Friends: My regular mechanic retired after a severe injury to his dominant hand, the indy shop where he worked is overwhelmed with 1 mechanic left, and they directed me to another shop. That one turns out to be pretty large, have good reviews, a steady trade and is willing to install parts if I bring them. I can't do major work at home, though I did several months ago replace the front upper shock mounting plates/bushings with the help of forum members. (We have one Jag-only indy shop that is good, but Jag club members and I have had issues with, plus a Brit-only shop, well regarded, with a labor rate approaching the stratosphere and I would suspect a pretty good mark up on parts.)

So, I have thumps and bumps and the like driving over imperfections in the road. It annoys me. This shop will drive it, look it over and tell me what they need. In advance of that I’ve looked at Parts Greek and can get what I think are the as-delivered stock “green” “comfort” shocks for my ’03 base VDP, front and rear; subframe bushings (the ones with the semicircle ridges on them); and upper rear spring isolators. Brands beyond Bilstein appear to be Euro/Uro for the subframe bushings and KYB for the upper spring isolators.

My questions for the pros: 1) absent other suggestions of needs from the shop I expect to use, is there something I’m missing in terms of parts to resolve thumps/bumps and a slight rear skittish feeling under some circumstances? 2) do I need protective bellows for front shocks? 3) on the spring isolators and rear subframe bushings, are there better brands and sources you might suggest?

I’m also pondering having the shop replace the transmission mount based on its age (Parts Geek API brand or other). I have a low-frequency hum at a certain speed range that fades if I put on the “sport” mode. I can’t figure how the mount might play into this, but at 22-plus years of age on the parts involved, I’m thinking this is one of those “can’t hurt," easy items based on the age of parts probably produced in late 2001 or early 2002 for a July 2002 build.

At least to my knowledge, there are no issues with the steering gear. The car tracks straight, tire wear is normal and the bumps sound at least to me like shock bushings and/or subframe bushings that are tired. Oddly, the shocks seem to function just fine. No bounce, nothing.

I thank all the assembled experts in advance for guidance.

 

If you really want to replace your shocks, these are what you need. It is my understanding that the green Bilstein shocks (electronic or not) are the sport ones whereas the black ones are comfort shocks. I don’t personally think you need them on such a low mileage car but, I’m not there to put eyes on them either. Each of the 4 shocks is $102 which is way cheaper than partsgeek.

Only the rear Bilsteins come with 2 of the 3 (each shock) correct foam isolators. If you just want to have the rear upper shock mounts/isolators/etc replaced, I’d *highly* suggest oem Jaguar only.

I’ll send you an email…

 

I was mistaken. Yes, the “comfort” shocks are black, not green, or so says Bilstein and higher authority — A2B!

 

The Bilstein shocks are great and perform well to be certain and
The monroes cost less and are clearanced price on the RockAuto website.

 

Randy et al: I got the car over yesterday to the new shop. The owner took it out and flogged it heavily over smooth and not-so-smooth roads, and effectively told me he heard/felt nothing he should not be hearing, either out of the shocks or steering gear. (Translated: you’re overly paranoid, dude.) He thought it was in good shape. He could have sold me gold-plated Bentley shocks but did not. He even declined my offer to pay their hourly rate for his time.That’s absolutely the kind of place with which I want to do business.

I have a wire break in the trunk latch circuit and what he thinks is a drive line vibration. I am booking the car in early next month for the wire thing and to go over the belly of the beast looking for anything that might be a source for the noise. The shop is a bit of a pain to get to, but since I’d probably only be over there one or two times a year (hopefully), I think it’s worth it. Oil changes I can get at my nearby old place just to keep up the connection there.

I thank you and A2B for all the parts advice, and this shop has no issue with installing parts I bring them. So, when the time comes, I can go that route.

Cheers.

 

Thats good news Elliot and by the way, I think Quartz was one of the best colors
for these cars.

 

Since I frequently drive mine to see my son in Alexandria, where is this Saint? Used to use a guy in Falls Church, next to the Volvo dealer . . .

 

Jim: I totally forgot about the place next to Beyers'. Thanks for the reminder. I think it was adjacent to the used car lot. I used to own a ton of Volvos and would run over for parts and bought an old 240 there in the '80s. I need to see if that one is still in business. I would see a lot of XJSs parked outside.

As to the "new" place, it has a Lorton address to the east of Loisdale Road off I-95 south of the Springfield interchange with 495. It goes by the name Merv's Auto Repair. I think the exit is for the Fairfax County Parkway. 6829 Hill Park Dr., Lorton, Va. It's about 15 minutes from Annandale where I live. Obviously, GPS will get you there the first time. It is almost landlocked in the sense you have to go through a one-lane tunnel under a rail line to get into the larger area that houses this and other businesses. The owner spent 20-30 minutes with me driving the car and blew me away with his manner of treating potential customers. Absolutely zero pushing!