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I am working on replacing the upper shock strut bushings and shock struts on my '03 XK8. I am reusing the old shocks' bottom spring retainers after some cleanup. There are two hard plastic-like spacer rings that fit between the retainer and a vinyl spring buffer. After securing the shock strut nut I noticed the spacer rings are not quite aligned - should I be concerned and make sure they are perfectly centered or will they be okay as is? I have not yet released the spring compressors (see pix). Also, can someone remind me where I can find the torque values for the shock strut nut, lower shock bushing bolt and upper control arm bolt. completed strut build - original spring & bottom spring retaining plate vinyl spacers (black) are not 100% centered
It should not matter, the area making contact is much much larger than the misalignment. The two black spacers are flat and can move around a bit. The white one is tapered and has a little tab that should be sitting against the end of the spring coil.
If it bothers you and the pressure is still mostly off the spring, you could probably take a small mallet and tap them into better alignment.
Thank you for the info, David and Charlie ! I am fastidious enough that I will likely try to reposition the spacers a bit since it is only one nut away (other than this nut)!
I will get it back in the car today and button the driver side up, then start on the other one. I have learned to be more careful about how the spring compressors are aligned, positioned and tightened (a little at a time-patience!). I ended up having to remove tension on the spring after removing the old bush because the shock rod would not line up with it's destination in the new bush. Ugh! Hopefully no repeat with the second strut.
Again, thanks for the help.
I think you are fine... as a matter of fact, when I replaced my springs with H&R lowering springs, I didn't even use those shims/spacers, only the white one that "holds" the spring in place.
This is an update on my earlier post in late February 2020 when I was finishing up a strut rebuild, installing new top bushings and new shock struts.
It all went together into the car very well and the finished result was a nice ride, tight steering feel and near normal ride height.
Fast forward to today, September 2020 ... with only a few hundred miles on the new struts and bushings I noticed the driver-side strut top had migrated forward and left of center of the bushing plate (see picture).
Would like some thoughts from anyone about this - the new bushings are Uro from RockAuto; has this one failed already? I would hate to have to redo them so soon - I know that many of you have used the poly bushings and been happier with them.
I don't notice any difference in the way the car rides or handles, and there is no suspension noise going over bumps. Any suggestions?
Assuming it was in the center before it does look like the mount has failed, or at least has slipped.
But if the camber is in spec and there are no noises or handling issues, then there is no real reason to change them since nothing is measurably “wrong”.
Whats your ride height for this wheel? Center of wheel to lower lips of wheel well. Must be at least 15 inches, it was probably closer to 15.75 when you installed these last April.
Yes specs say 15.25 (or something) as minimum, but we seemed to have settled on 15 as a real life minimum.
John - ride height is 15" on both sides, down just a bit (maybe .25") from right after install, so in that regard it looks okay. I am thinking of having the alignment specs checked to spot any obvious changes from 600 miles before. After installation of the new shocks & top bushings the Jag dealer post-alignment printout from then shows camber on each side just beyond limits at -1.3, caster out of limits at -5.6 and toe at .13. Of course, the only adjustment they could make was toe. None of those specs have changed much over 20,000 miles and yes, the tires wore inner edge heavy. Car seers straight as an arrow and handles, imho, quite well.
Fly, Just as a reminder from another thread.....I have a really cool super duper strut compressor and it's only about 30 miles from you.
Should you pul the struts and redo them I can help make it easy and safe. Ping me with a PM and we can work it out.
And speaking of the subject, my camber is looking suspect after I did my whole front suspension early this year (uro). I may re-man the original shock mounts a swap them back in to get the ride height and camber back. TM
Fly, Just as a reminder from another thread.....I have a really cool super duper strut compressor and it's only about 30 miles from you.
Should you pul the struts and redo them I can help make it easy and safe. Ping me with a PM and we can work it out.
And speaking of the subject, my camber is looking suspect after I did my whole front suspension early this year (uro). I may re-man the original shock mounts a swap them back in to get the ride height and camber back. TM
The position of the shock does not affect camber. The spring mounts determine the camber.
The position of the shock does not affect camber. The spring mounts determine the camber.
True that whether the bolt is centered doesn’t itself affect camber, but if the material has collapsed and that is the reason the shock mount has moved, then it can affect both ride height and camber.
True that whether the bolt is centered doesn’t itself affect camber, but if the material has collapsed and that is the reason the shock mount has moved, then it can affect both ride height and camber.
Yeah, what he said! That's what I was eluding to, I think it has sunk back to where it was when I started. My shock shafts are still centered but I'm riding low. I also have no driving problems, all feels good but I think I'd grind up the the inner edges of the fronts before long. I may make some rings out of something stiffer than the soft rubber/poly whatchamacallit it's made of now. How about aluminum (one i, thank you) or brass, maybe oak. Geez, seems like anything would hold up better. TM
13. Of course, the only adjustment they could make was toe. None of those specs have changed much over 20,000 miles and yes, the tires wore inner edge heavy. Car seers straight as an arrow and handles, imho, quite well.
That's not true. The caster can be adjusted by moving shims at the upper wishbone bushings, and the camber can be adjusted by an eccentric bolt at the rear lower wishbone bushing. But if the car behave as it should and the tyrewear is even you don't have to bother.
NorXKR - Let me clarify a bit ... the only adjustment I LET them make is toe. Anything else was going to get into more man-hour $$$ than I cared to spend at the local Jaguar dealer. LOL. So far, the only issue is a bit of extra tire wear on the inside edges. But thanks for reminding me of the other adjustment options. At some point, I will address the other tweaks to get it more in spec.
Tom McK - Thanks for the superduper coil compressor offer. I may take you up on that should I decide to pull the struts again. It seems you and I have "twinsy" XK8's, both '03 convertibles in Zircon Blue - fairly rare color, I think. I will PM you when the time comes. Thanks.
I avoid URO components whenever possible. Multiple poor experiences with them on my previous 2005 S-Type....
Yes, second that. URO is pure garbage. I had URO components fail immediately on installation, and received parts like weatherstrip that are incorrectly shaped or wrong size.
That's not true. The caster can be adjusted by moving shims at the upper wishbone bushings, and the camber can be adjusted by an eccentric bolt at the rear lower wishbone bushing. But if the car behave as it should and the tyrewear is even you don't have to bother.
During the time I was working on MY front end you and others has mentioned this. Today I was investigating in to my camber adjustment as my fronts after re-doing the whole front suspension LOOKS to be leaning in a little like a super tuner car. Let me tell you now there is NO eccentric bolts in the lower control arms. I raised it on the lift, tire off, loosen the bolts at the pivot end of the lower control arms and they just spin in a nice little circle with NO elliptical motion. So how does one adjust the camber or don't we? Is it all in the spring height? My car IS a little droopy in the front but not terrible.
So since I was in there I moved a shim at the top control arm. Yes, I know that is supposed to adjust the caster, but since the pivot point in the subframe isn't parallel to the car I thought it might move it a small amount. Hmmmm, not enough to be detectable. However, the car drives nice, no pulling to either side and steers well with very little vibes. Ideas anyone? TM
During the time I was working on MY front end you and others has mentioned this. Today I was investigating in to my camber adjustment as my fronts after re-doing the whole front suspension LOOKS to be leaning in a little like a super tuner car. Let me tell you now there is NO eccentric bolts in the lower control arms. I raised it on the lift, tire off, loosen the bolts at the pivot end of the lower control arms and they just spin in a nice little circle with NO elliptical motion. So how does one adjust the camber or don't we? Is it all in the spring height? My car IS a little droopy in the front but not terrible.
So since I was in there I moved a shim at the top control arm. Yes, I know that is supposed to adjust the caster, but since the pivot point in the subframe isn't parallel to the car I thought it might move it a small amount. Hmmmm, not enough to be detectable. However, the car drives nice, no pulling to either side and steers well with very little vibes. Ideas anyone? TM
ecentric lower pivot bolts were not fitted to all cars. Not sure there was much point given the very limited range of movement they allowed. I think it was only around .5 degrees.
02-26-2020, 09:54 PM
strut build advice
