XF suspension woes

[Chilli]

I've had 1 garage tell me that all the wishbones need to be replaced as they are bent. ...2 thousand quid. The next garage said there is nothing wrong with them.
I know there is a problem, my 2 year old could tell that, but it feels like its just the bushes need to be replaced as there is a "wobbly wheel" sensation and almost a rattle. I fear 1 or 2 speed bumps may have been missed.
Yet another garage has said that you cannot replace just the bushes as being a Jaguar, you have to replace the lot, but he has quoted a grand! Does this sound right to you?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Cheers.

[jamieduff1981]

This is bks, luckily.

The bushes can be sourced for around £30/each from Racing Green and pressed in. The wishbones will absolutely not be bent. They are substantial castings.

Complete wishbones are extremely quick to remove and replace and OE parts can be had for less than half the dealer prices from Britishparts or Justjags.

I've personally rebushed my S-Type which is exactly the same. It's a dead easy car to work on. Labour costs should not be significant.

HTH.

[Chilli]

That's excellent, many thanks. Are there any other components that could bend if hitting a speed bump, at say15mph?

[jamieduff1981]

I really wouldn't think so to be honest. Maybe anti-roll bar links but you're likely to break a balljoint than bend the link rod itself. There are adjustable stabiliser links at the rear which could bend, but you'd get obvious toe out.

[Chilli]

Thanks again for taking the time to respond mate, very helpful. I'll try and take some pics tomorrow for reference!

[8bit]

This is not an uncommon theme, it seems. My local dealer told me one of my XKR's rear wishbones needed replaced due to a worn bush and wanted to relieve me of close to £1k all in for the privilege. I sourced the parts online for about £200 total but didn't get round to doing it. Put the car in for its' MOT (not at the same place) and there was no mention of any worn bushes.

I suspect this is one of the "make-work" stories dealers tell customers to get some extra work out of them.

[anonymous-user]

I have had no end of suspension problems with my Jags, in fact 10 mins ago posted this!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Also had rear wishbones replaced on my XFR and tried to replace bushes on my XJ, got told the same thing by the dealer!

[Chilli]

Well, it seems that it's not the wishbones, but some sort of control arm or something. Had a look on the ramp and the joint is falling apart, so have new ones (both lower and upper) going on as we speak. 1,200 quid.

Oh well.

[jamieduff1981]

Those are the wishbones Chilli - double wishbone set-up, upper and lower.

[Chilli]

jamieduff1981 said:

Those are the wishbones Chilli - double wishbone set-up, upper and lower.

Ah, got ya. that would explain the fking cost, I guess! I'll try and find a picture of what I mean was fooked.

[pherlopolus]

I bought 2nd hand control arms with good bushes for £40, took about an hour to get both fitted. 50% of the total cost was a 4 wheel alignment after!

[Chilli]

I don't really want to hear that!

Now, whats this thing called? It kinda connects the wishbones to the ....well, car.I'm sure he said that they are replacing the upper and lower ones of these.....but I don't remember him saying the wishbones needed replacing as well? However 1,200 notes for 2 of these seems a bit steep?

[pherlopolus]

the jaguar cost of the parts will be about £400 each +vat , then £1xx an hour to fit.

EDIT

thats actually an anti roll bar arm....

diagram/prices here....

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID300141

Edited by pherlopolus on Tuesday 9th December 11:27

[Chilli]

pherlopolus said:

the jaguar cost of the parts will be about £400 each +vat , then £1xx an hour to fit.

EDIT

thats actually an anti roll bar arm....

diagram/prices here....

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID300141

Edited by pherlopolus on Tuesday 9th December 11:27

That's helpful, thanks. I would say then that they are changing the wishbones, because if they don't I want to know why it's costing 1200 notes. The anti-roll bar seems to be max 60 quid?

[jamieduff1981]

This is the rear set up. The uppers can't have the balljoints replaced (that I've found) but complete new rear uppers set me back around £120ea and took about 15mins to replace per side.



The lowers have 3 bushes. One is larger than the other two and is a true bonded shell rubber bush. The other two are actually sealed joints. Each type costs around £30ea. Jaguar try to charge circa £500 per arm but they can be had for nearer £200 from several outlets on the internet (OE parts, of course). They take a little longer to replace the arms - but any more than 45mins per side is ridiculous.

There are no requirements to dismantle half the car to get the rears out - all retaining bolts have good access and come straight out.

The fronts look like this:



Again, no real complications in changing these, and parts prices only add up if you decide to replace everything. Quite how anyone thinks that could be justified is beyond me.

[The Leaper]

Chilli,

In December 2013 my S-Type 4.2 V8 passed its MoT with an advisory about the suspension etc. In June 2014 the JMD called me to say for free they would check the state of things. The check revealed that the problem had worsened but they could not say if it would pass the next MoT or not. They also said that the estimate for the repairs including wheel realignment would be £2600. Note that the car had done close on 120,000 miles under my ownership and the suspension had not been touched.

As a result I traded the car in at another JMD for an XF. Decided it was time to change anyway and save myself £2600 which would not be recoverable.

I then traced the S-Type and found the seller...seemingly a one man business specialising in dealing with Jaguars. The advert for the car said that it had just been fully serviced by him and had a new MoT certificate. I called the guy and he said it sailed through the MoT. So, maybe I was subject to devious practice by the original JMD, which would be disappointing given they had had my business with two cars over 14 years, or someone was buying a car with future problems.

R.

[TobyLaRohne]

Chilli said:

I don't really want to hear that!

Now, whats this thing called? It kinda connects the wishbones to the ....well, car.I'm sure he said that they are replacing the upper and lower ones of these.....but I don't remember him saying the wishbones needed replacing as well? However 1,200 notes for 2 of these seems a bit steep?

Eeeesh, I hate to say it but that sounds like they've got your pants down. Anti Roll bar link arms and bushes are usually VERY cheap and easy to work on, identifying the knackered one is easy to do too as you can grab it and yank on it when the wheels are up in the air. if the bugger moves about (you should be able to feel a click as it moves around in your hand) its knackered.

Have a look here if you dare...
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID300148

[Chilli]

I've just asked for the quote to be sent to my email. Luckily, work hasn't started yet as I went home with the key in my pocket!

Thanks very much for your advice gents, it's appreciated. I'll post the parts list when get the email to see what you think.

cheers.

[8bit]

I'd expect the largest part of the cost to be labour. Jaguar dealers charge a lot, my local place is £130/hr exc. VAT.

[jamieduff1981]

As you know, they're not even doing a good job for the money 8bit!

Chilli, although it sounds really indepth, this really is Halfords ring spanner and a socket set territory so even if you don't want to get stuck in yourself, any small independent garage can do this for 40% of the hourly rate.

Get on to www.justjagsuk.com,www.xjkltd.co.uk,www.britishparts.co.uk,www.sngbarratt.com or Rimmer Brothers above and compare prices. Also check Hatfield Jaguar's eBay shop too which is usually quite competitive.