Hello all

Have a knocking coming from the back over bumps and having done a fair bit of searching on here it seems it could be the shocks, the shock bushes or the subframe bushes. How easy/mind bendingly difficult are these to change for the home DIYer and is there any that it is more likely to be?

My experiance of French Hatches suggested initially that the problem would be the droplinks but that doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere?

Cheers

 

I don't think I've ever encountered an X300 that doesn't have this rear end knocking. I'm almost certain it's the A-Frame bushes, but I haven't been brave enough to tackle mine yet. Does anyone know if there is a walkthrough/tutorial of this process anywhere?

 

I have the same problem on mine and it seems to have gotten worse. I was going to take her in for shocks and bushings all the way around, but another expense came up so I will have to listen to the rattle for another month. Our roads are in terrible shape so it gets annoying after awhile. I didn't know about the a-frame bushings, is there a way to differentiate between shocks and bushings and a-frame bushing noise? Scott

 

I'm not sure how to differentiate, but I can remember at least two reports of instances where replacing the rear shocks has not eliminated the knocking.

I intend to do both the shocks and A-Frame bushes to be certain - I want to keep downtime at a minimum.

 

I had this knocking a few years ago and had the rear shocks replaced and the noise went away. 8 months later, the knockin reappeared along with a hissing if you pushed te rear corner down by hand. Had that shock replaced foc then a year later, the other side started making noises. Iv just had to send my diff off for a rebuild so am changing all the shocks on the car (fronts are original and have done 115k!)

 

In my limited experience, to check shock bushings without removing, take all the weight off them ie vehicle on axle stands and a trolley jack under the hub.

Jack up hub and look for free movement between shock eye and bush, maybe do a waggle test.

If it flops around then it is certainly time for a change.

Did the fronts on the XJ40 but not had the motivation to tackle the rear A frames which I know could do with some R&R.

Be a little wary about putting in too hard urethane bushes, they do affect ride characteristics. (check for more info on something like the Poly Bush website) 3 hardnesses.

Someone else might have a better method.

Oubadah, look forward to your write up, to your usual standards, it will make excellent reading. lol

 

Will give this a go. Looks like a right sod to remove the damper/spring assembley to replace the bushes though. Lot of bits and bobs to remove

 

My '97 XJ6 VDP was banging badly at the rear suspension a while back. I determined that the rear upper shock isolaters were shot (with lower shock bushing disconnected, the shock had several mm of free play up and down at its' top end). I found this thread in the X300 forums

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=41250

and followed the steps in this document uploaded by Grant Francis:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...8&d=1282980455

It was time consuming to be sure but no more difficult than laid out in the document. What a tremendous difference after the work was done!!

I'd suggest reading through the thread link and downloading the document. If you're mechanically inclined, you'll get to know your car better and be pleased with the results.

Let us know how you fare...

Bob

 

Yes indeed, knocking from the rear end is one of those common issues but certainlt do-able as a diy job. The shocks themselves may need replacing and it would be very prudent to replace all bushes, including the A frame bushes etc. while you're at it. It's on my to do list, just waiting for warmer weather and from all the posts I've read, including a very good write up in the FAQ section, the most difficult aspect is removing some old, large, tight nuts. it seems that putting the car up on stands and spraying everything relevant with a good penetrating oil for maybe a couple of days before dismantling goes a long way towards helping. Best of luck with it.

 

Very helpfull, thank you. Will have a proper look at the link in a bit but it doesn't look overly complicated, just long winded. Just got to wait for a break in the British weather now!

Still getting used to normal suspension on the back - used to torsion bars!

 

U-joints

 

The link for the attachment by grant doesn't appear to be working. Also any recommendation on where to find some rear shocks for a 95 vdp or general cost? My mechanic said I would need self leveling shocks(I thought that was only for earlier models). Thanks
Alex

 

Any info on installing a standard shock on a self leveling system?

 

I've done the rear bushes, with the help of a friend with a lift in his garage, air tools and a press. Getting the A-frame down is a bit time consuming. Note carefully the alignment of the old bushes before you press them out so you can properly align the new ones before they go in (ask me how I know). We ultimately removed and installed the A-frame 3 times ... so we got pretty good at it. We also did the shocks front and rear at the same time. It was an all-day affair, but worthwhile in terms of improving the ride and making the noise go away. car is a '97 x300L.

eliotb