Thanks to the members who had previously posted about replacing front and rear suspension parts, researching the availability of equivalent Ford Motorcraft parts, sharing their experiences, etc.

I'm trying to replace the rear upper control arms and started on the right side. I disconnected the brake line (used a silicone rubber plug to keep the brake fluid from leaking), removed the height sensor link and the cable running to the hub speed sensor, then removed the three large nuts (two associated with the upper mount bolts and one associated with the ball joint.)

There was considerable tension, so I first removed the bolt closest to the front. At that point, the suspension arm bushing that had been freed up, moved in towards the body.

Then I used a pickle fork to separate the ball joint. At that point, the ball joint socket moved forward, relative to the ball joint threaded shaft.

I then removed the upper control arm and compared to the new Ford Motorcraft part. They appeared to be the same, although interestingly the original control arm did not have the JAGUAR label on the bottom. (My car was one of the earliest pre-production 2007 models produced in 2006.)

I installed the new upper control arm by reinstalling the two bolts and placed the associated nuts, turning just a few turns. At this point, I could see that the ball joint threaded shaft was around 1" away from the mating hole in the hub assembly.

The transmission is in P and the parking brake had been set before I started disassembly.

I tried using a floor jack to raise up the right rear hub assembly but that did not help to shift the position of the mating hole closer to the ball joint threaded rod.

Both the left rear and right rear are raised up on jackstands located at the jacking points indicated by the embossed triangles in the body. The left rear tire is still mounted but off the ground. If anyone has dealt with this before and has advice I would appreciate hearing it!


Picture taken from above control arm

Notice that the mating hole is around 1" forward compared to the ball joint threaded shaft.

 

This probably a stupid question, but are you sure you’re using the correct arm, i.e. not the left arm? I haven’t looked at them, so not sure if they differ.

 

Thanks for thinking about this. The remaining uninstalled new part is marked LH, and I did compare the original RH part to the newly installed RH part before installing it. Also, the original part was under lateral pressure and the ball joint mating hole shifted just as the picture showed, when i used the pickle fork to release the ball joint.

The LH and RH parts definitely differ and are mirror images of each other.

I'm trying to decide whether it would help to disconnect the rear sway bar link, or disconnect the bottom of the rear shock, to be able to shift the hub sufficiently so I can install the ball joint threaded shaft into the mating hole.

 

Guess I would push/pull on the hub to try to see if I could tell what was keeping it out of position, i.e. does the shock seem to swing freely? (Then I’d say it was the sway bar link.)
If I couldn’t tell, I start with the easiest one to disconnect/reconnect, and maybe get lucky.

 

I looked at the suspension geometry and decided that the problem was the transmission being in P with the parking brake applied. I used an M8 bolt and nut along with the old copper washers to temporarily seal the brake fluid line disconnected from the caliper. Then I was able to make the car IG-ON, depress the brake pedal, shift to N, and release the parking brake. I heard a clunk. When I went back to look at the right rear suspension, the hub had freed and I could move it as needed to attach the ball joint threaded rod to the hub. I'm almost done with the right rear, all I have to do now is to bleed air out of the caliper. Then I'll move to the left rear corner, perhaps next weekend.

 

Good detective work, good info!

 

the service manual, for the newer cars, says to replace those washers. i'm not sure that's actually necessary but you'll wanna keep an eye on them after you're all done.

 

I agree that the service manual requires replacing the washers, and I used new copper washers when I reinstalled the brake line to the caliper. The right side is now done and the tire is reinstalled.

Yesterday I went to the local discount auto parts store and bought two packages of Dorman assorted copper washers for brake lines. Each package has qty 2 each of 4 different sizes. The smallest size is what is needed for the XK.
Brake Hose to Caliper Bolt Washer | 66250 | Brake Hose Washer Assortment | Dorman Products

There is another Dorman 66272 package that you could buy which has qty 2 of the correct size.
Brake Hose to Caliper Bolt Washer | 66272 | Brake Hose Washer - Id 25/64 In., Od 5/8 In, Thickness 1/16 In. | Dorman Products
Rear Rear Suspension - DIY hints - control arms and links replacement - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Since the qty 8 package only cost around $1.50 more I thought maybe I could use the other qty 6 for some other purpose in the future.

 

Switching gears here to the lower arms with my apologies but my question may apply to the upper arms too. Getting a torque wrench centered over the bolt head is impossible on the lowers. Don't recall the uppers for certain. Having to use a swivel forces an angle obviously and lengthens the distance between the center of torque wrench head and the head of the bolt. This apparently requires an adjustment on the wrench (lower?). I didn't have a protractor so not sure of the angle but perhaps 6". Would this mean one would need to execute a formula to account for the additional 6 inches and adjust the torque spec? It's relatively easy calculation with an extension like a crow foot, but a swivel? No adjustment to spec if less than 15 degrees from the center line of wrench head to bolt but longer would require an adjustment

The lower arms to subframe require 120 ft pounds. I would think it should be adjusted less?

Can anyone provide experience in tackling this question?

Here's a link explaining better than I can, but not it tells you to adjust for the swivel but provide no specifics.

https://www.terex.com/docs/libraries...sn=1371ae74_10

 

Regarding the rear upper control arms, the upper bolt closest to the front of the car can be accessed with a torque wrench and I did that. The other upper bolt has limited access space and I used a 3/8" ratchet with 18 mm socket and a length of steel pipe to increase my leverage on the ratchet arm. Hence the tightening torque was not measured but in my judgment was adequate. I also used judgment when tightening the nut that secures the ball joint.

I have a ratcheting 18 mm box wrench; however the ball joint's threaded shaft tip is very close to the toothed wheel for the wheel speed sensor. I found it necessary to loosen the nut for the threaded shaft by using the open end of the wrench. As the nut is loosened, the threaded shaft starts to disengage from the mating area in the hub. Hence the space between the threaded shaft tip and the toothed wheel will increase. At some point sufficient space is realized so that the ratcheting box end can be inserted between the toothed wheel and the shaft end, to finish loosening and removing the nut.

In other threads some posters asked how to access the upper nut which is deep in the recesses of the underbody. I used a 3/8" breaker bar and a deep 18 mm socket to hold the nut, and provided two photos of the left rear suspension area here.




I finished the left rear upper control arm in the late morning, ignoring a mosquito and the 106 degrees F heat. Here is a photo showing the left suspension done, prior to mounting the wheel/tire.

 

You're missing a spring clip at the rear centre of the arm.





I recall switching mine from old to new Control arm but can't remember what function it performs.

With the copper washers on the brake line - I tried to re-use but there was a slight fluid drip and I had to replace.

Graham

 

Hi Graham,

The spring clip is for the vehicle height sensor located in the right rear corner. Actually I do have that clip, which you can see in the first photo of this string. The most recent three photos are of the left rear suspension which does not have a spring clip (at least my car doesn't have a sensor on that side.)

 

Yes the height sensor is only on 1 side.

Remember the inner bolts must be torqued with the suspension components under normal load. AKA the weight of the car must be on them.