Hi. I have a 1967 Jaguar 420. Lately, I've noticed a noise from the right front wheel area. When the car comes to a complete stop, the suspension is loaded toward the front of the car. When I accelerate from the stop, and the load switches rearward, a "clunk" is heard coming from the right front corner of the car. The loudness of the noise directly corresponds to the severity of the stop and the degree of accelleration following the stop. Since rebuilding the complete front suspension is a pretty big job, I was wondering if any members with a comparable car have encountered anything similar and been able to resolve it. Thank you!

 

Many items come to mind from my old S Type days.

Most common would be any of the subframe mounts in the attached drawing, particularly #12. Which fits with the loaded/unloaded scenario you mention.

Ball joints maybe.

Wishbone bushes, also maybe.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and your advice! When I was checking the offending area, I discovered that the nut for the lower ball joint was loose, along with a few other miscellaneous nuts and bolts. The sway bar bushings are well past it, too. I am also going to check out the front suspension mounting points, as you suggest, and try a little road test.

 

Ha, a road test from Philly to Vegas is about the right distance.

I reckon the balljoint bolts will be the main noise, and a good find so early in the search.

Enjoy.

 

Hi Grant,

I took the car for a little test ride today after tightening up the nut on the ball joint (pretty loose). I was going to grease it too, but there was no grease nipple, so it is likely a newer replacement part. My journey did not get as far as Las Vegas, but it was 100 miles long. The noise seems to be gone, but she has fooled me before, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for a while. Tomorrow I'm set for a 125 mile excursion and I'm hoping for the best. The sway bar bushings looked past it too, so I ordered a set and I'll put them in in a week or so. Can't hurt. Thanks a lot for your help & encouragement.

John

 

+1 to Grant on the sub frame bushes.

The Parts Catalogue front suspension diagram might help in your troubleshooting.



That takes me back a lot of years!

Graham

 

If you have no grease nipples on the lower ball joint, this suggests the car has the later Lemforder balljoints as fitted originally to the XJ40 when it came out in the UK in 1986. These are backwardly compatible so can be fitted in about 45 minutes to your car.

Sometimes these can be installed incorrectly due to the bearing ring for the old-type joints not being knocked out of the hub carrier (the upright), before bolting up the new Lemforder joint.

 

I do have the appropriate manuals for the 420, Graham. Matter-of-fact, the first purchases that were made after bringing her home were the parts & workshop manuals. Seemed like a good idea to have them for a 40+ year old Jaguar!

Interesting point about the ball joint bearing ring, Fraser. I assume that you are referring to part#42 on the diagram enclosed by Graham. Would the new ball joints that you refer to have their own bearing ring?

By the way, for those of you that have been following my exciting story so far: Yesterday's road trip to a British Car Show and Polo Match in Lancaster County, PA, USA (Pennsylvania Dutch Country) went off without a hitch. Everything from country lanes to the turnpike (high speed motorway) were traversed with no offending suspension noises detected. The only time any noises were heard was when we were bounding along the grassy field where the event was held, and I'm not sure that any car short of a Land Rover wouldn't have complained a bit.

Anyway, the car's up on my ramps now, and we'll do a general tightening up of things down there.

Thank you, Grant, Fraser & Graham for taking the time to think about my noises!

 

Hi Everybody. Just wanted to sign in with an update to the suspension noise problem, should anyone else have the same issue. Turns out that the culprit were the front suspension mounts which I have now replaced. I finally noticed that there was something wrong with them when, instead of jacking up the car by the frame, near the jacking points, I had it up on a ramp, being supported by the wheels. It was then that I noticed the position of the mounts relative to the front suspension was different than it was when the car was on jackstands. Turns out to be a relatively easy fix, and since I snugged up everything else down there previously, it's quiet as a mouse now. Kudos to Grant for his quick diagnosis and to Fraser and Graham for their interest and helpful suggestions!