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My sovereign has passed 90000 miles or around 146000km. I've owned it for 2 years I'm starting to become frustrated with the bumpy ride.
The Norwegian winter has taken it's toll on the roads here and I am fearing every pothole and speedbump at the moment. it just doesn't feel tight to drive.. I think there is some play and wear in the steering rack but I doubt if this is the only issue. would love to change most bushings in the suspension to improve the ride but not sure which ones..
because of work and family and lack of skills I will most likely leave this to a mechanic, so if you have suggestions please let me know if any of these repairs are extremely time consuming and costly.
There are 2 density's on the bushings . The Sovereign like the VDP has the softer , the XJR and XJ12 have the firmer . Go by the Shore A # scale
I personaly look at it as 3 levels of replacement : A level , B level , and C level . C being the easiest like front shock upper and lower bushings and throw in the anti roll bar bushings and maybe something low intrusive on the rear . That C level my get you what you want and if you jack up your car you may see a air gap on the upper wheel ( well side ) and lower shock bushings like mine . A level would be everything including motor " V mount " (?) bushings which is the bushing between the front suspension crossmember to car frame .
I personally have not done mine yet , just researched and many others have advice including DIY tips for this C level . Motorcarman ( Bob ) has a good shortcut on the rear suspension .
AFAIK the X300 car is an XJ40 with the curves put back in, so the basic suspension is the same, although there are minor differences. For the front suspension, I'd be looking at top and bottom ball joints and also the trunnions on each wishbone. The steering rack mounting bushes may be shot so these may need replacing, but not the rack itself. Of course you should check the track-rod ends as these are likely to be wearing by now and even shot if the rubber boots have been split for some time.
On the rear suspension, one job is replacing the bushes on the 'A' frame.These wear out leaving the subframe free to clonk on the body shell and make lots of noise.
The X300 series of cars with the AJ16 engine were reckoned to be the cars that put reliability back into Jaguar, with many cars getting to 1/4 million miles quite easily, provided they were serviced and maintained correctly.
You don't tell us the year of your Sovereign, but we're assuming it is an X300. Please use your User Control Panel (User CP link above left) to edit your signature and add the year, model and engine of your Jag so it appears in all your posts.
Virtually every moving component in the suspension is isolated by rubber bushings, but some tend to affect ride quality more than others.
When the front shock top bushings fail, they allow the shock/damper shaft to come into contact with the wheel well, causing knocking sounds when you hit even small bumps. Replacing these is easy and I highly recommend that you choose the original equipment yellow foam rubber type bushings. Hard rubber and polyurethane options are available as Lady P mentioned, but they are much too firm and make the ride harsher than the Jaguar engineers intended. Poly bushes are also known to cause squeaking sounds.
When the front lower control arm bushes fail, they allow the front wheels to toe in and out in response to road imperfections, making steering unpredictable and allowing the vehicle to dart from side to side.
The inner and outer tie rod ends and upper and lower ball joints are critical safety components so they must be inspected and replaced if necessary.
The engine mounts, subframe Vee mounts and subframe rear pivot bushings can contribute to knocking sounds and steering imprecision also.
On the XJ40 and X300, the steering rack mounts to the front subframe with no rubber in between, but the mounting bolts can loosen and some owners have even discovered that one or more bolts were missing, so check those. The rack does have rubber bushings between the mounting brackets and the rack itself which are molded on and not replaceable. However, on certain sport models, Jaguar installed hard spacers to reduce the side-to-side movement of these bushings, and a UK seller offers these spacers for sale, or you can make your own as I did:
When the rear subframe bushings Fraser mentioned perish, they allow the metal subframe to come into contact with the body, transmitting differential gear noise and knocking sounds into the passenger compartment. These bushings also have a surprising effect on steering because when they fail they allow the rear subframe (and wheels) to skew right and left in response to cornering forces.
The rear shock absorbers/spring assemblies have four important bushings, three yellow foam rubber ones at the top of the shock and a replaceable black rubber/metal bush or "spherical joint" at the bottom end of the shock.
Your wheel bearings need to be checked.
You can look up exploded parts diagrams and part numbers at jaguarclassicparts.com. Here's an example of the rear shock absorbers/dampers:
Our forum sponsors like SNG Barratt can help you with parts selection.
One other thing to take into account is that the model and condition of your tires can make a significant difference in ride quality. Tirerack.com is a good place to read reviews that include ratings of ride quality, noise and handling for various tires.
A lot of good inputs here. I will start ordering some parts..
Not sure why my signature isn't showing, but I will look into that. The car is a 95 model.
I have already changed the rear A frame bushes to Poly bushes. They improved the steering sensation a bit, but it's still not perfect. Before I changed those, it felt like the car was floating in the rear end, almost like all 4 wheels were steering. Felt like going sideways out of some corners at times. The poly bushes helped, but there is still a feeling of this weird floating sensation.
I also did install the Steering rack stiffening bushes. They helped a lot, and made the car feel more stable. Unfortunately, when going over bumps or very uneven gravel roads, the whole steering wheel feels lose and every bump "hurts".
I also have brand new winter and summer tires from Vredestein and Bridgestone. they both work well.
I have noticed a small clunk coming from the rear right tire when changing gear from P to N and D and back. A local mechanic said it might be a bearing, so I will need to look into that as well. I can actually hear a "thud" if I tap the throttle a bit when driving.
I will start with a front suspension rebuild kit and hopefully try to sort out the bushings one by one, unless it ends up costing more than the car itself. The engine purrs like a kitten, pulls really well, and I have sorted out some bodywork and a lot of other niggles so it feels depressing to have a beautiful car spoilt by this poor handling.
Last edited by Tcasmarcus; 04-23-2018 at 02:57 AM.
Reason: picture
Just to add to the above excellent input from others, a full 4 wheel alignment check/adjustment will do wonders for handling.
Even if all of your bushes are new, if the car is not set up properly it will feel awful.
A proper alignment on high end equipment like Hunter is a must after you replace any suspect components. In the UK it costs about £70 and is worth every penny.
Just to add to the above excellent input from others, a full 4 wheel alignment check/adjustment will do wonders for handling.
Even if all of your bushes are new, if the car is not set up properly it will feel awful.
A proper alignment on high end equipment like Hunter is a must after you replace any suspect components. In the UK it costs about £70 and is worth every penny.
a local shop checked the alignment. I got the read out, and they said it was not perfect but good enough. they didn't change anything because, according to them, the whole process of removing or adding those tiny shims was far too time consuming..
A note of caution on URO or unknown Ebay sourced brand parts if you wait a little bit someone will advice . Motorcarman recommends using only a Jaguar sourced part for the front lower shock bushing as the others a garbage .
I know that this is going to sound weird but the tires really do make a difference. Recently I purchased a car that was in a totaling wreck. It had brand new tires so I said to myself, self, why not just take the tires and rims off that car, balance them and put them on yours. So I did. I was due for new tires anyways. So now my car is quieter, rides better and more responsive. When I first bought my car I changed them out to Pirrelli's. Then the next tire shop got me to change to Yokohama's. During that time, 13 years and over 80,000 miles, I always noticed a little vibration in my car and never could figure it out. Tires were always balanced and rotated when needed.
So to make a long story short I now have Continental tires and with the new rims it is like a new car.
Which Continental product tires did you go with as my tires are 10 years old according the the date stamp with very little wear because the car was broke down for that long in a garage . Has alot of cracking on the sidewalls and tread that I don't trust , at least I have some play tires .
the tire discussion is interesting but not the main issue on my car. I had continental also the first year on the car and there wasn't much difference compared to the current Bridgestones. My main issue is related to bushings and the other potential issues mentioned. A lot of good feedback though, and that makes it easier to start off correctly.
I have recently just replaced the front bushes with one of those kits you show, I also replaced the subframe mountings and v mounts, completely changed the car, before every pot hole was a nightmare and speed bumps were something to be avoided.
very different now, a real pleasure to ride over the speed bumps.
Mine is the Sport so I have opted for all the firmer options where available, the Sovereign was too soft for my liking but I cant say what a change it makes.
I must admit, I'm a bit out of my league here. seems to me there are several solutions to the problem. I wouldn't even mind buying all the 50 parts or so I need but I don't know what to get. I wish there were more of the suspension type kits available that included all the bits and pieces needed. I would hate to book a garage only to do discover that one essential part was missing. Can't really afford to have it there for weeks waiting for parts.
seems like it also might be a good idea to change struts once you're changing these bits surrounding it ?
If only I had the time, skills and tools to pluck it all to pieces it would have perhaps been the easier option.
Hi. Glad I found this thread, I’ll be tackling my suspension and bushing later this year, I have all the same problems with potholes and speed bumps. I want to tackle everything while it’s apart, maybe even diff oil and paint the sub frames.
I agree some complete car specific kits would make it so much easier
Echo all that has been said already. Having changed my fair share of bushes over the years, these tended to remove clunks and knocking noises rather than transform the feel of the car. The only thing I ever did which I could say truly made a big noticeable difference to how the car drove was replacing the rear shocks. I did this at around 100000 miles, as I needed to replace the lower shock bushes, and thought I would change the shocks on a precautionary basis.
I replaced them with OEM shocks, like for like, and it felt like a different car. Money well spent, despite the fact I hadnt sensed a problem with the old shocks!
Here’s my shopping list from Jaguarclassicparts.com although for the 6.0 (sport not comfort) I think some part numbers will be the same for XJ6 3.2/4.0
MNA2102FA anti roll bar bush NLA x2
CAC9827 anti roll bar link £62.78 x2
JLM1098 tie rod ends £84.49 x2
MNA2370AA front cross beam assembly mounting bush £23.31 x2
MMD2140BC front suspension damper £135.23 x2
CAC75851 lower front damper bush £15.68 x2
JLM11854 front spring NLA x2
MNA3540BD rear suspension damper £136.23 x2
JLM12256 rear spring NLA x2
CCC6875 rear subframe bush £26.35 x2
MNA3711AA bushed diff strut NLA x1
CAC77601 pendulum top bush £12.03 x2
CAC4713 pendulum bottom bush NLA x2
MNA3750BA rear bumpstop £46.59 x2
CCC2435 upper front left wishbone with bush NLA x1
CCC2434 upper front right wishbone with bush NLA x1
CBC5523 upper rear left/right wishbone bush £24.84 x2
CAC9938 upper front ball joint £49.63 x2
MMD1361AA lower front wishbone bush £13.48 x2
CBC2301 lower rear wishbone fulcrum bush £19.34 x2
While it is likely to be easier just using one source for these items there are huge savings to be made by shopping around, depending on how critical you view the parts to be, as an example the rear bumpstop is available from SNG Barratt for 19.20 if you use the XJR one.
I also have found that Jaguar dealer prices are not that bad on lots of items especially if you get on good terms with your local parts man !!
It is also the case that some model specific items no longer available from Jaguar can be had from other sources like Britishparts.co.uk
So, I ordered the suspension Kit, and booked an appointment at the local garage. It's quite a lot they will do on the car, so they said a total of 10 hours. 6 hours to change all the bits and pieces in the front suspension (3 hrs each side) and the remaining 4 hours to change front/rear brakes, discs, pads and calipers, and some adjustment to the new exhaust, and change the coolant.
The garage has "okay" prices for a Norwegian standard at 1000 NOK per hour. So a total of 10 000 NOK for this work, which is something like 1000USD, 900GBP or 1200 EUR.
Positive thing about this garage is they won't charge extra if they spend more than the 10 hours, and if they spend less than 10 hours, it gets cheaper.
04-22-2018, 10:41 AM
How can i improve the ride?
