When I drive slowly up my unpaved rockey driveway I hear and feel a front suspension "bobbling" sound/clunks. I know it's not normal. Did the struts fail, sway bar bushings, etc. ?

 

Hi bfsgross.

Had the same problem resolved a week back by my local jag privateer mechanic.

Mine was a combination of lower shocker rubbers wearing and the sway bar rubber mounts wearing as well.

Got the car back last week and the sound is gone and the front end feels tight and responsive.

BTW - the old shocker rubbers and the sway bar mounts were totally stuffed.

Hope this helps.

DT

 

Thanks ausman, the mechanic found that the passenger forward control arm balljoint is worn. I believe the jaguar resolution is replacement of entire control arm...$600! I am hoping that the ball joint can be pressed out and an aftermarket one can replace it? If not, then searching for a salvaged unit.

 

check with ken@britishparts.com

 

You need to post what year car you have. The early cars (2000-2002) have a conventional front ball joint suspension and use a 14mm stud diameter on the ball joint. This is another shared Lincoln LS part. These are available separately on EBay from several suppliers. You will need to remove the lower control arm and have the old joint pressed out and the new one pressed in. Any machine shop can do it. Just watch them because it is an Aluminum lower arm.

If you have a 2003 and up S Type then you will need to change the entire arm. No aftermarket supplier yet. This is when Jaguar upgraded to a double ball joint lower control arm and is completely different from the Lincoln LS which got a larger 16mm stud on the 2003 and up cars.
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I've a vague recollection of posts about a replacement bush/joint for even the later cars - on www.jaguarforum.co.uk

 

The sway bar bushings are the cheapest, and easily done by yourself with a few hours to kill and a helper (to assist with the long extension thru the top of the engine bay) The bushings from the dealer for our car was only $13 a piece, the s-type can't be far off.

And, that's what it sounds like from your description.

 

As I understand the OP, it's not the sway bar

 

Hey jagv8, I re-read the OP, he doesn't know what it is. It sounds very familiar to what my symptoms were, low speed, small bumps...clunking. That's my bet. Ball joint, if confirmed by a pry bar, maybe the cause. But for the money, the sway bar bushings are where I would start.

On my mom's LS, the sway bar seemed tight upon inspection, but rattled like crazy when driving. Swapped the bushings out, and it fixed it.

 

That was in post #1, but in #3 he says what it is. hmm, but it's probably the sway bar even so LOL

 

Thanks to all you guys for your help/suggestions. BRUTAL brought up the possibility that the culprit is the shock or sway bar bushings. He adds that worn parts (aside from ball joints) are detected by moving them by hand power alone. The mechanic used a huge channel lock pliers to compress the ball joints as a means to see if excessive play. But using the channel locks on other joints/bushings applies too much pressure on them, giving the impression they are worn. It may be that the joint in question is a sway bar or shock bushing which I will check next week when I return from Cape Cod...Got to get away from work (doctors office)...brutal.

 

Yeah I have may to bring my car in for this issue..

 

Be careful of who's to diagnose the suspension. Some of it can be retrofitted with over the counter bushing and/or ball joints, some parts are big $$$ Jag specific parts. I've read here that easily replaced worn or broken shock bushings are often the culprit.

 

Any conclusion to the cause of your original issue?

 

H20, no, I'm out of state (Cape Cod) for a week. H&R Sport Springs are going in next Tuesday. While she's up I'll check shock and sway bar bushings as you suggested. Thanks again for your b-day wishes. Aren't B-Days great? Awesome excuse to be a friggin nut for a day!

 

H2O, is that your XK8 on your hailing/message page? She's a beaut. Wouldn't mind an "R" version but wouldn't kick her out of my garage....

 

It is, thanks for the compliment. I'm a clean/neat freak when it comes to the car. We'll check on you when you get back from your trip.

 

I have the same issue

 

I also have similar issues on low and mid speed bumps. It's really apparent when going over speed bumps at 1 or 2 mph. My noises started when I swapped out to H&R springs. Maybe I didn't seat the spring 100% properly in the rubber damper on the shock mount. Who knows... I'm going to try disconnecting my sway bar this weekend and see if it still makes noise when going over bumps.

OP, good luck with the issue and keep us posted. I know it drives me crazy, so I'm sure you're pulling your hair out too!

 

Hey bfsgross, I found this on the "other" site. Hope it helps.