'98 xk8, 88,000 miles of fun and frivolity. In chasing the seemingly never ending list of projects for the XK8 is the road height. I see the specs show 15.74 inches from the center of the wheel to the apex of the wheel arch. Cool, but I am about 2 inches lower than that, hence a lovely scraping of the suspension cross member at driveways and other minor bumps. I consulted my local Jaguar repair shop, asked about it and he said "he would investigate and get back to me." That was the last I heard from him. So, I am trying to figure it out on my own. Questions which is the most probable -
1) Is it the upper shock mount? From research the upper shock mounts on these cars are a major point of failure, but 2 inches seems to be a bit much for a shock mount failure.
2) Springs, can a spring sag 2 inches? This would seem more logical and the springs would need to be replaced (I would do the top shock mount at the same time).
3) Something I am not even considering?
Shocks/struts seem good, no bounce. Front end is quiet except for the scraping at bumps. Handling is fine.
Thank you for opinions on where to start this fun adventure.

 

It sounds like somewhere along the way someone has installed "lowering" springs. A completely collapsed upper shock mount might give you about 3/4 of an inch drop. I would think if the stock spring was wore out you would get a drop, but 2 inches sounds more like a shorter spring.

 

I’m in a similar situation to you and manage to live with it on the good roads in Bahrain. Just need to be careful on speed bumps.

I’ve recently done the front end suspension refurb (upper shock mounts, bushes etc) and got back 3/4” but am still running 1” too low.

A previous owner has “recently” (maybe 5 years ago) put in new shocks and springs in the car, all corners, and I strongly suspect he put in the X100 coupe parts into my convertible. Reading around the Forum, these two spring parts are different. The convertible is a heavier car, so maybe that discrepancy accounts for my low front end.

I’m waiting for the dampers to go bad and I’ll correct it then.

 

Along with the top shock mount, take a screw driver and see how much side to side you get on the lower shock bushing. Lots of shocks are still good and are reinstalled on the strut rebuild but they don't replace the bushing and all I have seen, not many,maybe 6 pair. They were all bad. The trouble is for years the bushings was half the price of the shock, but now are a least down to a quarter of the price.
Not a bad job and can do on the car, a little hairy, but a can do. A good "C" clap and the right socket will push it out.
If yours are bad with a top mount, you can get a good inch back or up in your case.

 

CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP
British Parts UK is an awesome source...
JLM20711 Jaguar XK8 Coupe Front Springs|British Parts UK
https://www.britishparts.co.uk/jagua...ring-kit-p4127

While you're in there...
https://www.britishparts.co.uk/jagua...er-mount-p3764

It's not a hard job at all with a rented spring compressor... If you're going to go for it,,, post again. I'd love to talk with ya about it... Peace,,, and good diggin...

SECRET is to completely remove the wheel well liners as STEP ONE... Well, after taking off the tire, lol

 

Still contemplating this one. I replaced struts/springs/bushes on a Stag and it wasn't too bad an effort. I am watching the videos on the subject and that has not dissuaded me either. This appears to have better access than the last two projects on the car (starter R&R and the anti-sway bar bushes) which was a great source of frustration. This is my daily driver so it cannot be down more than a weekend, and the cost of the parts doesn't appear to be too stupid. So I may just give a try at replacing the upper mount, springs and bushes. I have a vacuum leak to chase down first in the next week or two, then this. I am sure I will be back on the board when preparing for the adventure.

Other than a spring compressor, are there any special tools that make this work easier?

 

Not really... There is a video out there of a guy who used something he rigged up to push the old shock mount out and the new one in... I'll have a look. Then, I recommend separating the top ball joint, taking out the wheel well liners and,,,, remember to really tip the top of the shock (I think) towards the BACK of the car when pulling and installing. Of course watch for the alignment of the triangle of bolts/fasteners at the top of the shock tower,,, making sure that the lower shock mount is aligned correctly,,, and all that stuff. It's not a hard thing at all.

 

I did all of these yesterday, I didn't remove the brake line, the wheel speed sensor cables, or the wheel well liners.

Took the bottom shock mount off, knocked the upper control arm bolt out, take off the three nuts on the top shock mount in the engine bay, shock comes out of car.

Took them to a local suspension shop and they charged me $20 to replace the upper shock mount and took them all of 5 minutes to do so.

My car was dragging the radiator and oil pan on bumps before i replaced the upper shock mounts. It is now sitting much higher and i can even get the jack under the car now without a huge fight.

I just went and checked the ride height, ( using the method OP specified ), on my car now after fixing the upper shock mounts and I am coming in just under 15.5"

The car is noticeably higher up, i would estimate at least a couple inches.

 

have done this job 3 times and as Mad Hatter - did not remove brake line or wheel well liner - never had an issue

 

That's impressive... I've never done this by disturbing the bushing set up and the upper pin... Oh no,,, not me

For me, removing the pin, dealing with the bushing pieces seems like more work than unscrewing the 2 or 3 10mm bolts holding the liner to the well, popping a ball joint and guiding the top of the shock out around - with the upper control arm in place - is a heck of a lot easier... But shoot, for each his own.

That pin and the bush set up can be a beast... Usually, once removed,,, the bushings are hard to reuse, no? New ones?

 

I have had a situation where i have trapped the balljoint in the hub upon attempted removal. Ended up having to cut the balljoint into pieces and removing the upper control arm anyways and having it drilled out cause the press couldn't remove it.
I am a little bit shell shocked of having to remove a balljoint if i don't explicitly need to.

The upper control arm bolt will fight you if one of the washers gets stuck on the bolt shaft, grease it, heat it, and if need be run sand paper down the bolt and the washer will unstick and bolt will come right out.

 

If you are so deep into the suspension as pulling the strut you might as well tackle the upper control arm bushings. Why? Because...

• 90% of the time they are worn anyway - even when they "feel tight" that is just the old hard rubber masking the wear inside
• they really are only good for about 50K miles before wear starts affecting the ride
• changing them more often will prevent "beast repair" from happening (waiting = trouble)
• they are not that expensive - around $100 IIRC

If you remove the pin then you for sure need to replace them. It takes just a few minutes more to do so at that point.

 

Mad Hatter, you said you took the bottom shock mount off, knocked the upper control arm bolt out, take off the three nuts on the top shock mount in the engine bay, shock comes out of car. Is this a complete assembly with shock/spring? Where can I find a diagram to see what you've done. My front is riding at 14" left and 14.5" right. The scraping on making a right hand turn was a pain, but recently hit a pothole from all the rain and now i'm hearing loud hitting on bumps.

For the shock mount, is this a decent replacement? https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...15923&jsn=2153

 

Have a look at Rothwell's thread - lots of info and pictures on what you can easily do on the front suspension. I took the shock assemblies out and took them to my local mechanic to replace the shock mounts and bushes. Makes it a lot easier:-
​​​​​​
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e2/#post803238

 

Buy the Welsh versions of the upper mounts. All others are inferior at this point.
https://www.welshent.com/Jaguar-Uppe...ir-P26376.aspx

 

dibbit thank you for the quick response. As for the bushings, since I'll have it all apart, what bushings should be replaced? And are there any other parts that should be replaced in that area? This is a 1998 XK8 convert.

 

Thanks rothwell great point. Thanks for the link.

 

SkuBee... I am not usually one to be adding doubt and caution to a thread... I go in thinking most things are possible with a little info and good approach. Foolishly at times (ask someone - haha). That being said,,,

The way this job was talked about above made it sound like 1,2,3... But, I would suggest taking and making a close evaluation of what you HAVE and might be jumping into. It's all doable BUT this is not always a 1,2,3 type thing. See below and read up on some others experiences... This is a well covered topic and in that,,, there has been some cursing and swearing, strange body language and objects hit, hahahaha

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-227962/page2/

Good luck. If you dive in maybe start a thread?

 

I recommend you read Rothwell's thread, he lists all the easy bits to do. I replaced on the front; upper shock mounts, lower shock bushes and upper wishbone bushes. I replaced front and rear anti-roll bar link arms and the bushes on the bar itself. All well worth doing at 18 years old.

There are more things on Rothwell's thread - it's up to you how much you want to do.

 

JayJagJay, I'm with you on that one. A year ago, I removed the right front hub to have a new bearing pressed into it, so, I was already half way there to taking out the shock assembly. Here's a great video on the repair: