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rear shocks for a xj40/

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Sprocket

Sprocket

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I have a 1990 Vanden Plas Majestic that came from the factory with the self leveling shocks. When my father purchased the car (2nd owner) he had some issues and had the set swapped out for the standard bits by the Jaguar dealership. That was prbably about 6 or 7 years ago. The car is driven only a few thousand miles a year and here we are roughly 15-20K later and the rear shocks are shot. I push on the the back of the car and it bounces about 3 times and I can hear the shocks bottoming out (clunk clunk on every little bump in the road).

Looking online I see a variety of shocks in many price ranges.
Wondering what the best price vs ride quality shock to consider is. High performance shocks are not needed for the car.

The car is driven by my mother mostly on surface streets with little highway miles. Namely a grocery getter.

Thanks in advance.
 
generic shocks are just as bad as those that you pay an arm and a leg for. So spend the least and you won't be dissapointed. Monroe, Gabriel, they'll do the job just like expensive shocks, and who knows, they might last you longer!

Ride quality: the Jaguar is a soft riding car, so go for a medium-soft shock. I'm probably younger than your mother and I still prefer a soft ride, no back-breaking Konis for me. Remember Consumer Reports' 1990's study about flashlight batteries? They concluded: "buy the cheapest, the cheapest batteries outlasted the expensive ones". The same logic can be applied to shock absorbers.

I've used Boge, Koni, Bilstein, Gabriel, Monroe, Girling, and others. The only shock I haven't tried is SPAX and I understand they are v e r y good shocks, but expensive.

My favorite were the XJ-6 factory Girlings, but Girling no longer exists. Then I installed Boge and never again. Second to Girling is Gabriel, they make decent shocks for the money. The rest are a total waste of money. I'm sure there's other opinions and other shocks, but the bottom line in my experience, buy the cheapest. 2,500 miles and they're gone, no matter what you paid for them.
 
Before you change the shocks check the subframe mounting bush just in front of the wheel they have a tendency to break,while bouncing the car makes a clunking noise
 
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