Should the spring just pull off? It does not want to budge.


I want to remove one of the packers to reduce the ride height as it is already high and will go higher when I put in the new top bushes.

 

Yes...it should pull right off. Give it a few light taps with a hammer to free up the rust...I advise carefully removing that spring compressor first, though. Then tap it harder!




.

 

+1 also mine did not have any spacers at the bottom. Coil spring sat on the metal retaining ring.

 

Can you believe it, I went to take off the fulcrum bolt on the other side of the car, it is siezed, I've hammered it for 20 minutes, that is long enough, came back in for a beer and orderded a replacement from a salvage yard. I'll cut the old one off tomorrow.

What started off as a creak is now looking like;

new upper arm bushes, new shock bushes and a new fulcrum bolt, this car just kills me.

 

Man my hat is off to you, I've said it before you have more problems with your car than a person deserves. I think you said awhile back that the car had lived on the coast, salt air is deadly!

 

Rd, What a palaver (haven't used that since leaving England). Forgot how bad things rust, your shock looks bad. Give them a good coat of paint before installing.
Hope that is carpet in the garage and not the living room floor!!
Keep us posted.


Wayne

 

Have you tried a fork type ball joint separator to shift the fulcrum bolt?

 

Not yet, my fork wouldn't fit the gap and I think I would end up bending the top hat wahers but I may give it 5 mins with a chisel tonight. Anyway the £10 replacement bolt should get here tomorrow along with the top arm poly bushes.


The good news is that the new shock top bushes arrived today so I will be able to make a bit of progress tonight.

 

Both of the white wedge shaped spacers are damaged and could do with being replaced, does anyone know the part number? I think I remember reading on a previous thread that they were no longer available?


The springs came off after a bit of tapping, I will need to clean up the shock and repaint.


Does anyone know if the spring retainer on the shock can be removed or is it integral?




Anyway the new shock bushes arrived today.





The various spacers.





My garage buddies.






I hammered on the fulcrum bolt for another 5 mins then took the angle grinder to it, 10 mins later.





The broken white spacer on the second shock.

 

RD, the spring retainer will come off, give it a good thump. I answered your other question about the diagram. Turned out to be a major job, as it usually does and you are doing it right.


Wayne

 

Surprised you have not dropped the cross member out (yet)! How are your VEE mounts?

 

VEEs are good, I swapped them out last year. I should have overhauled the springs and shocks back then, I just changed the lower shock buses and stuck them back in, bad me.


I also found out that the white spacers are only available when you buy a new spring from Jaguar and they wont supply them separately.

 

Thought so, and looking at your fulcrum bolt bits, and a similar problem I encountered, the thick washers crush down onto the bolt, making removing the bolt a little more difficult!

 

I just replaced my shocks, upper mounts, shock bumpers, spacers under springs, upper mounts and upper control arm bushes. I had the same issue getting the fulcrum bolt out. Driverside was easy but the right side the one bushing sleeve was tight to the bolt. I deburred all 4 new sleeves before install. The bolts on the new upper mounts were not oem quality. Even after cleaning the paint off, the nuts were tight and one stud broke. I noticed it was also not pressed in straight. I reused the old mounts with the new donut.. The job gave a noticeable difference in ride height and no more bottoming.

 

Interesting, Wonder what the hardness of the "donut" is? May not be difficult to cast them in polyurethane.

 

They are pretty soft, maybe poly would give too harsh a ride.

 

I cleaned up the white spacers as best as I could and have hot glued them to the black spacer, better than nothing to help centre the spring.

 

Can you believe it, I cleaned the paint off the studs, set my torque wrench to 30Nm, and when I got to the 6th and last stud, this happened.

 

At only 30NM? What did they make them from, licorice sticks?

 

It must be some cheap very low grade steel, I cleaned off the powder coating from the studs first but was unable to thread on the original nuts by hand which was odd.


I picked up another nut I had laying round and it went on no problem at all, it seemed like the thread profile was different between the oem and aftermarket stud???


That is now at least 3 forum members here who have used this aftermarket bush only to have a stud shear off.


I'm now wishing a I had paid the extra and gone for OEM.


I have called the supplier and am awaiting a call back.