Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Trying out my idea, Part Two

This drawing is just to set the stage. It's not the XJS set up.

Day Two.

First, I wanted to raise the car a bit higher. I slipped two 1-1/2 in. wood squares under each end of the ramp to give me another three inches of height. I placed my old floor jack under the left suspension arm as a back up. I always have several jack stands supporting the car at all times.

Bottom view of the driver's side. The lower bolt has the nut on the outside.
The upper bolt has the nut on the inside.

Here it is loose. It only took one eighth turn at a time to loosen the nut.

The passenger side dropped down easily.

The first job was to unbolt the steering rack from the frame. The underside of the car is covered in a nice dirty film of oil, exactly what you would expect from a thirty year old car. There are three bolts holding down the rack, the left side has two 13mm bolts. I was on my back removing the two lower bolts. The second left side bolt was located above the lower one. I couldn't fit a box wrench on the inside nut because of interference with the transmission bellhousing. I'm going to grind that bolt down a bit so that I can slip the box wrench on for re installation. I also discovered that the easiest way would be to remove the left wheel and use a long extension on the upper bolt. I actually had to wire a long 13mm wrench in place to restrain the inside nut. Three hands would have come in handy.

I pried the rack loose and it moved down a bit. It looks like the pivot bolt will be able to clear the rack arm. I'm crossing my fingers.

I know that I'm getting old. Honestly, working on my back and craning my neck to look up takes it's toll. While I don't actually get dizzy, I do find myself getting a little nauseous and end up with a headache. I took a little break then returned to work. I was silently cursing the Jaguar designers that engineered this vehicle. Every XJS owner who ever turns a wrench on his car knows how densely the innards are packed. I was telling myself that I need to get rid of this thing and buy something that has better access and is easier to work on. Pleasant sepia toned memories of my 1970 six cylinder Mustang floated through my consciousness.

Talk about rose colored glasses!

Yes, I know that this is a rich mans's car. It cost just under 60,000 dollars when it was new. (Thirty years ago!) I may have paid just 1,200 bucks for the thing, but that doesn't mean that the cost of maintenance has depreciated at the same rate. I have a copy of the official Jaguar factory manual. The recommended repair procedure is to remove the front sub frame from the car. Proceed from there!

As a proud member of the Jaguar Driveway Club I just have to suck it up and force my hands into the cramped recess of the under carriage.

I took a deep breath then got down to work. One eighth of a turn at a time. By the time I was finished I needed a long break. I took a seat on the front porch and read my latest novel.

The biggest question that has to resolved was whether of not the pivot bolt will be able to slide out of it's position.

I unbolted the big castellated nut and I can see just how much that rubber bushing had "perished" (British usage). Take a look! I don't think that I will even need that removal tool.

Thee's just a bit over 100k on the chasis.

This is what happens when the tires aren't held in place properly.

Plenty of slop to go around

The pivot pin moved easily on my first try. 
The question is, "will it come out?"

As I finished up for the day I placed a jack stand under the steering rack to relieve any pressure on the fluid lines. I don't want to add any more stress to the assembly.

The car will have to sit for a while.
Life is getting in the way.

I hadn't even ordered the bushings yet!

I got on the web and ordered them from Rock Auto. Well of course it's not like SNG Barret but it is a lot cheaper. I had looked at a couple of other sites but they wanted way too much for shipping. You have to keep an eye on shipping charges, sometimes those charges negate any good prices that you find


Considering how much is involved it would probably make sense to replace the bushings with the best quality units available. I've been advised of that by several forum members. I don't disagree with this.

At this point I'm not even sure if the pivot pins will have enough clearance to come out. At least they are not seized up or rusted in place. At least not on the driver's side.

My post on the Jaguar forum has resulted in quite a few replies. Several warn me of the potential danger from the stored energy of the spring, as If I'd just drive the pin out without taking any precautions!

Others have warned me that the pivot pin cannot be removed withe engine in place, that I will have to at least drop the rear of the subframe. That might be true, but I'd never read that it was necessary in any of the posts I've followed.

I still don't have any time available to work on my car, I still quite heavily involved in a property renovation project. My little Explorer has been invaluable in this task. It's bearing down on 260k and hopefully is still going strong.

My bushings arrived from Rock Auto this week. They are sold under the Beck Arnley label and are manufactured in China, of course. I am going to do a little research and find out more about bushings from different suppliers. I'll probably start out by calling the Jaguar dealer and getting a price and manufacturer/supplier name. Perhaps they'll have OEM units available. I would imagine that this would be the most expensive alternative.

I admit it, I'm a cat lover.

There is a British business by the name of KWE that specializes in the XJS, among other Jags. I should do some research and send them an e-mail inquiry. I've read that improving the suspension was one of the companies main goals.

Look at all those XJS cars.
Either gold mine or "grief pit"!

There is a local British auto parts and service shop nearby. My first experience with the proprietor was not very positive. He didn't seem very friendly and gave me the feeling that he thought that my inquiries were just wasting his time. That doesn't seem like an approach that would gain him many new customers. His yelp reviews pretty much confirmed my first impression.


Just a thought about bushings and the XJS. They a rubber wrapped design. The lack of an outside steel shell appears to lessen the lessen the areas that can rust together. If the rubber is shredded then I 'm guessing that the steel tube can be driven out pretty easily. This all depends on the pivot bolt not being rusted in place.

Updates on this project will follow.  Although it might be awhile!