Hello! I've had my Jag for around 8 months now, and unfortunately some events have put it through the ringer when I bought it quite pristine. So I recently got forced to run over a deer down a blind hill. I took it to the shop and had it checked out after noticing after I replaced the bent rims on one side that my axle had dropped and that it was cutting my new tire (yikes). Anyways I was advised that I needed new struts, and axles. So I got the work done and received it yesterday, I noticed after driving over hills/spotty roads there was a loud metal on metal thunking on the bump and then rattling after . I also noticed my bumper cover wasn't fully rebolted so I took the liberty and did that. Does anyone have any suggestions o-n what it might be?

 

a metal rattle sound is most likely something is not tightened all the way. I would start with the upper strut nuts to make sure those are tight. After that, I would be looking at the joints on the spindle to see all those are tight.

I know this is going to sound funny, but have you noticed that your headlights don't seem quite as bright now or point in a funny direction. After a bump like you took, it is possible that you broke the internals to the headlight(s) and now they are flopping around inside the housing. This is a common issue with the plastic drying out and getting brittle in the older cars.

After this, I would say to get yourself a good rubber mallet and get the front of the car up in the air. There are so many things that could be causing what you are hearing that the only way you will probably find it is to start hitting the structures of the car and see where the noise happens and maybe with the help of a second person, you will be able to track down the noise. It could even be something as simple as one of the lines that are held down inside the engine bay got knocked loose (through the accident or by the mechanic doing the work) and now it rests against the mount during normal driving but a good bump and flex it out of the mount and when it lands, it wobbles for a period of time (think plucking a guitar string).

 

The clunking sound is more than likely a loose strut as Thermo mentioned..Since the bumper was partially attached makes me think something else wasn't also tightened down with the struts.

 

Lucky you even have a car to drive. Hitting a deer should have caused some severe body damage. Only eight lives left bro'...lol

 

Lights seem to be working, new surprise. Definitely feeling they didnt bolt it properly at all. I started it up tonight went 1.8 miles flawlessly came to a stop after a slight bump. Wheels arent moving at all, so im thinking it either the axle wasnt locked into the trans properly, or they tried doing something stupid and there was a part failure. Otherwise it seems like transmission but I'm barely running 100k and had everything checked out 5k ago when i swapped my fuel line and injectors. Going to jack it up in the morning to see if its just a broken boot (axle spinning but not on the tire) if im not seeing anything should I just call the place and say I believe something wasnt done properly on my car?

 

Edit: engines revving, just no power to wheels.

 

scyonide, if your tranny is "falling out of gear", the first thing I would check is to make sure that you have the proper level of fluid. Not knowing how the CV axle was repaired, it is possible that you lost some fluid from the tranny and it is at a level that if you part on a hill (even a slight one), it is enough to get pressure built up in the system and then once the tranny warms up and you get on level ground (or tilt the car the other way), the pump will not be able to maintain pressure which will cause the tranny to fall into neutral (ie, loss of power to the ground).

 

Thanks Thermo, theyre supposedly new axles,struts and boots on them will check in a second.
Edit: havent checked yet but its starting and going into drive. So assuming it is the fluid

 

What year and model is the cat?

Hitting a deer can really bind it up. was the shop that did the work a Jag shop? Also how many miles on her?

 

It's an 04, about 110k rounded up a thousand or so less. Had it all looked at from my local shop that specializes in them, didnt see anything out of the ordinary except showed me my axle dropped and the boot was ruined with the mount end for the strut sliced through. They did all the work, it was/ has been driving fine the past week except the metal on metal over bumps, up until last night when I couldnt get power to it. But everything was intact on the trans end prior to the repair even with the busted axle (didnt notice til I got it in) the spare donut was shifting and driving.

 

This is a long shot... But go check your front sidelights and check they are tight in the body, i had a similar sound. After replacing most of the front end i found my driver side sidelight was loose and rattling over bumps... Usually.. Lol