Hi gents, looks like the boot/trunk struts in my 95 convertible are giving up.

If anyone could suggest a particular brand they have used and techniques for changing them out, I’d be very grateful.

 

Sachs is the OEM supplier, I have bought them from Rock Auto fairly cheaply.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...178940&jsn=534
If you put the discount code 129266989120349669 in the "how did you hear about us" box at checkout you'll get another 5% off. Good until March 29, 2020

To remove, you simply pry up the metal clip and that releases the strut from the ball and it comes off. Reverse the procedure to put on the new one.

 

Mark,

I can't see if you've got a spoiler on your car. But. if you do, remember that Jaguar fitted uprated struts to handle the considerable extra weight.

Good luck

Paul

 

For the North American market, only the late V12 cars had a factory spoiler, the 6 cylinder cars didn't. Makes a quick spotting feature!

 

Jagboi64,

Tks for that. In the UK, no XJS (apart from XJR-S) had spoilers, but a lot of owners spec'ed the car from the factory, or by dealer addition, with spoilers. Or they got fitted by previous owners. So I'm guessing that happened to a lot of 4 litre cars in the US also?

Cheers

Paul

 

I'm sure some 4 litre cars had spoilers fitted, but it doesn't seem to be common. I can't recall seeing one in person at the moment. The other spotting feature between facelift 6 cylinder and V12 cars is the V12 side mirrors are body colour, 6 cylinder are chrome.

It would be unusual for an owner to specify it, as Jaguar Canada and Jaguar USA tended to bulk order the cars, rather than individual dealers. I've had my local dealer tell me that back then they didn't know what cars they were getting until the truck showed up to drop them off. It was very rare for a customer to do a factory order.

 

Three things that give away the v12 from the outside:

1. body colored side mirrors, as previously mentioned

2. Body colored headlight bezels

3. Rear spoiler

4. For good measure. They tend to come fitted with the “20 spoke” wheels.

 

I replaced my failing trunk lift arms with “Strong Arm” branded ones.

Boy were they stiff at first....

I can get the model numbers if interested.

it could have been Sachs SG266002....available at Amazon.

 

Mark,

The original items from Jaguar are not too bad on price. The part number is BDC 4279 (except for US 6 litres) and is less than £20. The part number for the uprated ones for US 6 litre cars with the spoiler is GHC 3800AA and are less than £30 each.

It's always seemed strange to me why the US wanted the 6 litre cars with body-coloured mirrors and light bezels, whereas Jaguar did it the other way around for the rest of the world with the pre-Celebration AJ16 4 litre cars being so-equipped. (I have one of these).

Cheers

Paul

 

I ordered Stabilus GHC3800AA from fcpeuro.com a few weeks ago and they fit perfectly. (MY96 convertible)

Removal as mentioned before is simple- just pry loose the metal band clip and they’ll pop off. Installation is even easier. The new ones will just press on. No need to mess with the clips.

 

That's a 95 V12. The 94 V12 came with the 5 spoke alloys.

 

LOL. Reading this Thread is very timely. The trunk/boot struts on my 96 just gave out. Have two new ones to replace. Seems like when these gas struts do go out, it happens all of a sudden.
Rick

 

Thank you all for your replies. I went ahead and got the 17 dollar Sachs parts from RockAuto as recommended. With DHS delivery for Wednesday and the discount code I only paid 48 dollars for the pair this morning. Getting them delivered from England would have cost me over 100 dollars since JCP has revised and raised all their shipping costs recently....

I had completely forgotten about this until Friday when I opened the boot to put my briefcase there, and the thing just dropped on me.

 

Hi guys. I haven,t installed my new ones yet. Forgive my ignorance, but I can not move the new strut in/out by hand. What am I doing wrong ?

 

Hello Ricky

Not surprised that you cannot move the new strut by hand. If you could - then the boot would fall and give you a headache

Cheers
Steve

 

You should be able to with a bit of force. There are you tube videos of guys replacing the lifts.....unless it’s different for out cars.

i will find out this week when my lifts get here.

 

OK. Thanks Steve. That's what I was thinking. But it's good to get confirmation from more knowledgeable Forum members than myself. Seems when these go bad it happens all of a sudden (?).

Rick

 

Bought these for my 95 coupe. They have a little more lift power than the OEM. Much better
SE230P50 - EZ10M6X10 $46 bucks for 2.

https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/se...query=se230P50
carlsbad, CA

 

Easiest job. Ever. Took less than 5 minutes for both sides. So gratifying for the trunk to go up on its own again: