at the photos, the wish bone was in between the pine wooden support and metal wheel. The bush was being pressed so it would pop out the left hand side. (The wooden cut out was only used for the final push of the old bush removal)

For the installation of the new bush I removed the oak floor board and cut out. The bush pressed in nice and evenly. The bush was being pressed in the same direction, going in from the right hand side.

To make life a little easier I did pre heat the wishbone and bush by dipping the end in a pan of boiling water to help free the aluminium off the bush.

 

Great pics and info thanks to you both.

 

Hi Banjo,

Thanks for the info, I'm going to buy the parts and have ago! I will try with the shocks in place first.

Cheers

Matt

 

There seem to be two bushes under discussion here, the ones on the end of each airspring unit, and those in the lower rear wishbones.

Those in the airsprings are cheap to buy but awkward to fit, and the wishbone bushes are expensive to buy and awkward to fit, (but cost is still less than buying a new wishbone as Jaguar want you to).

Hot water onto the aluminium wishbone is a good tip for reducing force needed to press bushes out/in. Of course this doesn't apply to the airspring bushes as the airspring bottom housing is steel.

My local independent are now offering rebushed wishbones, having invested in a press and mandrels.

S-Type And XJ/XJ350 Refurbished Lower Arm (right Hand Side) in Steering And Suspension

 

I have a lot of play int my Right Rear Lower Control Arm to knuckle connection bushings. My intention is to replace the bushing assembly however I am finding it difficult to find a replacement bushing kit for that connection.

I recently replaced the same basic part on my older 1998 308 XJR and found the kit containing the bearings and bushings fairly easily.
It seems a lot harder to find a kit for my 2004 350 XJR.

My question:-
Is there a bushing / bearing kit (not sure if the 350 even use bearings in this location anymore..) for the rear lower control arm connection, or is the only way to fix the problem by purchasing the wishbone (part No. C2C1841-7) and knuckle (part No. C2C0054-59) as a full assembly?

Thanks for any help,
Gareth.

 

Hi Gareth

You shouldn't need the knuckle there are no bushes on it only moving bit is the hub. You really only need the wishbone that carries three bushes, two that fail early, and a Silentbloc one that lasts for ever, (well, almost !!). If you have a lot of play there, probably best to replace the wishbone, or get it refurbished with new bushes. Here's abush kit on e-Bay

Jaguar S-Type And X350 Rear Lower Wishbone Bush | eBay

X350 suspension is totally different to the X308, but almost the same as the S-type, (and the XF, and new XJ), except it has air springs not steel.

 

Thanks for the information.
I plan on getting the parts and doing the work with in the next two to three weeks, if all goes well I'll post pictures and results.
Thanks again.

 

I've done one side so far, it was fairly straight forward, I decided to leave the shock unit on the car, but I can see how much easier this job will be with it off and on a bench.

I haven't quite got the new bush in all the way as it should be recessed slightly into the shock. The socket I used to press it in is slightly too large to fit inside the recess. I used a smaller socket to push the old bush out through the shock but it damaged the bush in doing so.

I have a smaller socket that I'm going to sacrifice and file down the inside. The aim is to have something that will fit inside the shock recess but will still slip over the bush to push it in so its central without damage.

In carrying out this work I've discovered a small amount of play in the rear lower outer wishbone bush. Another job! I couldn't see any play with the inner bush. I haven't checked the other side. I'm assuming it's best to replace the two on both sides as a precaution?

I'm probably going to order the 4 bushes and install them this weekend. I'll take some photos and post them up when I'm all done.

 

Result?

I need to replace all 3 bushings on the drivers side, and the opposite is probably due.
So far the best deal I've seen is $369USD on eBay for all 6 bushings.
Has anyone sourced these in the US?

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewi...d=331014964533

 

$369 sounds expensive for 6 bushings, separately that's about $60 per bushing. When looking at my rear bushings while replacing the brakes they appear to be near needing replacement. Hopefully there is a cheaper alternative to source with a price closer to $20-$30 vs. $60 per bushing.

 

Well, I managed to remove the bushings using my home made jig with no problems. Getting them back in was another story!

They are very tight fitting and they need to pushed in absolutely square to avoid damage to the wishbone. I got one in after an hour but gave up on the rest. I took the bits to a local mechanic who took pity on me and pressed the remaining bushes in free of charge!

Looking on eBay there was the option of buying in a press for a reasonable sum, had I of known this before starting I would have bought one.

 

I found a less expensive bushing set "Jaguar rear Lower control Arm Bushing Set Completely renews one side of car " for 95.99 seller: 3browneyesm. On eBay.

You may have to contact seller as I can not find the posting again after I bought a kit for one side. I received parts promptly. I contacted seller about another set for later on, and they responded that they only deal with 2004-2009 XJ's.

Maybe we found a new source for parts at a very reasonable price.

When I get around to tackling the repair I'll report back. Maybe with pictures.