I replaced sway bar bushings (while the car was on the ground)
Shocks, coils, shock mounts and bearings, lower control arms, sway bar links, motor mounts, transmission mount.

I might just have to give up, maybe next spring the local jaguar dealership could figure it out.

I might mount cameras in places I suspect and go for a quick ride then review footage to see if the camera can catch the sound, I don’t know.

sure do wish someone could just take this car away for a week and figure out the issue.

 

Have you tried using ChassisEars? I have a set, and they helped me identify worn hub/bearings. The wired kind are ~$100 on Amazon. Alternatively if you want to borrow mine, PM me and I’ll mail them to you.

 

(Edit: just looked that tool up, super cool, I can see where that would make finding a problem like mine a whole lot easier)

I didn’t know something like that existed but it would seem to me that I do need an extra ear/eye to help me find the problem. I would take you up on the offer to lend yours out honestly. I’m almost desperate to find the source but can’t stand the thought of spending more money for solutions that don’t work or spending money on this tool if I can’t actually locate the issue. I’ll PM if it’s ok with you. I can include shipping money with the return shipment. If this doesn’t work to point out the source I’m going to give up till next summer.

 

Yes PM me, it would be no problem. Don’t worry about my shipping costs; they are pretty cheap to ship.

 

I haven’t had a whole lot of time to do anything personal lately but I finally got an hour yesterday to play around with the car.

so far, I used the chassis ears on a few of the suspension components but I don’t hear any of what I was hoping to hear yet. Oddly enough I put a clamp on the windshield wiper on the drivers side and I can hear a clunk from it going over bumps. So far I removed the windshield wiper shroud and I drove on it for today with really good results. Clunking is reduced severely over small bumps without the shroud on the vehicle but on larger bumps I’m still getting the same thing as always.

hopefully I’ll have a three or four hour window some time this week to fully go through the car with the chassis ears.




ill let you know.

 

Don’ Laugh but have you checked the sunroof. I had very annoying sound that I couldn’t tell where it was coming from and it turned out to be just that. There are issues with the steel frame in Contact with the aluminum body. It rusts out in the corners. I was fortunate that Jaguar replaced the sunroof under warranty and that totally fixed the problem. I think there are several threads on the forum that discuss the sunroof problem.

 

Hi,

This may be a bit obvious but a clue may be that you changed the battery, I had similar issues on a Range Rover and it turns out these vehicles are very very sensitive to battery specifications. I replaced my battery because it was due for retirement and I replaced with one with the same cranking amps etc etc. still got loads of spurious errors had the battery checked and although brand new it was not up to spec. replaced it with another new battery and hey presto all great.

 

Glad the ChassisEars are helping. They are great for random noises that occur while driving. That and a mechanics stethoscope have been indispensable in solving noise problems for me. Keep us updated.

 

Well, my troubles might be over. Today I swapped out the upper control arms and took the longest test drive I’ve ever taken. I have no more clunks. Why it took me so long and so many parts to determine the cause was because my mechanic told me three times that the uppers were not the issue.

The chassis ears I borrowed from Nedoerr helped me to determine that the clunk was not coming from my steering rack and pinion like the mechanic was thinking. I’ll get those packaged up and sent back to you in the next day or two.

now that the ride is quiet and free of clunking I hear the sunroof pop more. Next step is to read up here and find the posts on sunroof pops.

Im pretty happy with the car right now though. Thank you everyone who’s helped and made suggestions on this long thread.

 

There is, I believe, a TSB for the sun roof popping that finally cures it, (or most of it !). It involves a kit of small parts that are inserted in several places to stop metal-metal contact.

 

My car is out of warranty so I doubt I’ll be able to get that TSB, at least covered by jaguar that is.

i would do that fix if it was cheap but otherwise I’m just going to ignore it.

 

Great news on the fix. Congrats on figuring it out.

 

I’m going to call this particular thread over and solved.
the car is driving like new, I can hit bumps, potholes, manhole covers, railroad tracks and anything else in the road without any clunks or rattle.

the ride quality is now a solid 10 and all that’s heard when driving is engine/exhaust and I’m absolutely thrilled.

My ride quality and clunking was failed upper control arms but along the way I swapped out a lot of other suspension parts, motor mounts, transmission mount etc to try and solve the issue.

my car going into restricted performance mode was a result of either not having clean air filters or in my opinion I believe one of the connectors for the airflow sensors was not plugged in correctly or contacts were failing to make constant connection. Either way this is no longer an issue.

my tire pressure sensors were an easy solve and cured with replacement sensors from rock auto.

check engine light has been solved with a swap out of the EVAP pump or leak detection pump.

a starter replacement solved a no start issue I encountered one morning as a surprise during the process of doing all these repairs.

To celebrate yesterday I went on a nice drive to the liquor store and bought myself my favorite beer. While I was there I parked next to another xjl and we both had the first two parking spots (surly a sign that it’s a good day for the xjl)

i still have mild mild popping noise in the roof but only when pulling out of a steep driveway so I rarely have to hear it. And if this is my only issue I’ll gladly take it.

on to other subjects, other improvements, longer drives and more enjoyment.

 

Great to hear. Enjoy it now you can!

 

Just don't go seeking these out - I just had to have one front wheel rim straightened to solve a vibration problem that came from a flat spot on the inner rim edge - I guess I must have hit a pothole sometime recently. All is well now.

 

How much did it cost to have the rim straightened, if you don’t mind my asking?

 

It was $75 complete with rebalancing.