The control arm bushings and ball joints, and tie rod ends, were recently replaced by a Jaguar specialist shop. It drives great but the drivers side (LHS) appears to be sitting about 1/2 inch higher than the passenger side, judging by the distance from the tire to the fender.

Any idea how that could happen? The shop is closed for the weekend.

Thanks,

 

The preload was set incorrectly then.
How far have you driven it since the work was done?

 

When I posted that I had driven about 60 miles since the work was done. I drove home tonight, another 30 miles, and now it appears there is only about 1/4 of an inch difference between the two sides.

 

Let me add that the car now handles and drives like no XJR I've ever driven. It has had new front CATS shocks and mounts, new sway bar links and bushings and new tires for the last few months. But, the renewing of the bushings and ball joints made a remarkable difference. It feels like driving a new car now.

I was hesitant to change them because the old ones seemed fine, even the mechanic said they really weren't that bad. What little bit of play there was in the ball joints apparently made for a dramatic difference.

I have another complete set of upper and lower control arms that I will be installing all new bushings and ball joints into next week. I use Lemforder products; always had good luck with that brand on my BMW. I will probably be looking to sell them if anyone is interested in doing the same thing I did.

 

Hi,

maybe they messed up with the spring packers and distance discs? It's worth a look.
See https://www.jaguarclassicparts.com/u...d-damper-front for parts no. 2 and 4. Maybe the forgot one of them or mixed them up with the other side. Part no. 4 for example is responsible for the different ride heights of North American and European XJR's. The packers/distance discs have a leverage effect on the lower control arm; that's the way they affect the ride height.
I didn't know this in the first place and got part no. 4 with 4.5mm (since 1.5mm was not available in Germany) and now my car sits higher in the front than in the rear. for about 1/2 inchh. Now I got the right ones shipped from the UK and I'll replace them as suitable so that I have a beautiful straight car again.

Best regards, Alexander

 

Alexander is right on the different ride height for different packers.

However, I have a deja-vu on this matter, and if I am right, that was even related to your old car, maybe?

I informed (you) then, that I had the exact same problem, the driver side 10mm higher than the passenger side.
Since then, I have done my own suspension, and I am sure that all packers and other stuff are correct and in the right places.

Still, the driver side is slightly higher, although more in the ~5mm range.
(This is wayyy within the Jaguar built tolerances by the way).

Finally, I also informed you it seems to be a common problem on BMW's, their forums are full of it, with all kind of theories, conspiracies, complains, and what so more ...

 

Thanks guys,

I looked up the factory "showroom" height specifications and found the following:

1) The measurement from center of hub to apex of wheel arch for my U.S. Spec XJR with a full tank of gas (which it has) is 15.27 inches.
2) My drivers side (LHS) measures exactly 15 inches (15 years of spring sag?).
3) My passenger side measures about 14.7 inches, so just over 1/4 inch lower.
4) The allowable factory build variance is + or - 15 mm or 0.59 inches.

My conclusion:

The height looks good; definitely doesn't look too low. In fact it seems higher on both sides than before the work was done. Seems to ride and handle better. The variance is well within factory spec, as Eric pointed out. Plus, it seems the more I drive since the repair the closer the two measurements get.

I did in fact have the same problem with my BMW but mostly on the rear. I have decided being OCD about a few mm difference that still falls well inside factory spec is unnecessary mental energy. I'm going to drive it and have fun.