Hey folks! The main focus of this thread will be to document my findings and compile a somewhat brief list of suspension components that are interchangeable between the S-type and the XJR. I am hoping that you guys will link spam me, and educated a laymen like myself on what is in fact compatible and what is not.

I just spent the better part of the day trying to read up on this, scouring over the forum, I have found the information from Cambo351 very useful. To be honest I did not even know that some of the components from the <MY03 S-type can be used on the XJR (When I say XJR, should I be using the term x350?) until I had stumbled across some of his posts. Although I was under the impression that this may be the case with the LS and S-type?

This post has been very helpful -->
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/w...0-x350-101725/


Here is a breakdown of my situation; Just purchased my shiny XJR 04, It was a Sunday so I could not get a PPI, was also out of town so I took the gamble and bought it. The wife drove it home, and when we arrived she told me that at highway speeds the car was trying to murder her (latteral wheel play, sloppy, jerky handling.). Monday morning comes and I finally get a chance to put the car on a lift and investigate how bad I made out.

Diagnosis;

Upper ball joints
DEAD bushings (bushes) on pretty much every single control arm
Stabalizer link gromets are decomposing very fast
Bent rear right sway bar
Tire rod ends on all wheels

Pretty much everything we put a crow bar too had way to much play in it. Rear right and front left wheels have inches of lateral play when on lift.

Called my local Jaguar ***********, Quote for parts $5607.00.. For just parts, $3500-$4500 in labor. Highest repair bill I have ever been quoted.

More than what I paid for the vehicle coincidentally, purchased as is. When I search for XJR parts they are significantly more than S-type parts, specifically the control arms themselves. Ebay has several kits, I can not attest to the quality of which, but they would take care of just about everything I need for several thousands of dollars cheaper IF they are compatible. Does anyone know of a safe alternative, safe meaning not 3000+ for parts???

So as I go I will update with part numbers ect, If you guys have any information to pass along or can link me, by all means please do. Will probably be looking to buy a kit for the upper arms and ball joints ect if possible, then just replace the bushings alone of the rear/lower because they are like 600$ each.

Again any help is extremely useful and I will update this post soon.

 

Why is dealership starting with a 'st' considered profanity?? LOL.

 

I have bought and replaced just the bushes on the front trailing arm and shock mount to lateral arm. Telling bushes were about $30 each and shock mounts were about $15. Needed a press to remove them.
Lemforder PN 29783 01
Lemforder Link
(NOT selecting USA. Use Great Britain)

 

Yes, I will definitely be replacing just the bushings as this will save thousand. I had a loacl shop quote me 900-1000$ to do all the work for me if I supply all the parts, or I can remove all the parts myself and they will press all the new bushings in for 50$. $50 sounds like a steal to me.

Quick question, my vin ends in G00620, When using the JPEC I am looking for parts in the "XJ from G00442" correct? Silly question but just want to confirm this.

Also, when I cross reference from the S-type section which vin number can I pull from, 45255 or 45254?? Keep in mind my model is the XJR 04.

Cheers! Getting the car checked out at another dealer today to get a second opinion and a prioritized list of what needs to be replaced first and for most.

Have the poly bushings improved since some of these older posts claiming a noisy ride have been posted? Is there a kit that offers a full set of bushes, like the earlier model S-type kit? Also who knows of a USA supplier of such, did not see MYxjr on the powerflexusa site.

Sorry for all the questions..

 

So after a second inspection I am just going to do some of the rear components ie upper arms, lower arm bushings, tie rods and sway bars. I can get away with the front for a little while.

After more research I discovered the definitive wishbone thread --

The definitive wishbone bush thread

Which states the the suspension components are a match for -

XK 2006 onwards
XJ V8 2003 onwards
S-Type 1999 onwards
XF 2007 onwards

Is the XJR included in the XJV8 sub section?????? Does this mean that in fact since the bushings are the same that the arms themselves would be in spec to fit?

SNG Barnett has the RH upper Rear arm for x350 #C2C39587 $341.62
They also have the RH upper Rear arm for the Stype C2P13876 $198.00

Are these not the exact same part?! Do the vin numbers matter? This link states that the C2P13876 part does in fact fit the bill for the XJ but does not state XJR----

http://britishparts.co.uk/products/6...e-arm-C2P13876

The definitive wishbone thread I linked has a source in the UK for the Lower Rear arm bushings, I will be going that route.

Hoping someone smarter than me will chime in.

 

It does sound like your XJR has lead a very hard and totally neglected life. Hopefully, you'll learn from this never to buy a car without testing it first or getting somebody to do so. Anyway, you have the car and need to fix it. So what are the short life parts on the suspension ?

1. The air compressor. Can have the seals worn out at 30k but tend to last longer. Not too expensive to replace, and our member here, "bagpipingandy" sells a piston seal repair kit for the DIYers among us

2.Bottom bushes on all four air spring units. These four bushes take the full weight of the car, so don't tend to last long. Good news is they don't cost much (around £20-30 each), but labour to swap out is the bigger cost, especially the fronts if the lower air spring unit securing bolt has rusted in.

3. Ball-type bushes on the lower rear wishbones. Normally one swaps out the whole wishbone with a new one. Jaguar price impossibly high, but much less on the internet even OEM. Bushes can be obtained, but there is then the extra labour in swapping out.

4. Rear tracking arm balljoints. New arms not expensive on the internet.

5. Anti-rollbar link balljoints. Again, fairly link is cheap on the internet.

6. Front lower wishbone bushes. Replaceable with new.

7. Front upper wishbone bushes. AFAIK the bushes can now be bought separately, but if not these are expensive items, as the arm is an aluminium forging, plus it has the two bushes and a ball joint on it

Ball joints are a PITA to replace even if one can find them. Biggest pig of all is the balljoint in the front upright, (hubcarrier). A well-known shop here in the UK will not attempt this job, and recommend new uprights.

Most ball joints last a very long time unless the boot gets damaged. If not spotted and replaced, the joint soon wears out.

The anti-roll bar bushes don't last for ever, and whilst cheap to buy, need a lot of dismantling to replace, front or rear.

Here is a very useful supplier site, because if you look, you'll see the models the parts are compatible with. They also supply internationally.

JustJagsUK.com - Jaguar X350 Parts | Jaguar X350 Steering & Suspension=

 

I don't think that it has lived a hard life, the miles are relatively low and the service records are not too bad, I just think that most of the bushings and ball joints on the car are in fact the original so they are pretty much shot. No other major issues or symptoms so far. Hopefully she will stay that way.

I would usually never purchase without a PPI, but like I said I was like 400mi from home and there was literally nothing open so I took the gamble, I still think I made out ok on the car even with the bushing issue. The sway bar and tie rod end issue I stated is more an issue of the gromets starting to die than anything else.

Are the ball joints replaceable on the upper rear arms? Or must the entire arm be replaced? Absolutely going to just replace the bushings that need to be done and not the entire arms where ever I can. Cheapest I have found the entire arm assemble in the US is through Barnetts.

I did speak with several different people today who stated that the S type components would NOT be swappable. Oh the price of the R.

I actually found the front uppers for pretty cheap but they are Taiwanese

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-FRONT-UPPE...efa7a3&vxp=mtr

Very useful advice sir!

 

Hi
Do you mean "Barretts" or "SNG Barratt" ?

The upper arms you show a link for seem suspiciously cheap, at $130 for the pair. They may be OK, they may not, but there has been a recent thread on parts from a certain supplier indicating all is not perhaps well. BMW and Mercedes owners are also affected.

You haven't told us the mileage, so one cannot fully assess whether the suspension is worn prematurely or not.

You have a very powerful car, so ask yourself whether it is really possible to produce parts for such a car so cheaply. Compare these to what you find on the internet for reputable Jaguar suppliers like I posted. Here's a few more UK suppliers

Jaguar X350 Steering / Suspension / Bushes Parts

Steering-Suspension | Jaguar XJ 2003 - 2009 | British Parts UK

 

My mileage is in my signature my friend. 87,000 miles.

Yes I had suspected the price on those fronts, and the fact they are taiwanese.

I'll have a browse through your links, my apologies for the confusion I did in fact mean SNG Barratts.

 

Still confused. From the first link you posted--

Jaguar X350 Rear Upper Wishbone Arm R.H.R C2P13876
Price: £95.00*(Excluding*VAT at 20%)

that is my most prudently needed replacement, but that part number does not cross reference to the XJR. Will it work?

 

Hi again

It is my understanding that the XJR suspension components are the same as the other X350 cars, but the air spring is the "Sport" setting, i.e. a bit harder. The SNG Barratt part finder references VIN Numbers where parts vary.

There is a large variation in prices nowadays. The reputable suppliers will tell you whether something is a Jaguar (OM) part, or the same part from the original manufacturer, (OEM), or a "pattern" aftermarket part. I have to say that when it comes to parts that ones life depends on I tend to avoid pattern parts. OEM are perfectly OK, like Lemforder, who supply to Jaguar, Ford and a whole lot of other car makers.

It is a bit of a minefield, frankly !

 

Cool.

I guess I will guinea pig it, I am certainly not trying to be a cheapass and put something that doesn't belong on the car. But I will try and save a few hundred bucks if I can help it.

No information on if the SC models require higher torque ratings on the arms? That is really my main concern. I think I may have stumbled across a thread where a guy found that pit the hard way. Like you kind of stated the gamble isn't worth buying crap parts.

 

Also, I was jist checking out the arm itself.. one of the bushes is very shoddy looking, the other is good to go.

The ball joint itself looks fine. The boot is not destroyed.. But I have seen the wheel play myself, can the joint be bad and the boot be intact?? Seems kind of odd.

Again sorry to ask so many questions, jags are a rarity in this area and the nearest "jag" mechanic is over an hour away so I really do6nt have anyone to talk to about it who has an inkling of what I am saying.

 

Me again !
Can you put a photo up showing where you have problems, or list each part plus a description of the problem.

I'm assuming you are referring to the rear suspension at the moment.

I found this UK site after a brief trawl: -

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Onlybushes/...type+rear+bush

If I were a DIYer, I'd be happier rebushing an arm that I know is an OM or OEM, rather than buying a complete arm made by Joe Noname. The key safety aspect is the arm itself, and its ability to withstand suspension forces. If aftermarket bushes wear out quickly then OK put it down to experience. Your wallet may be damaged, but not your personal health !

Edit
Just to add that the internal ball in the bush wears out even though the bush may look OK externally. There are two "ball type" bushes in each lower wishbone, plus a "silentbloc type" rubber one. Upper is similar, although only one of each, plus, of course a conventional steel ball joint.

I do, sometimes, hanker after the old Jaguar IRS system with its needle roller and taper roller bearings. These seemed to last forever, (rosy coloured specs here !!), but the key thing was one could always drop the subframe and rebuild the whole shebang quite easily. Only thing I didn't like was the inboard brakes.

 

Ok here is a few photos. I will add more soon.

You may think this is funny, took the wheel off last night (RR), the nut on the ball joint bolt was so loose that it could be taken off by hand...... Needless to say that wheel doesn't move around so much any more. Took it for a test drive and maybe a 40% increase in handling. Can not believe two different techs missed that. I am embarrassed lol.

The bushing issue is not non existent though. The lower latteral arms on the rear are the worst as you will see, the upper ball joint seems to be just fine. One of the bushes on the upper rear arm looks toasty..

Pic 1 is Right Rear Upper Ball Joint
Pic 2 & 3 are of the two bushes on the Right Rear Upper Arm, they look acceptable.
Pic 4 is the busted Rear Inner bush
Pic 5 is the busted Rear Right Upper Arm bush.

More to come, I'll update this post with part numbers for the images. My verdict is on that rear upper right hand arm, that only one bushing needs to be replaced, so I wont be ordering an entire arm. Thoughts?

 

Here are some decent images, they are labeled in the image description. Interestingly enough the Lower rear arms are stamped SC (Super Charger). That answers my tolerance question.

I am going to go poly bushings on the rear lowers and replace them all at once since I will have the arms out of the car at that point. Part Numbers coming soon.

 

My, my, that car is clean underneath ! The air springs look new !

Very, very, useful pictures. It looks like you need to replace the bushes on both lower arms.

On the upper arms, if the steel ball joint is good but the boot is knackered, you can buy boots on the internet. just take measurements and find one the right size. However if the ball joint has worn out, you cannot get replacements, you have to buy the whole arm. These ball joints are not exclusively Jaguar, being of Ford origin as is the whole suspension front an rear so getting the boot should be fairly easy.

Again, one of the anti-roll bar links has a knackered boot, so again, if the joint is OK, get a new boot. For any of these steel ball joints, you should try to work some grease in before putting new boots on.

One trick for re-bushing is when ready to draw out the old bush, pour a couple of kettles of boiling water onto the arm near the joint. It expands the aluminium around the joint thus making it easier to push out. Same thing for pushing in the new joint.

BTW are you sure you can get polybushes for the ball-type originals ?

 

Thanks buddy! I told you I didn't think the car was in too rough of shape lol!. I actually have no idea if a poly for the ball types are available. Still trying to figure out which of the stype polybushes fit via MY (98-02???)



Now consider the fact I scored it for 5,600£. Hehehe.

Are the air spring units filled with fluid?? It seems like one of them has some residue on the upper part due to some sort of leakage..?
.

 

Well, Naso, lol, your car is the same colour as mine, Jaguar Racing Green. Very nice !! I have stick-on leapers on each front wing low down just behind the wheel arch approximately where the old XJ Series 3s had a leaper badge. You also got a good price if that was a UK pound conversion

I think you'll find there are no polybushes available for the ball-type joints, but anyway you can now get these separately. At one time you had to buy the full arm with joints. If it were me, I'd replace with the same type of joint. The kit I found on the internet, did show what looked like a polybush for the silentbloc bush on the arm. Polybushes are a very common swap-out for silentbloc bushes. The lower arm has two ball-type joints and a silentbloc type. AFAIK, the joint has a ball internally so the arm has more angular movement relative to its securing points.

Have you checked the ball joints on each anti-roll bar (sway bar) link. These can fail, (I had to replace one 3 years ago, they are not expensive)
I got mine from this company. You'll see the "-A" on the part number indicating it is aftermarket. So far it is wearing well. Obviously I use UK suppliers if I can, it costs less.

JustJagsUK.com - Jaguar Parts | Jaguar Wishbones, Control Arms & Links

As for fluid on your air spring unit, clearly there is damper oil in the shock absorber, but your's is the first post I have seen with this mentioned. The shock part of the air spring is very long lived, not so the air spring part, where the diaphragms don't seem to last very long. Arnott Industries do service exchange air springs with new diaphragms fitted, but leave the shock alone, (at least that is my understanding). Where exactly have you seen this fluid, on the shock top inside the trunk or underneath somewhere ?

What miles on the car, BTW ?

Edit
PS, if your swapping out the ball-type bushes on the lower arm, you must maintain the distance between the two bushes or it wont fit. Measure it up before pushing out the old bushes.

 

Yes sir UK conversion. They fetch 12,000 american all day so I feel like I definitely scored. Is it Jaguar Green or British Racing Green, you'll have to link me the leapers.

My father inlaw was finally free to look at the car yesterday, he works at a shop, he looked over the car, changed the oil and such. He was very surprised at how clean it was, he said those ball joints pictured have zero play, told me the independent ships I went too were trying to grease me for work. His honest professional opinion was that I have at least 20,000 miles to go on what is on the car before I see "problems". Those rear lowers I posted a picture of are the main issue now. Phones dying I'll post back in a moment.

Milage is in my signature, 87,000.