Greetings all,


So I adventured myself replacing my front struts (w/ KYB shocks) and replaced top mounts/bushings (w/ Uro pre-assembled). Not too bad of an exercise. I was having some annoying 'cluncking' noise from the front end for some time, and increasing, and this while I had every other 'rubber' replaced under there, the only thing left I had in mind were the shocks/top bushings (Note: I had them replaced some 30k+ miles ago, but cheap shocks and 'garage pressed' bushings into existing mounts). Well, now I am having an even worse 'clunk' noise, especially from one side (passengers). Was thinking that I didn't tighten enough the top bolt, but even doing as tight as I can there is no change. Any 'top of your mind' thoughts? Should I inspect the sway bar bushings? I wouldn't have expect them to go out so fast but who knows. What is disturbing me most is the major change before / after my shocks replacement, and didn't touch anything else (well, did replace brake rotors/pads while at it, but that can't be related). Thanks a lot !

 

You say you replaced "every other" rubber component under there. That's a pretty vague description. From personal experience on just about every car I've owned front "clunking" came down to the sway bar bushings.

 

Dear Blue_XJ8,
what do you mean by saying this? Help us to narrow it down by listing what you've done so far.
I'm experiencing quite the same with my front axle right now and I replaced the following as far:

• front top shock mount bushings
• front lower shock bushings
• front sway bar drop links

As the tie rod ends, the ball joints of the control arms and the sway bar bushings look fine, I narrowed it down to the bushings of the lower control arm. I tried to achoid changing these as I was hoping to find the source of my front end "clunk" within the more easier to change parts.
Using a crowbar between the brackets and the control arm I can notice some more movement as expected: Additionally, I can see "scratch marks" from the bushings on the surrounding brackets. Having the car on jacks the bushings do not touch the brackets. But it looks like there's contact under load and movement.
Btw, it's quite hard to find visible signs if the bushes are worn or not, but excessive movement will tell you.

So I'll change them all together with the upper control arm bushings on both sides.

 

Thanks JTsmks and xjr2014_de. OK, so I should have been more descriptive, sorry. By 'all rubbers' I meant top and bottom balljoints, sway bar links, upper/lower wishbone bushings. Tie rod ends were done like ~30k miles ago, and as far as I recall I had the sway bar bushings replaced back then as well. But either it wasn't done properly or the quality of the rubber wasn't all that good... For the price of a pair of sway bar bushings, guess I'll go ahead and order / replace anyway.

 

What about the condition of the springs? Did you inspect them carefully for damage/fractures, especially at the highest/lowest turns?
As the sway bar bushings are quite massive, you'd definitely see if they're worn - but worth a try.
There are not much rubber things left around the front axle which you didn't change yet. Provided that the new bushings and balljoints are good quality, there are two possibilities which you should check too: rear bushings of the front subframe and/or V-mounts (as #3 in this thread shows: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ushings-53625/).
If these start to fail, you can get a front end clunk as well...and if disintegration progresses, you'll experience excessive engine movement when putting the engine under load.
The engine assembly is mounted onto the front subframe (2 engine mounts). Almost the whole front suspension is connected to the front subframe as well (sway bar, upper/lower wishbones, springs). And the subframe itself is physically connected to the chassis at three points: upper shock mounts, 2 rear subframe bushings and 2 V-mounts. That means that all forces which occur when driving+putting the engine under load and which are not absorbed by the suspension and engine mounts will have an impact on the bushings at these three connections.
I'm crossing my fingers that the noise is based on another cause, since replacing the subframe bushings/mounts is a major job.

 

Sway bar links is the likeliest culprit here. I replaced mine about 30K ago but recently had a clunking noise develop. The source was the lower portion of the link was shot. The rubber was completely detached from the bushing and the sleeve. Replaced them and all is quite again. I will never use URO parts suspension parts again.
I would start with these 1st.

 

Also Find the thread Vector provided on replacing the upper shock mounts. The mount repair kits are too hard, they rattle, they clunk when it starts to get cold, they squeak in the summer.

Go to Rock Auto and find replacements, much softer, fit perfectly and quickly (no press, no BFH), and 1/3 the price of OEM from the dealer. Two brands available. If Rock Auto doesn't have, try one of the other providers. Google Jaguar X308 upper shock mounts. I replaced mine in 2013 with parts from Motorcar Ltd, worked, but noisy, incessantly so in the cold and louder the colder it got; replaced last Fall with one from URO, the other from another German brand, quieted everything, even the long standing squeak on the left side.

 

Update. My sway bar bushings were fine. I replaced with new ones I had on had anyway. So at this point I replaced all 'usual suspects'. The clonking is still there for sure. Front right side only. I had a friend push down (bounce) the front end while I looked / listened underneath (behind front wheel). Can't tell for sure just yet, but yep, clonking. I think my next steps are per XJR2014_de suggestion. Spring, subframe, ... fun times! Cheers

 

I'm in the same boat, I'm down to only control arm and subframe bushings left to trace down my passenger-side noise. It's a tricky test, for sure.

 

Same issue with front passenger side clunking noise. Did anyone of you guys find the culprit and solved that issue? If so what was the cause and how did you resolve ? Any info would be appreciated

 

I've got the same thing. It sounds like a clunky rattle when the front right tire impact bumps. My shocks and shock mounts are new as are my sway bar end links. The sway bar bushings looked good, but I need to examine them more closely. The Sway bar bushing on my XK8 was the culprit of similar clunking.

Hmmm,... subframe bushings seem to be a thing. I guess I need to find these and check their condition.

 

I crawled under my car and this appears to be the culprit:




The pair of Front Subframe bushings were $61 shipped off Ebay. Maybe next weekend I will try to tackle this.

 

did you check the bump stops on top of the shocks. you have to remove shocks to look at them easy job this is the cause of upper mount bushings giving out most of the time. just a thought

 

I have all new bilsteins, bumpstops, shock mounts and gaitors. The rattle happens on very small hits that shouldn"t compress the shock anywhere near the bumpstop.

I've ordered the subframe mounts (rears and v"s) and am going to put in new wishbone bushings, lower balljoints and motor mounts while the subframe is out.

The harbor freight 20 ton press is turning out to be the best investment a Jag owner can make.

Total for all the parts to completely redo the subframe mounts/ bushings is less than $450, including the engine support tool. I would imagine a shop would charge a couple $thousand, minimum.

 

it's KYB I have them on my car it's bad struts and if you drive on a bad way the car will be like dancing and have drums noise and jumping KYB is headache

 

Take note of the upper ball joints -- if you have not replaced. It's often the first thing to wear out ..especially the passenger side.

With the age now -- any of the rubber stuff can fail. Both of my 02's have cracked tie rod boots -- they don't seem to be leaking so none of the joints have failed. I'm not going to proactively replace and go through a proper alignment cost. The front end becomes an all or nothing proposition. If they fail --they get replaced along with other stuff. If other things go first I will replace with them.

I have over the years sprayed all with some rubber conditioner ... The suspension arm bushings are numerous and involved.

 

if the KYB's are stiffer, it makes the knocking from the subframe bushings much worse and now that I know what happening, I'm pretty sure I can feel the subframe floating around. After I fix it all, I'll see if feeling of subframe movement is still there. I describe it as a "floaty mush" during transitions. It ultimately takes a set and holds a corner, but it is wallowy until it takes a set.

 

For UNGN: When I had this issue on the right front, my Indy though the pieces in your photo were rubbing when crossing rough roads: ground some of the fixed metal down and solved the problem. Issue on the left side was too hard upper shock mount (new shocks and upper mount rebuild with hard urethane), fixed with new mount from URO.

 

i have the same issue did you solve it by replacing those subframe mounts?

 

I seem to have the same issue as well. 2001 XJR 75k miles driver-side clunk at speeds under 30-ish, especially sharp, small bumps like uneven road surfaces and potholes. Basically, anything that is a sudden shock to the suspension, even if it's a small bump. I have inspected every suspension bushing, and while older, they are all in good shape and not ripped, the subframe front bushings look quite dry and rotted. I have new shocks and upper shock bushings, as well as new swaybar links and bushings. I have checked the ball joints for play, and they do not have any. The car handles normally, if a little vague, on turn-in. but I've never driven a new one, so I don't have anything compared to it and my last car was a little zippy hot hatch.