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I will be replacing my rear shocks this weekend. I have a 96vdp and I ordered the Bilstein green sport rear shocks. Has anyone else tried this or is this going to be a big mistake? I was trying to tighten the handling up a little and get rid of some of the floaty feel.
Last edited by Scotlad; 09-12-2018 at 10:33 PM.
Reason: adding info.
I regret not doing this and will be watching your results. It seems like even new bilsteins are way too weak on both compression and rebound but really more so on rebound. That is what gives you the floaty feeling. I am not sure I felt any difference from the 100000 miles shocks and the new ones.
If yours works out I will have a lightly used set of comforts for sale.
Still have to add my XJR rear sway mount and bar. Already installed the strut bar and got rid of the dog bones. Also put in poly RSFB.
The main reason I am replacing my shocks is that when I go over bumps it feels like I am dragging a trailer behind me! The lower bushings are shot and I am sure the upper bushings are flattened. I will also replace the upper spring isolator (the big foam donut) while I am at it. Hopefully the upper and lower spring seats are still ok, I don't read about people replacing those parts.
If I have the time I may also replace the rear rotors and pads while I am at it.
Lady P. glad to see you are doing better. The Bilstein shocks come with all the bushings you circled. I also will be installing #5 spring isolator. The only parts I don't have are #2 in the illustration, hopefully they are in good condition.
I am assuming the item # 2 is steel or nylon and will separate to get a good coating of grease before reassembly .
MNA3562AA and MNA3562AA ( thicker for whatever reason ) after production # 751045 still available new .
A43 you going to use the car hoist method as that would be hard to coordinate for me . I'm pretty sure my shocks are original based on her service history . Not able to tell by looking if they're Bilstein's .
Last edited by Lady Penelope; 09-15-2018 at 10:12 PM.
Well I only managed to get the right rear shock done today. I could never make a living as an auto mechanic, way too slow. I will try to get the left rear done tomorrow, hopefully it will go quicker. I ended up using info from the U tube video as well as Motorcarman and a guy from the X308 forum.
A couple of things I ran into surprised me, I had no idea that the caliper bracket would be wire tied, I thought that had ended with the XJS. I just put locktite back on the bolts. I could not remove the ABS sensor on the rear hub, I screwed around with that for quite a while but it seemed to be corroded into the hub. I ended up just cutting both zip ties that attach it to the brake hose and that gave me enough space.
I think the thing that helped the most was the post from the X308 forum where he mentioned that to get the hub carrier down as far as possible, he used a car jack between the frame where the upper bump stop is and the rear hub assembly. I used the one that comes with the X300 and it worked great. I was lucky also that the u joint was in the x position rather the + position which seems to give a lower position to the lower spring mount. I also removed the 4 bolts from the center plate.
When I got the old shock out the top foam bushing was completely gone, the big spring isolator bushing was about half gone and the lower bushing was shot. I noticed the ride height had also been raised.
Hopefully I can get the driver side done tomorrow and then I will be able to tell if I like the ride of the green sport shocks. The drive home from the shop was definitely quieter.
With your one shock removed is there a servicing port underneath the rubber boot on the op ? This helps deter main if it's a original Bilstrein and if you can rebuild them yourself .
I have not been able to tell with mine installed , nut my bet is they/re original
What would be the minimum floor clearance needed if you don't have a whole car hoist ?
Was your item # 2 in good shape ?
Last edited by Lady Penelope; 09-16-2018 at 07:11 PM.
Lady P. I don't know if there was a running change but on item #2 the upper disc was plastic and the lower was actually thin rubber formed to fit the lower coil. Mine did not have a lower plastic disc. Both the upper and lower were in good shape
I have not checked under the cover yet but I believe the shock was original as it had the Jaguar logo on it and also had Bilstein stamped on it. As far as clearance needed I did mine in a driveway with a floorjack and a jackstand. The only time I had to get under the car was to remove the 4 bolts on the plate.
It was not really difficult especially with all the info. available, just time consuming. The X308 forum has quite a few posts available on how to change them also.
Can you say where the Bilstein stamp was so I can find mine . The rebuild kits are available from Summit Racing for $ 25 US to save money and a source of DIY pride .
Lady P. $25.00 for a rebuild kit, that does not seem right. I priced the lower spherical bushing a while back and it was around $50.00 each for original equip. The soft upper bushings are around $20-$25 for the pair. The shock itself is gas charged and I did not think it was a DIY project. I got my shocks from Rock Auto for $87.00 each, so rebuilding did not seem the way to go. I have read if you have the right model of Bilstein shock you can send them in for a rebuild but the price is close to a new one
The Bilstein name on the shock was stamped in very small print at the bottom of the shock just above the lower bushing
I have some old rear Bilstein shocks and was thinking about sending them off for re-building. I was under the impression that because of the oils or whatever that it could not be a DIY job.
Do you have any more info on the process?
I see a rebuild kit (at the summit website) for 28.99 on Bilstein 7100 series -- haven't quite correlated that over to my X300 shock numbers.
I don't think any oil is included, though: just seals
The key is weither there is a servicing port ( shrader valve in which yo inject the mitrogen to a measured value of stated between 180 and 200 psi with no wheit on the wheel as a assembly .
The shock can be serviced at t motorcycle shop that has this equipment .
The specific oil ( see page 4 ) can be obtained from Bilstein in there catalog . General farm equipment oil is not to spec in viscosity and other propertys as it is used in power aplications and not orifice flow properties . In obtaining the proper revalving kit it is critical to get the proper sized orfice to retain the same shock rebound performance .
I have not determined from shock model #s on the X300 ( see page 16 ) if they are the 7100 series but saw faint reference to 7100 . The new equipment #s and version may be different then the original #s but then Scotland just pointed out the stamp on his original just removed . Summit has several bilstein rebuild kits to choose from .
See catalog doc below for further information and let me know what you find out .
Lady P. I don't know if there was a running change but on item #2 the upper disc was plastic and the lower was actually thin rubber formed to fit the lower coil. Mine did not have a lower plastic disc. Both the upper and lower were in good shape
The illustration of the suspension above is pretty generic! Item #2, the plastic discs, (spacers) are factory installed height adjusters that can differ in number and placement (and can also differ in quantity L to R) depending on the car
They are available in 1/4" and 1/2" thicknesses. IIRC there's a 3:1 formula for increase or decrease in ground clearance, e.g. a 1/4" spacer will raise the *** end up 3/4" etc. They are used to correct minor discrepancies in spring length to achieve a uniform model appearance/ride height.
My own car, a late XJ40 with X300 rear suspension had two fitted, both at the top. With the spring seat notch on the wishbone being so pronounced I can't see how one could ever be fitted at the bottom - the only thing that goes there is the thin fitted (notched) rubber insulator.
addl: I just took a glance at the illustration again; it looks like lazy graphic designer has recycled the old pressed steel wishbone illustration of the spring arrangement!
Item 4 (spring collar mount) is only used in a case where the spring rests on the shock absorber, (early XJ40 style) not the wishbone like the X300.
...moral of all this? Don't depend on illustrations!
Well I replaced the other shock a week ago and am very pleased with the results. All the noise coming from the rear end is now gone.Going with the XJR shocks instead of the VDP seems to have worked out. I don't have the floaty feel anymore and the ride does not seem to have been affected with the stiffer shocks. There might be a little less body roll on corners but hard to tell.
When it is time to replace the front shocks I will probably replace them with the XJR Bilsteins. The previous owner replaced the front shocks with Monroes a few years ago, so maybe next year I will replace them. I already replaced the upper bushings with the stiffer URO units but I think I want to go back to the Bilsteins with the softer upper bushings.
I did get a good price on the shocks from Rock Auto.but I did buy the big upper spring isolaters fom Amazon, they were made by KYB in Germany.
09-12-2018, 10:30 PM
Rear shocks
