I've been having an issue with a "loose" wandering feeling on the highway accompanied by what looks like toe out tire wear. There is a slight amount of movement when moving the tire/wheel in a 6:00 to 9:00 motion but there is no obvious source of play. The car's alignment has been checked many times and suspension inspected by different shops. There is no clunking or excessive tire noise at speed, or squeaking, or settling when stopping. There is heavy tire noise at 19mph, +/- 3mph. About a year ago, lower ball joints (moog), upper control arms (motorcraft-ford dealer), and hub bearing assy's on both sides (motorcraft- rockauto) were replaced along with the steering rack (motorcraft reman- rockauto) which also came with new inner tie rods. The knuckle and LCA are original, and outter tie rod ends (motorcraft-rockauto) have about 46K miles (or 2.5 years) on them with no signs of wear/play.
I bought replacement outer tie rods (moog) anyway to eliminate that factor. I also decided to (try to) buy Moog RK80734/5 control arms (rockauto) since I don't want my daily driver apart in my driveway if bushings don't fit. However, I am less than impressed with the control arm I got (I have yet to get shipping info for the passenger side arm 1 week after placing my order and it was available at the time of order). My major issue with the arm is that the machining for the ball joint was off center, and the large chamfer extends into the radius on the edge of the part. Its hard to tell if the casting is bad, or simply the machining. Either method is not very confidence inspiring. After a few go-rounds with rockauto, they contacted Moog who agreed the part is bad (even though some schmuck put a green paint dot on it to presumable pass inspection). If they can get me a replacement, and the passenger side arm in a timely manner, I may still use these. Obviously I'll be scrutinizing them closely. They may just end up as back up parts if the poly bushings option fails for some unforeseen reason. Here are some shots of the control arm...
To see more:
http://s1216.photobucket.com/user/dyrtybyrd281/slideshow/Random Parts
So about bushing replacement... I searched for quite a while and stumbled upon a forum where they were using polyurethane control arm bushings. They were very highly regarded so I hopped onto their site; powerflexusa.com. While they don't list anything for our cars, they do have the 98-02 jaguar s-type listed. I first verified by using rock auto that the control arm part number matches for both cars. I then contacted them with this info and she was very helpful, providing me with dimensions of their product. I verified the numbers match the moog part I had sitting in my kitchen. The only dimension I couldn't verify was the 45mm smaller bushing OD because that bushing is 2 piece, with shoulders on each and inserted from each side, and then the metal part pressed into both of them. I don't want to press the bushing out of the part I need to return so if someone has done this before, it would be extremely helpful to chime in and verify the smaller bushing opening is 45mm.
They have 2 durometers to choose from but the street product should be just fine. They are pricey, with the 2 rearward bushings at $96 and the frontward bushings at $80, but this seems like an improvement and still cheaper option to go if your control arms are otherwise in perfectly good shape. Perhaps if there is enough interest we could start group buy discussions with them. Please correct me if I'm wrong but sadly, I do not think the 03-06 LS control arms match up with any 03+ S-Type control arm and therefore, there is no bushing option. There could be a lead time associated as my discussions have not gone beyond fitment questions. I also think rear arms are different but perhaps they would make new products if there was enough interest. I don't think there's much investment risk on their part so who knows.
In summary:
Proceed with caution on an RK# Moog LCA or other Moog parts for that matter- On top of this, I had to return something as simple as rear sway bar links because the nuts they supplied didn't thread on the shaft.
Need help confirming 45mm OD on smaller bushing.
Gauging interest in first gen powerflex bushings group buy to see if its worth discussing.
I bought replacement outer tie rods (moog) anyway to eliminate that factor. I also decided to (try to) buy Moog RK80734/5 control arms (rockauto) since I don't want my daily driver apart in my driveway if bushings don't fit. However, I am less than impressed with the control arm I got (I have yet to get shipping info for the passenger side arm 1 week after placing my order and it was available at the time of order). My major issue with the arm is that the machining for the ball joint was off center, and the large chamfer extends into the radius on the edge of the part. Its hard to tell if the casting is bad, or simply the machining. Either method is not very confidence inspiring. After a few go-rounds with rockauto, they contacted Moog who agreed the part is bad (even though some schmuck put a green paint dot on it to presumable pass inspection). If they can get me a replacement, and the passenger side arm in a timely manner, I may still use these. Obviously I'll be scrutinizing them closely. They may just end up as back up parts if the poly bushings option fails for some unforeseen reason. Here are some shots of the control arm...
To see more:
http://s1216.photobucket.com/user/dyrtybyrd281/slideshow/Random Parts
So about bushing replacement... I searched for quite a while and stumbled upon a forum where they were using polyurethane control arm bushings. They were very highly regarded so I hopped onto their site; powerflexusa.com. While they don't list anything for our cars, they do have the 98-02 jaguar s-type listed. I first verified by using rock auto that the control arm part number matches for both cars. I then contacted them with this info and she was very helpful, providing me with dimensions of their product. I verified the numbers match the moog part I had sitting in my kitchen. The only dimension I couldn't verify was the 45mm smaller bushing OD because that bushing is 2 piece, with shoulders on each and inserted from each side, and then the metal part pressed into both of them. I don't want to press the bushing out of the part I need to return so if someone has done this before, it would be extremely helpful to chime in and verify the smaller bushing opening is 45mm.
They have 2 durometers to choose from but the street product should be just fine. They are pricey, with the 2 rearward bushings at $96 and the frontward bushings at $80, but this seems like an improvement and still cheaper option to go if your control arms are otherwise in perfectly good shape. Perhaps if there is enough interest we could start group buy discussions with them. Please correct me if I'm wrong but sadly, I do not think the 03-06 LS control arms match up with any 03+ S-Type control arm and therefore, there is no bushing option. There could be a lead time associated as my discussions have not gone beyond fitment questions. I also think rear arms are different but perhaps they would make new products if there was enough interest. I don't think there's much investment risk on their part so who knows.
In summary:
Proceed with caution on an RK# Moog LCA or other Moog parts for that matter- On top of this, I had to return something as simple as rear sway bar links because the nuts they supplied didn't thread on the shaft.
Need help confirming 45mm OD on smaller bushing.
Gauging interest in first gen powerflex bushings group buy to see if its worth discussing.
