They came with the Bilstein shocks years ago but I never installed them. They’re just sitting in a plastic bag in my storage and one of them started to go bad I then separated it with ease. If I installed them hopefully it would’ve been the right upper, the easiest to replace.
Wow!
It’s a weird material anyway. There is a rubber bushing that makes a good and cheap replacement, it’s listed somewhere on the internet in a ‘unofficial spare list’ for tge series cars, IIRC., and they might last better. I paid about $25 for the bushings you have.
David
Hi Joe, That bad one looks like it’s made out of cake mix !
The bushes on my front shocks went much the same way, and also the smaller top radiator mount bushes and I put that down to exposure to the elements as much as wear until my mate bought a set of ‘NOS’ boxed front shockers at a Jaguar event only to find one of the bushes had virtually disintegrated when he opened up the box a few days later.
I don’t know if you have ever changed your head lining, but the backing material that fails and causes the cloth to sag is made from the same, or a very similar material but not as dense. When you remove the headlining board the crumbs get everywhere!
Hi David and Casso!
Thanks for your reply. Aren’t those isolators the harder black rubber ones? I’ve had those but with my firmer Bilstein shocks I had harsher ride. So it seems this original material doesn’t need to do anything to fall apart in a relatively short period of time.
I bought rubber URO bushes for the top of the radiator years ago. They’re still holding up even though they have fine cracks around the edges.
I’ve replaced the headliner twice since I own my car (bought it in 3/2007) so I’ve experienced the mess that comes with it.
As for the front and rear shock isolators, I cast my own polyurethane.
Joseph
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Hi Joe,
I don’t know which I’m more impressed with, the bushes you have made yourself, or the fact you have replaced your headlining twice ! After the effort I had getting the roof board out of the car and back in again without creasing it, and that was with almost all of the interior removed first, I’d hate to have to do it all over again.
Those bushes you have made look as good, or even better than shop bought. Is the polyurethane you used readily available to buy, does it have to be of a certain grade or blend ? I would love to have a go at making some myself the next time I’m changing mine. The mold’s look like plastic plumbing pipe, is that what you used ?
Hi Casso!
Don’t be so impressed that I replaced the headliner twice. I bent the board. See?! I know if you wanna do it the correct way, almost the whole interior hast to come out.
Yes, those are regular plumbing pipes that I used for the mold. The black tubes are carbon fiber. I bought a 20" rod (if I remember correctly) on ebay. It’s 10mm I.D. and 15mm O.D. and those are the spacers on all shocks between the upper and lower isolators.
The polyurethane stuff is a two component 1:1 mix ratio. You can buy them at Polytek or brickintheyard.com. For the lower isolators I bought Shore 30A, for the uppers I used Shore 45A.
Cheers!
Thanks for the info Joe.
I’ll definitely be having a go at making some myself next time
Happy motoring !
Joe … I like it a lot !
Nothing impresses me more than innovative people.
Finding new ways, clever work arounds, and “how come I never thought of that” inspirations are for me what owning an older car is all about.
I totally agree that the hard foam bushings that Jaguar used on the front and rear shocks are totally rubbish. In their search for the “perfect” ride they neglected to consider how fast those things wear out. I’ve replaced mine with poly bushings years ago but am ashamed to say they were “store bought”. Your’s are way cooler !
Casso, let us know when you make your own isolators (preferably with pics 
).
Thanks Dennis! If your poly isolators working well and give you a comfy ride then I think they were a good buy. The polyurethane stuff (part A and part B) cost me around $60 or $65 but was enough to make more isolators, But they have a limited shelf life especially the hardener so better use all after opening.