02 Jag X-type

[95naSTA]

The 11k mile MOOG front passenger LCA installed during the suspension overhaul gave up the ghost. I was hearing ball joint play and the main rear bushing was beginning to tear. MOOG was essentially as good as it gets for the US market at the time of install but I drilled down harder and found I could get a Euro market Febi Bilstein part through an international seller on Amazon. I got that installed today and hopefully it lasts longer. I was also able to use my buddy's alignment rack on the same visit.


Ball joint noise and bushing tears: https://youtube.com/shorts/B3C9pmx_U-Y

Sometime after the transfer case install, I noticed there as a rumble at 65+. I was thinking it could be the tires/balance and the car was due for a set but that didn't fix the issue. I did have a rough time balancing one of the wheels. With the car on the lift today I had one buddy get the car up to speed and another listen to the drive train with me. I could visibly see an out of round rear wheel that was shaking the rear LCA and the relatively new center shaft support bearing was singing a bit. For now I'm going to replace the wheel since I convinced myself that's where the rumble is coming from and revisit the CSB later. For the record, the out of round wheel could be related the the premature failure on the front LCA since it could have been on that corner pre-tire install. Philly pot holes have claimed a few of my wheels and even an engine.

I was worried enough about the TC that I did a fluid change anyway. The fluid and the magnetic fill plug both looked fine. Here's the fun way you have to fill the TC since the drain is also the fill.

[95naSTA]

I knocked out some rust repair on here I've been putting off for a while. I noticed a rust spot develop behind the driver side front fender, low, down at the rocker when I opened the door. It got noticeably worst over the last year and I wanted to cut the cancer out before it really spread. I picked up a weld-in rocker panel from Mill Supply to make life easier. It fit pretty well and I only had to add a small amount of material to the height in the front.

I always say there's a rule of thirds with rust where you can see a third but there is two-thirds hiding. This was definitely true here but there was a bit more hiding. There are about 4-5 layers at this corner. The outer two were rotted through, the third layer was rotted through and missing, but the remaining inner layers were actually clean. It became obvious that the inner layer section was well drained and the outer layer drainage was blocked by the third layer that rotted way.

I cut away the first two outer layers until all of the rot was removed and cut as much of the third layer as I had access to. I was happy to see the remaining inner rockers in good shape with ample drainage and everything I was going to have to weld to cleaned up nice. Next, I cut up a section of the Mill Supply rocker to fit the area that was removed, added a small section to the front and drilled for perimeter plug welds. Then, I POR15'd any exposed metal both on the car and the back of the patch panel that was going to be a half inch away from welding. The areas that were going to be hidden that would see heat got coated with copper weld through primer. After some welding and admittedly a lot of grinding, I POR15'd the outside of the new section, surrounding area and behind the plug welds I had access to.

My plan was to rattle can and color match to the body but I ran out of time. If I didn't have to wait for the POR15 to cure, I would have been able to squeeze that in. Everything below I knocked out in 2 days 1030a-430p at a buddy's shop. I could have went a bit further on the details of blending this in but overall, I'm happy for the 12 hours spent.

[95naSTA]

Now in color.




Not perfect but there's no way to tell what happened when you go to open the door.

[95naSTA]

I blasted the whole driver side rocker with 3M cavity wax, hit the passenger side too and re-installed the rocker (sill) cover. It was overdue for a wash so I knocked that out as well. 23 years young.

[Sirius]

Nice work!

[95naSTA]

Thanks!