I put on 4 new pre-assembled Boge shocks/springs on the rear of my 65 roadster about a month ago. The ride height with fuel and passengers weight is still about an inch+ too high for my car even after settling for the past month.
I have measured using the differential measurement on the lower rear suspension arms per the manual.
What have others found with this part number in terms of ride height?
What did you do to fix the ride height if it was too high?
Has anyone tried removing the silver spacer to get the car lower? If so, how much of a difference did it make?
I’ve not purchased the combination units so I can’t speak as to the issue of them setting to high. On the other hand I’ve used Boge shocks on the cars that I’ve refurbished and the springs/OEM mounts did not have the spacer your referring to, any chance that these might be for a different car?
SNG is not the only one that sells this part number, and the other vendors list it for the same range of E-Types.
I was surprised that the same part number is sold for a roadster as well as the 2+2. With the extended wheel base and 300+ lbs of additional weight, I would have expected the 2+2 to require a different setup than the roadster.
This may be a problem for me because my car had Koni Classic shocks and I am not sure if the springs were the original for the car or a different spec.
To change the springs over you will need a good quality spring compressor. If you don’t have one it’s probably easiest to take the springs and shocks to a suspension place and get them to do it for you. 10 mins work for them. You should not need the spacers.
Hi Phillip…what manual are you useing that gives rear hide height measurements…there are none for a S1 or S2 in the Jaguar service manual as far as i can see… have you set the front ride height as per the manual and your model…then use a spirit level on the cills…to see if they are level… As a guide, from tbe lower lip of the plate on the bottom of the irs to the ground a few members on the UK forum measured and it was between 7 1/4 in and 7 1/2 in
Philip;
If you need to change the springs on he rear shocks you can make a spring compressor using a pair of rear brake rotors and some threaded rod. very safe and controllable.
Here is a link to some photos as I restored the IRS. http://www.jag-lovers.org/snaps/snap_view.php3?id=1291612894
I used this method and it worked just great. These springs are no big deal compared to a McPherson style and present no realistic danger to someone with brains and some experience. The springs on our 928 were a different story and I was scared the whole time doing the job. The 928 isn’t a McPherson really, but are nasty stiff. Even our Merkur springs were way harder to do than the Jag. Use the rotors like Hutch said and you’re golden.
It’s the measurement in the shop manual for the S1 that shows what the difference in height should be from both ends of the lower suspension. The difference should be about 1.5" by spec. Mine is way more.
I have a spring compressor that should do the trick if I can fit it in the tight coils. It’s designed for smaller springs. What I don’t have is a set of rotors and long threaded rod lying around, so hopefully mine works.
I’ve done a lot of springs over the years. The worst springs I ever compressed were off my Lincoln Town Car stretched limo. I had to use 2 sets of heavy duty spring compressors at the same time, an upgrade my impact wrench to one with 1000ft/lbs to be able to turn the screws. Those springs were nuts!
Hi Phillip…there has been a lot of discussion over the years on the UK forum on rear ride height on S1 & S2 cars ( S3 has it detailed in the service manual)…no one has ever come up with documented measurements…what is the shop manual you refer to…it would be great if you could photo the page.or do you know of a link to the info…also can you explain what you are measuring with regards to the 1.5 in difference…could be good to get this info on the UK forum…thanks… Steve
I don’t have the manual with me right now, but it’s the shop manual for the 3.8 and 4.2 Series 1.
That is all you need for the ride height because it’s not based on distance to the ground, but the orientation of the lower control arm. I personally believe keeping the u-joints level are a major factor because they are not the constant velocity type.
I vaguely recall reading on the forum before that Jaguar changed the way they specified the “mid-laden” position of the suspension from (old) specifying ground clearance, or difference in clearance between the ends of the lower control arm to (new) lengths of setting links applied to front and rear suspension. The Workshop Manual I just looked at is a JDHT reproduction (on CD) and it’s Fig22 shows the dimensions of a setting link to be used on the rear suspension to give mid-laden position for the purpose of setting camber. Maybe Philip has the earlier manual which uses the other method. The clip of text in Philip’s photo below Fig 22 appears to be the same as the corresponding text in my version.
Hook type compressors are too risky.
I also did not have a set of rotors, so came up with a safe and cheap solution.
Tractor Supply has a flange of correct size and with 3 threaded rods and nuts, 2 flanges need to have holes elongated with a file. Flange sku# 11-97842
