Part nr 38 is the small collar washer that keeps the front shocks in place inside the spring turrets of the front axle. I think one of my cars may be missing them, as I have tiny rattles/vibrations when driving on other tgan perfectly smooth surfaces.
Interesting Peder
my 420G has always had a PS front rattle
shocks have been replaced, but I am not remembering the spacer setup at all
from the pic, it appears part 38 goes around the shock stem like an o-ring and is sandwhiched between steel washer 36 & 37 ?
part 35 the rubber bush is also in between
The main purpose of it is to keep the shock stem from moving too much, sideways, within the hole in the spring tower/strut.
At least that is how I remember it from the last time we changed springs.
As the shocks come out with springs in place, it is quite easy to check. If the collar spacer is missing, Í’d like to have a pair ready to use, but I need to know the size.
Peder,
I have the front suspension out of the Mk10 (along with engine and everything else), and I will be tearing this down very soon to replace the A-frame bushings, so will have that part in my hand. Will be happy to share the dimensions unless the same mechanic who previously worked on everything else in the car has made a mess of it.
I had a rattle in my front end also, but I’m attributing it to worn A-frame bushings - are you sure that isn’t the source of your noise? Interestingly, David manners sells the same part for shock bushings as for the sway bar ends, and I know they have the spacer built into the bushing, so that might solve your problem. I will verify that their bushing is correct for the shock when I remove one.
The other rattle I had that sounded like a loose shock came from a broken fuel pump mount - it’s surprising, but it was hard to tell that that rattle was from the back of the car.
Thanks Ron,
All bushings are new, so not that. I have seen the little tubular spacer, part 38, an remember it being about 5 mm long. It might serve 2 purposes. Firstly avoiding lateral movement of the shock stems inside the spring turret part of the front axle, and secondly, keeping the large cup shaped washers, part 36, apart.
My 75 yr old mechanic, while changing springs on another G, said ”be very careful about these small parts. They are vital, and easily lost when removing the shocks. Sometimes they just fall out, sometimes they stick inside the surrounding turrets”.
I think that my green 4,2 Mk 10, might be missing them.
Is it made of metal ?
Are you sure it is not still stuck in its hole on the front suspension?
Ok, Peder, here it is. I don’t think that the shocks have ever been off my car, original Girlings with tab plates on the bottom that look like they came from the factory. The spacer you are questioning was stuck to the upper shock threaded shaft, and I did not remove it, but it is steel, 1.25" in length approximately 0.43" in outer diameter (say 7/16" if you like) and fits over a 3/8" bolt. You should be able to reproduce that without problem. I would not be surprised if your previous mechanic found the part stuck to the old shock and didn’t bother to remove it.
The bushings are as the parts book shows, with two cupped washers above and below the upper a-frame hole. The new bushings I mentioned do NOT include a steel center, but will work with the original - hard to say if the flattened used ones were originally taller like the profile of the new pieces I included at the bottom of the photo. Note that I left one of the cupped washers out of the photo - there should be 4.
Peder,
I remember that insert. I wondered why Jaguar did that in stead of just making the hole the right size to begin with. Maybe they were thinking of upgraded shock options. Who knows.
Anyway, I recall them being pressed in pretty decently. I would doubt that they would go anywhere. If anything it should still be on the shock rod.
Mine appears to have made it through the powder coating process without coming out.
Micah
