Replacing The Upper Control Arm - 2005 Jaguar XJ8
I replaced the right and left upper control arms today.
I removed the (4) nuts holding the top of the air strut, the wire connecter in the center, and then the air line. I unbolted the upper ball joint and removed the bolts with a 17mm ratchet wrench. I also removed the upper nut on the sway bar link and disconnected the sway bar. This allowed me to push down on the rotor and pull the top of the air strut down and out of its mount so I could pull it forward to get the control arm bolts out.
Here's the new Moog upper control arm installed. I got both arms from RockAuto for $205 shipped (used our discount code).
Looks like the tie rod end on the driver side needs replaced as well.
In the pic above you can see one of the upper control arm bolts (under all those air hoses). None of the (4) were that hard to get to.
On the drivers side I couldn't get the air fitting out. I eventually realized that it was getting caught on the body / frame and wouldn't fit through the opening.
Lowering the air strut down some I was able to get the air fitting out of the top of the strut. I actually pulled the plastic air line out of the fitting trying to remove it.
You can see where the air fitting sits down in the strut.
I used a metal file to clean up the opening that the air fitting was getting caught on.
Both sides are finally done. I need to pick up some tie rod ends this weekend.
I got this used clock spring off of ebay for $104 (couldn't find a new one):
The struts that hold up the trunk lid were suppose to be delivered today by FedEx. The tracking shows that it's 'delayed'.
Also need to fix the horn, and find out why the heated seats aren't working.