ARB Bushes

[J44EAG]

Moderator Edited...Split thread from General Section and re titled.

anyway, next job lined up are front and rear ARB bushes and drop links..that will be Wednesday when my wife has gifted me a day pass to my garage...wish me luck

You might find this post on suspension rebuilding useful, Jon. Most aspects and procedures are covered.

http://www.jec.org.uk/forums/viewforum.php?f=200 See the first post.

The rear ARB bush replacement is quite straight forward. I suggest you replace those bushes with the back of the car raised and suspension unloaded. Disconnect the vertical links before beginning fitting the ARB bushes. Its a lot easier than fighting with the links connected. Check also the rear adjustable radius rods whilst you are under the car. The gaiters disintegrate with contamination, age and UV. If one end of the rod has decayed, then almost certainly the gaiters on the other end will be in the same condition. Complete two part rods can be found on the internet currently for around £32 each delivered. Mine came from Europarts at that price recently.

A similar procedure for the front bushes but note the OSF clamp accessibility is not so easy as the NSF. The aircon gubbins rather obstruct the clamp bolt heads.

Any problems, let us know.

As you will probably have seen in the suspension section of this BB, we have most aspects covered. A quick look at each section of the BB before you start a job will probably be time well spent.

Mike

[jonjeffryes]

Thanks for the information Mike, I didn't get to do the job today as I spent a happy afternoon at the local breakers where sadly there were six S-types in varying states of decay.

However the cache of goodies delivered served to remind me what good value these establishments can offer for often obscure parts. So what did I get for my efforts? well how about a wire mesh grill, 4 bumper blades, a full set of plastic engine covers (missing on my car), rear light cluster, engine sensors, fuses, relays, switches, various plastic clips, spare coolant tank to top hose...erm hose! plus an original CD player (missing the magazine which I will have to track down)......in fact every silly piece of small plastic that I had on my hit list to replace and all for the princely sum of £50

It turned out to be a highly industrious and enjoyable afternoon and taught me a great deal about the construction of the car....and of course that Grill now adorns the nose of the car, all that effort was worth it for that part alone.

Jon

[Martec]

Hi Jon,

Nice to hear someone else enjoying the scrapyard experience, its far more interesting than Ebay. I've made a point of talking to all the local yards owners and it doesn't hurt the cost of parts that you take away, besides you get to take all those odd bolts and fixings that cost a fortune from the agents.

I'm jealous, as I have only recently found an S type in a local yard and took the door locks and inner screen surounds.

Good hunting,
Brian

[J44EAG]

Well done, Jon.

Suggest another foraging session and grab wishbones, hub carriers, callipers etc. As you know i`m into suspension gear referb and it really does make sense to have a pile of parts to recondition and have in stock. When you find a part worn it so good to go to our pile of recon parts and just pull one out ready to go.

Check that header tank for long splits down its length. Any defects then disguard. This is one part that just has to be perfect.

Mike

[jonjeffryes]

Brian,

I think my timing was just pure luck. There will be another badly damaged S type joining those already out in the yard shortly - front end damage on this one. I'm planning to go back for further foraging on Saturday and you are right, far more fun that E-Bay!

Mike, as I say, Saturday should hopefully see me with a whole bunch of suspension components to refurbish. However, apart from the obviously damaged car, I do not know why these cars have been scrapped...so I will also have a good look at the structures to see if it is corrosion related...it will give me a few clues when attending to my sills I hope.
Jon

[J44EAG]

I`ll bet, dried out oil starved engines, time expired gearboxes, owners scared witless by the cost of original Jag supplied suspension parts and the corrosion issue which is now rearing its ugly head.

Buying a complete car with just one major issue locally makes great sense. If you have somewhere to break it, buying a cheap and cheerful wrecker to cannibalise makes running an elderly Jaguar a great proposition. I`ve specifically made a point in recent years to replace my old vehicles with a similar model each time I needed to change. I must have done that at least half a dozen times with the SD1 Rover V8. What a great car they were until they suddenly disintegrated around you.

When I owned my V6 S-type, I lived in dread of something failing. Then we started the S-type Forum and that made things much easier. A few years on now and as Phil said, I don`t think there is much we can`t tackle ourselves or know where to go to find an answer or advise as to whom can supply a part at an acceptable or better price. Parts supply from discount outlets predominantly via the internet has also helped drive down costs and allowed us as individuals to tackle work which was once almost the sole territory of the Main Dealers. Nine years ago it was definitely a different ball game.

It seems Jon, you have joined just at the right time!

Mike

[jonjeffryes]

Again,
Good timing by pure chance. I also have a soft spot for SD1 Rover V8's I had a white srs1 Vanden Plas in the mid eighties when it was a couple of years old......and rusty around the rear arches and the front of the bonnet...BL didn't want to know...no 7 year corrosion warranty in those days! So I sold it and bought the first of many Porsches...at least they were built properly.

I am in trouble though....this dang car was a Fleabay special 'just' to take the commuting mileage off of the XF. A one off cheap cost of purchase plus a little bit more for tax and insurance and that was it....or not as it has turned out.

'Raith' as the wife has named it (as soon as you give a car a name you know you are in trouble) has got into my affections. So rather than just get it up to running standard, it's now about improvement to get it up to 'my' standard which means time money and effort.

Best laid plans and all that...but I am enjoying my stress free cruise to work and back and the old girl is currently soaking up the 500 miles per week with panache

Jon