Jaguar XJ-S. Service manual - part 94

 
 

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upright to vehicle w/ shock cord or rope to protect brake line.  Continue to raise car / lower spring until all is clear.  
Spring can now be removed, noting position of spring spacers.”  Obviously, you don’t really need to split that ball joint 
nut, you can simply unscrew it.  I don’t see why removing the two bolts holding the ball joint won’t work just as well. 

Jan Wikström says, “I have removed and installed front springs with the jack method, unscrewing nothing at all except 
the spring pan retaining nuts.  The only difficulty can be compressing the spring enough when it goes in with spacers; a 
couple of large volunteers (or four sacks of whatever) on the front wing will do nicely; the alternative is to use 
temporary 4” long studs.  This also helps guiding the spring pan on to the studs, which can otherwise be tricky as the 
spring must be bent fairly severely. 

“I stress that there is no risk at all of the spring going sproing; it is completely restrained by the spring tower and the 
lower A-arm.  Just make sure the jack is solidly based for the first part of the compression.” 

 

RUSTY FRONT SUBFRAME:  Craig Sawyers says, “The front sub-frame has a rust pocket at the top of the spring 
mount.  If it rusts through, the spring breaks through, and the car rides low, lower, lower still as the rust progresses.” 

 

FRONT ANTI-ROLL BAR BUSHINGS:  If you wish to replace the front anti-roll bar mounts with aftermarket units, 
there are a couple problems to note.  First, the top (bottom?  It’s mounted upside down) of the arch of the stock bracket 
clears the subframe by only about ¼”, and the subframe moves around a little on its soft rubber mounts so the ¼” 
clearance is minimal to avoid banging.  To be acceptable, the height of the arch of the bracket must be 1½” or less. 

The second problem is that the bolt holes on the brackets are staggered, with the forward stud being located outward 
from the centerline of the car and the rearward stud being located inward.  As a result, the stock brackets have two 
different part numbers; C30500 for the right side, and C30501 for the left. 

The Addco (see page 710) catalog indicates their “D” series fits the front of the XJ-S, but these brackets definitely will 
not work.  The bushings themselves might be usable with the stock brackets, but it will require some serious trimming 
on the bushings at least.  Addco’s catalog does not seem too reliable. 

Just when things are looking difficult, however, a solution comes along.  Addco offers a bushing and bracket set that 
will fit the front of the XJ-S perfectly.  The brackets needed are their “S” series brackets, but that doesn’t tell the whole 
story; their “S” series designation indicates only that the brackets have offset holes, but they have many different types 
of “S” series brackets to fit different cars.  The set that fits the XJ-S perfectly is the set that was designed for the 1967-
68 Chevrolet Impala, although (hopefully) you can now merely ask for the ones that fit a Jaguar XJ-S and get the 
correct items.  The bushings themselves are their “W” series bushings. 

Addco bushings come with no split in them, as though you are supposed to feed them on from the end of the bar.  This 
is really difficult, as the urethane is stiff indeed and the end of the bar has a formed eye.  The bend isn’t easy to get 
around either.  It is a simple matter, however, to cut a split into one side of the bushing with a razor knife so you can 
just spread it open and pop it into place around the bar. Addco includes a small package of special grease with each set 
of bushings, and applying a little of this grease to the razor knife makes cutting even easier.  Since the loads on the front 
bushings are vertical, the ideal place to make the split is on one side of the bushing.  Use of a saw is not recommended, 
since you don’t want to remove any material, you just want to cut it.  The bracket will hold the split bushing securely -- 
in fact, considerably more securely than the original Jaguar split rubber bushing was held. 

If polyurethane still isn’t stiff enough for you, you can fab up “mounting blocks” that are basically two halves made of 
aluminum with a hole through the middle the size of the bar. 

 

POLYURETHANE ANTI-ROLL BAR END LINK BUSHINGS -- FRONT:  J. C. Whitney, Addco, and many other 
aftermarket sources also offer polyurethane end link bushings, again as a stiffer and more durable replacement for 
original rubber items.  These end link bushings are applicable to the front of the XJ-S, replacing C10996; it would be 
necessary to cut about 1/4” off the back end of the bushing to make it the correct length.  Addco also offers entire end 

 
 

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link assemblies, with the 3¾” size being the correct length to replace the parts (C10996, C46186, C33682, and C11045) 
on the front of the XJ-S. 

Randy Wilson reports problems with using urethane end link bushings, however; the relative angles between the bar 
and the end link and between the end link and the control arm vary considerably with suspension travel, and the rigidity 
of urethane end link bushings apparently results in the end link itself being bent back and forth, resulting in it breaking 
very shortly.  Wilson has broken both the original Jag links and the aftermarket links by using urethane bushings.  He 
claims some success with modifying the urethane bushings by machining them to allow more room for flexing, but the 
jury is still out on long-term results.  Perhaps sticking with rubber items would be wise here.  Generic rubber end link 
bushings are available at most auto parts stores; again, it is necessary to cut part of the generic bushing off with a razor 
knife to make it the correct length. 

Both J. C. Whitney and Addco offer adjustable end links, which have a spring within the assembly that can be adjusted 
to absorb some of the motion and soften the effects of a stiff bar.  The spring may also allow the urethane bushings to 
back away enough to avoid the end link failure problems described above. 

 

Steering 

 

SHIMS:  The steering lever attaches to the hub carrier with two bolts.  At the rear (longer) bolt, there is a shim (it looks 
like a thin washer) that goes between the steering lever and the brake caliper.  Don’t lose it!  Omitting this shim at 
reassembly screws up your alignment and distorts the steering lever.  See the further discussion on these shims on page 
434. 

 

STEERING COLUMN INSTALLATION:  If you have lowered your steering column, Rob Reilly sends this tip for 
reinstallation:  “When putting back the steering column use a little rubber cement to hold all the washers in place.  
Leave the bolts loose and pull the column back about 1/4” before you tighten them; if you don’t, you will get binding in 
the lower column universal joint and bumpy steering.” 

 

STEERING COLUMN:  The Jaguar Parts Catalogue lists the “upper steering column” as a safety item; it’s designed to 
collapse in a collision.  Apparently you’re not supposed to fiddle with it, just replace it as a unit.  Richard Dowling says 
there is a plastic section in here designed to absorb energy in a crash:  “The plastic shaft appears to be moulded in situ 
since it has spigots of plastic sticking out of it which lock it in position since they engage in small holes in the tube.  
These are effectively shear pins, since a moderate force on the plastic shaft will push it up the tube.” 

He found his to have been already sheared, he expects as a result of work he was doing in the area.  “It was a year 
ago so I do not recall exact details, but the jist of it was that at some stage I had probably sheared off the pins trying 
to get the universal joint splines to line up at the bottom end of the column.  That can be hard work in a very 
confined space, but I am no Tarzan hence it is obvious that the shear pins are not real strong. 

“Most of the mechanism is hidden inside the outer case of the column assembly.  Design details are nonexistent in 
the ROM, and fig. 11.34 in my Haynes manual is the best illustration.  You can figure out how to pull the complete 
assembly apart, no rocket science, but it is fiddly.  If the shear pins are shot the column is still useable, since friction 
tends to hold the plastic shaft in position.  It will not ride up the column, since the universal joint and bearing at the 
bottom prevent this.  However, when my steering wheel became sloppy ( not dangerously, just a little disconcerting 
) I found the bottom bearing had dropped out of the column outer casing since the plastic shaft had migrated 
downwards.  You can see in Haynes’ fig 11.34 a plastic bush just above the splines.  The bush is a push fit in the 
bottom end of the column outer case, but it can drop out if the shear pins let go.  This appears to be the only 
problem from failed shear pins.  However, it needs a quick fix because if it drops too far it may bind up the 2 
universal joints in the lower part of the steering. 
 

 
 

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“The fix is to take a wormdrive clip that will clamp on the lip of the bush which is the same OD as the column case. 
 This way you can almost clamp the lip to the case, but to make it better buy a flimsy clip and try and bend the edge 
of the worm drive clip down so it acts as a shoulder to go over the lip.  Maybe with a strong clip you could put a 
few saw cuts around one edge and bend it down easier to make a shoulder.  This is an improvisation with column 
still in car.  If the column is out of the car some other improvisation will be even more secure.”  Another idea might 
be to use the worm screw clamp to hold another strip of metal securely to the outer diameter of the housing and 
bend the edges of that strip down over the lip of the bushing to hold it in place.  All of this can probably be done 
with the column in place, no need to take it out. 
 
“One tedious way to fix this may be to strip the column assembly down again and put a few small screws or roll 
pins through the tube holes to hold the plastic inner shaft, sufficient to hold the plastic in place while remembering 
they have to shear in a crash.” 

 

STEERING RACK LUBRICATION:  According to the John’s Cars catalog, using the zerk fitting on the steering rack 
does more harm than good, and they remove them during their rebuilds.  Others have reported no problems, but 
obviously one would be well advised not to get carried away with the grease gun.  Stefan Schulz reports:  “Perhaps 
even Jaguar realized that eventually, mine (CBC5708) doesn’t have that fitting any more.” 

 

STEERING RACK LOWERING:  Contrary to the instructions in the manual, the steering rack can be lowered far 
enough to work on the mount bushings without disconnecting either the hydraulic lines, the tie rods or the steering 
column.  The only difficult part is access to both ends of the three mounting bolts. 

The steering rack is mounted on slotted holes.  You’ll have to trust me on this, because they’re not slotted far and the 
entire slot can be hidden behind the flat washers under the bolt heads.  The intent is to be able to position the rack 
properly with respect to the lower A-arm mounts, and there is a special Jaguar tool used to check for proper position 
when reinstalling.  Presuming that you don’t happen to have this tool laying around the house, it is suggested that you 
carefully mark the position of the mounting bolts within the slotted holes prior to unbolting the rack.  When reinstalling, 
simply put it back where it was. 

Any time the steering rack is lowered for inspection or repair, it is wise to disconnect the bolts mounting the power 
steering cooler to the subframe.  The pipes on this unit are very fragile, the hoses are short and often stiffened by age 
and heat, and a new cooler is of course more than $100.  It can generally be repaired by any reputable radiator shop, 
however. 

Chuck Sparks suggests that, while the rack is down, you spread the bosses on the subframe a bit to ease reinstallation.  
Install a piece of 5/16” threaded rod through a boss with a flat washer, two nuts, and another flat washer in the middle.  
Spin the nuts outward until they are holding the flat washers against the sides of the boss, then continue to turn them to 
force the sides apart. 

 

STEERING RACK MOUNT BOSS CRACKING:  John Smith suggests you check the front suspension subframe for 
cracking around the steering rack mount bosses while you have the rack lowered.  “The kerbside (passenger side) 
mounting was cracked along the inside (closest to car centre) 2 inch vertical weld to the subframe and also the half inch 
horizontal weld on the subframe lip.  In other words, the inner vertical of the mounting bracket was broken away from 
the subframe.” 

Smith’s local Jag supplier, as well as others, suggest this cracking is due to the stiffer aftermarket rack mounts.  It can’t 
be directly due to the stiffer mounts, since they won’t change the loads on that boss -- in fact, they probably reduce the 
impact stresses since the rack isn’t banging around in there as it does with the OEM bushings.  However, the cracks 
may be caused by installers using the bolts to pull the sides of the bosses in to meet the aftermarket bushings rather than 
space them properly with 5/16” fender washers.  Or, since the car is actually driveable for a change, the driver may be 
driving it harder.  Whatever, the possibility of cracked bosses is certainly no excuse for sticking with the crappy OEM 
bushings; have a welder repair and reinforce those bosses if necessary. 

 
 

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STEERING RACK MOUNT BUSHING REMOVAL:  John’s Cars offers a rental tool for removing the original 
bushings from the rack.  It is extremely helpful, especially when working with the rack hanging under the car where a 
bench press won’t help.   

You can improvise such a tool using two 3/8” drive sockets (one with an OD a hair smaller than the bushing, one deep 
and large enough for the bushing to fit inside it), a long 5/16” bolt or piece of threaded rod with nuts and washers.  It’s 
not always a snap, though; getting them to stay aligned and not cock sideways or jam can be a challenge.  John 
Tompane says, “I was experiencing what others reported, the 'pusher' socket was getting out of line. My solution - I 
purchased two bronze thrust bearings at the hardware store for a couple of bucks. These look like top hats from the 
side, or a cylinder with a shoulder.  This fit into the 1/2" socket and did two things, one it kept the 1/4" bolt in 
alignment.  Second, the shoulder rests firmly on the back of the socket providing a solid base to torque the nut/bolt.  
Result = worked like a charm.  Without the bearings I wasted hours trying to get the easy one out (passenger side) and 
quit for the night.  After getting the bearings, all three came out in a snap.” 

Jim Warren went another route:  “I used the two socket method.  I ground the thrust edges of the pusher to remove any 
roundness.  There is very little of the bushing outer sleeve to push on, and with the factory rounded edges, the socket 
can easily get cocked slightly and not push squarely.” 

Another possibility:  You can cut through the rubber and remove the guts of the original bushings and then use 1/2” 
drive sockets with a 1/2” bolt!  Or 3/8” drive sockets with a 3/8” bolt.  Either should hold the tools together and aligned 
more securely than a 5/16” or 1/4” bolt through 3/8” drive sockets, and obviously you’ll have less concerns about 
strength with the heavier bolts. 

Not everyone has to work so hard, though.  Tom Bernett says, “The two socket method worked splendidly for me - no 
tendency for the pusher socket to get cocked at all.  I don't know if it helped, but after the initial tightening of the 
bolts/sockets, I gave the bolt head a firm smack with a hammer as a little encouragement to break whatever bond there 
might be.  This is the kind of job that you expect to be a real problem.  I pictured hours under there with 
hammers/chisels/drills/saws/etc.  You can imagine my delight as I watched all 3 bushings slowly slide out one by one.” 

A method to avoid:  Some people cut the rubber and center sleeve out, leaving only the outer sleeve, then insert a 
hacksaw and cut through the sleeve on one side; the sleeve can then be collapsed and removed easily.  If done carefully 
enough, it appears to work fine, but a small nick on the aluminum boss on the rack can cause a stress crack later.  Using 
a drill or other means to destroy the original bushing involves similar risks. 

Another method to avoid: using a hammer.  You’re just asking for damage to that aluminum rack. 

An obvious method to avoid:  Heating the aluminum up to get the bushings loose.  Unbelieveable as it may seem, some 
people are willing to try this.  The facts that the housing is aluminum which conducts heat very well, the seals inside are 
rubber, and a rebuild costs as much as a three-day ocean cruise for two apparently never occurs to them. 

 

STEERING RACK MOUNT BUSHING INSTALLATION:  Don’t!!!  The Jaguar steering rack mounts are crap, pure 
and simple.  Do not install any such bushings, period. 

 

STEERING RACK MOUNTS:   Even if the original Jaguar steering rack mount bushings in your car are in fine shape, 
the steering response is awful.  The stock mounts are very soft, which by itself is not necessarily bad.  However, for 
some reason Jaguar chose to position the mounts parallel to the steering forces, so they are loaded axially (shear) rather 
than radially (compression).  See Figure 18.  There are bumpers (flat washers with a layer of rubber on one side) on 
either side of the mounts to limit the side-to-side motion of the rack.  This design results in a nonlinear response:  When 
you turn the wheel gently, the steering is somewhat unresponsive, since the mounts flex and absorb most of the steering 
motion.  When you turn hard enough that the bumpers are contacted, the steering suddenly becomes much more 
responsive.  The inconsistency of response makes it difficult to steer smoothly, especially when driving hard; the car 
seems indecisive about how much it wants to turn.