My X Type with about 155k is on all stock suspension and makes all kinds of slight clunks and such. They are obvious suspension clunks, pops, etc, coming from the left, right, front and rear. Not constant, it just truly depends on the road and how I'm driving, turning, ect. Also, the handling is a bit sloppy.

So, yeah, probably damn near every bushing is shot. What do you guys think I should focus on for maximum impact? I'm not ready to replace EVERYTHING yet.

What are the top, big common offenders that seem to wear out the most quickly?

Thanks!!!

 

Firstly i would replace sway bar links - their pretty cheap'n'easy to replace. Worn links usually make a loud clunking noise on suspension. They also make the car feel a bit sloppy.
Then i would check/replace rear lower control arm.
Finally i would check front ball joints - they usually make a car feel sloppy and hard to keep it in straight line on highway. Also worn ball joints are very dangerous.

 

In addition to what's already been highlighted, worn top mounts on front struts are a very common source of rattles/clunks in these cars.

Eric

 

Thank you guys! I'll start with those and see where we're at.

 

My recently-acquired 2004 with 105k miles had some clunks from rear. After a look underneath I decided to replace the rear lower control arms and sway bar links. Not interested in paying for OE parts so went with aftermarket from RockAuto (a great supplier by the way). Got both sets for $97 including shipping. The sway bar links are Moog, made in Germany. Lower control arms are Dorman, made in China. Put the back end of car up on stands for the work and did the sway bar first, which was fairly easy. You'll need a 5mm Allen key or socket plus an E8 torx socket for the bushing caps. Different story for the control arms; the 15mm bolts holding the lower control arms are really tight. Not enough room for an impact gun so I had to work them out by combination of breaker bar, wrench and ratchet. The technique of hooking two wrenches together gave me the leverage to get that one bolt that really fought. For reassembly I jacked the hub up to ride height before tightening the control arm bolts. On examining the removed parts, the lower control arms were causing the clunking noise, specifically the end with the large metal barrel. Sway bar links were still fairly tight, but all of the rubber boots were shot.