radius arm removal

[frogeyeman]

how does the radius arm disconnect from the wishbone assembly.No problem removing front end from the floor area.Does the hub carrier have to come off to allow the bolt to come out?The workshop manual is rubbish on this part of the car.

[stuarthardy]

Hi

You are right, it is necessary to remove the hub carrier in order to access the radius arm bolt head. You can make life easier for yourself if you have a dummy shaft to use to remove the pivot shaft and leave in situ to hold all the bearings, spacers and shims in place. For this I cut down a long bolt (I think it was an M20) to the exact length of the distance between the flanges on the wishbone.

That's the easy part. For me, removing the bolt was the challenge as it was well and truly rusted in. In the end I had to grind the head off and drill the bolt out. I remember using plenty of heat, WD40, sweat and profanity in the process.

You might be wise to buy replacement bolts before you start the job. They are specials because their heads are very thin (which makes it harder to remove them).

Do you have the Jaguar manual? If not then perhaps you should invest in the Jag heritage ones on CD. I have one and a proper Jaguar printed one and find the detail to be very good.

Good Luck

[e600]

Hi
What year is the car. The earlier cars are accessed as stated above, later cars have a cut head bolt that unscrews towards the diff, but you have to remove the lower forward shock absorber nut and slide the lower shocker mount rearwards.

Regards
Pat

[frogeyeman]

hi,thanks for the advice./The car is a series 2 1969 fhc.Does that mean I have the better way of removing the radius arm.I thought that might be the case as I cannot feel any bolt head on the wishbone.Just hope it unscrews from the wishbone ok.Are the bushes a tight press fit and would it be best to get an engineering firm to remove and refit the new ones?Or go for radius arms complete and fit them myself.My worshop manual only talks about the nut and bolt and not the bolt screwed into the wishbone.Thanks for the prompt feedback and if there are any other tips please let me know.Thanks

[stuarthardy]

Hi

I've checked my Jaguar Heritage Workshop/Parts Manuals CD and it seems to suggest that the rear suspension is unchanged from Series 1 3.8 up until the end of Series 2 in 1970. Could be wrong though.

If what I have said is true then I'm afraid you will need to remove the hub to access the bolt head.

It is up to you whether you buy new radius arms complete with new bushes or buy and fit bushes yourself. In my opinion, the hard part is removing the old bushes, especially the large front ones. I did it by cutting out the rubber section and (very) carefully sawing a groove in the outer metal band so that it doesn't quite go right through. Then, apply a twist with an old large (blunt) screwdriver to split the band which will then come out very easily. The new bushes can be refitted with the use of a good bench vice and some metal spacers and tubes to help them on their way. Don't forget to use a bit of copper slip to help them ease in.

Remember to use Metalastic branded bushes. The replicas are a false economy. Some people like to fit them 90 degrees out from the workshop manual's instructions as this stiffens up the suspension a little. The choice is yours.