an way to fix noisy chassis on damaged roads : sway bar bushings replacement
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My car ( '01 s type) was doing an ugly and boring noise ("clunnk, "clouk", "clok", etc) when i was driving on "damaged" roads with holes or on metal plates, etc..
i looked at the chassis and everything seemed to be OK... but i remembered that kind of noise often come from an used bushing, especially on front sway bar.
despite my bushings seemed to be in a very good shape i decided to change them and i ve been inspired because since i ve changed them i ve fixed the issue and my car is now sooo silent !!
i took a look at the spare parts and compared them to the original. I found out jaguar has modified the design of the bushings, especially the "opening" (the location on the bushing where you can insert the sway bar) which was less thick than the new one. More over the opening was in top of the bushing, a bad place, compared to the new one which is located at one side of the bushing.
i repeat myself
but my bushings were not used, not cracked, not in a bad shape, so if you have the same problem, try to change them before starting a more complicated job on chassis.
For information i spent 1,5 hour to change the 2 bushings. You have to jack up the front of the car so the sway bar will be free to move.
Once you ve done it, you ll have to remove a large plastic piece which protect the bottom of the radiator (roughly 10 screws) and 2 others screws at the right of the engine bay (when you're under the car and looking at the sway bar), which hold a heat regulator (2 or 3 hoses are connected to it but don't worry you wont have to disconnect them ;-) ). The goal of this job is to help you accessing one bolt located just under this regulator.
Now you can access to the 4 bolts which hold the 2 bushings in place ! change them and appreciate your car without noise
i looked at the chassis and everything seemed to be OK... but i remembered that kind of noise often come from an used bushing, especially on front sway bar.
despite my bushings seemed to be in a very good shape i decided to change them and i ve been inspired because since i ve changed them i ve fixed the issue and my car is now sooo silent !!
i took a look at the spare parts and compared them to the original. I found out jaguar has modified the design of the bushings, especially the "opening" (the location on the bushing where you can insert the sway bar) which was less thick than the new one. More over the opening was in top of the bushing, a bad place, compared to the new one which is located at one side of the bushing.
i repeat myself
but my bushings were not used, not cracked, not in a bad shape, so if you have the same problem, try to change them before starting a more complicated job on chassis.For information i spent 1,5 hour to change the 2 bushings. You have to jack up the front of the car so the sway bar will be free to move.
Once you ve done it, you ll have to remove a large plastic piece which protect the bottom of the radiator (roughly 10 screws) and 2 others screws at the right of the engine bay (when you're under the car and looking at the sway bar), which hold a heat regulator (2 or 3 hoses are connected to it but don't worry you wont have to disconnect them ;-) ). The goal of this job is to help you accessing one bolt located just under this regulator.
Now you can access to the 4 bolts which hold the 2 bushings in place ! change them and appreciate your car without noise
Senior Member
Same noises on my car, however I was thinking more of sway bar end links as being the culprit. The same noise was coming from my wife's '05 Ford Escape (Maverick), and it wound up being the sway bar links
Veteran Member
Yes the sway bar end links tend to go bad more often. The good thing is the end links are real easy to change and pretty cheap to buy.
So I would change the end links first and then the bar bushings if you are fixing a front end clunk.
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So I would change the end links first and then the bar bushings if you are fixing a front end clunk.
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