On my 01 XJR there is this rattle that seems to come from all four wheels and is highly noticeable at low speeds.&nbsp\\; I have already replaced the upper and lower balljoints as they were somewhat loose but the problem persists.&nbsp\\; It sounds almost like the shocks are making noise, the knocking sound is much like a bad strut.&nbsp\\; The shock bushings are OK, the front and rear sway bar end links are tight and at this point I am leaning towards it being the shocks.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\;
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The front ones look easy to do but the rears sort of have me stumped.&nbsp\\;I see no way to get to the top side of the shock without lowering the entire rear axle subframe assembly.
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Thanks for any help.

 

check or replace the front sway bar bushings.. not the links.. they give you a hollow sound in the floor.. there like 12.00 each at the dealer.. and take 2min to replace.. 4 10 mm bolts

 

try tapping the front lower control arm bushing inwards towards the center of the carwith a punch and hammer before you go buying shocks
put car on a lift then locate frontlower control arm bushings inspect bushings if there is a gap try tapping them inward till there is no gap or verry little
then drive and let me know results

 

I will check both of these things out this weekend.The car sounds like a POS clunker and an envious relative is due to visit soon and I want to get it quiet before then. This problem is driving me nuts, especially since the car only has 55,000 miles on it.

I will probably go ahead and do the shocks anyhow since I already bought them, they are KYB's so any input as to what I can expect from them over the OEM versions? Any tips on changing the rears?

Thanks

 

jag_genius is 100% correct about the sway bar bushings, I've seen it and couldn't believe a minor amount of wear on a relatively insignificant component would create so much noise.

The thing about the shocks bothers me, people raise the question of aftermarket options all the time but never give feedback on the results. Jaguar is very specific about listing different shocks for XJ6 standard, XJ6 sport, XJ8 comfort, XJR...I'm just talking about non-CATS suspension cars, these are all just tube shocks which are of identical dimensions but are differently valved.

So then you look up Bilstein, Koni, KYB...and there is nothing but shades of grey. You're likely to find that the KYB's you bought are listed as the samefor every one of the applications I mentioned. Whatare the ride quality and handling results going to be in comparison to your expectations?

There are DIY instructions for replacing the rear shocks on JagLovers. I read them, and because I have a lift, I decided that it was less work to just drop the rear suspension out of the car and swap the shocks out. I'd love to do the job every day for four hourslabor per car.

I'd hate to have to do it again if I was unhappy with the results from aftermarket shocks. The factory units are probably still fine on your car, with the possibility that the lower shock bushings are bad. I've replaced these separately on my own cars, but it's a bit of a catch-22: the bushings are like $60 each, and you still have to pull the shocks to change them. Like the front sway bar bushings, lower rear shock bushings will make an inordinate amount of noise when worn enough to yield only a very small amount of play.

If you do change the shocks, or if anyone else reading this has additional feedback to add about aftermarket installations, I'd love to read the results. I have used KYB and Monroe on earlier models and personally was not satisfied with the stiffer ride yielded by either brand.

 

I have a lift, pole jacksand a trans jack so dropping the rear subframe is the best way, huh?

 

Like I said, it is for me. You're quite welcome, by the way.

 

It was the shocks or more specifically clatter due to worn out lower shock bushings.

Thanks for all the ideas!

 

How about some feedback on the ride and handling difference with the KYB's?

 

So far I can tell no difference as ride quality goes, probably so happy to get rid of the constant rattle that I haven't given much thought to that aspect.

As far as changing the rears I was able to sneak the coil spring/shock assembly out without dropping theentire rear axle.Just loosened and/or removeda bunchof bolts off the lower axle brace plate, removed the calipers and unplugged the ABS sensors. Igot enough slack in the lower swingarms that with a good prybar they came down with just barely enough room tofacilitate the shock replacement. Didn't touch any of the alignment points.

 

Thanks chas, please post your thoughts if you reach any more conclusions about the shocks.

I think four hours is fair labor time for the rears. Do you thinkthat's realistic, or some other number?

 

The rears took me right around two hours.

I had all four replaced in less than four hours and now that I've done it I could probably do all four in 3 hours or so.

 

Oh, OK. Guess I'll borrow your cape and do it your way from now on.

 

Come on now, I put my pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of you!

Only thing is once my pants are on I do amazing things like replacing all four shocks on an XJR in less than four hours.

 

Is this true on 2000 S-Types as well? I believe I'm in the same boat. Thanks!

 

I had a clunk sound in the rear when I went over a bump, sounded like a lose rear window it ended up being a stone got thrown up and laid in the rear lower shock plate removed it and the sound was gone. That was easy.

 

...nice!

 

Is the arb and sway bar the same?

Anyone have info on the rear bushes for xj8.

Jtis not very good showing it.

 

Hi Anthony
You mean the anti roll bar and sway bar. Looks like JEPC parts catalog calls it anti roll bar (MNC2100AE) and the JTIS21 Shop Repair and Gaudin Jaguar parts catalog call it a stabilizer bar (I used the part number to find on Gaudin website).

I found the rear shock absorbers bushing part number (CCC6782) in the JPEC parts catalog.
SNG Barratt-USA has them for $59.70 each:
SNG Barratt - USA | Parts | Spherical Joint

Gaudin Jaguar has them for discounted price of $74.62 each:
Direct JPLV Porsche Parts.com

This weblink will bring to the parts search webpage. Put in the part number and select Jaguar in search by OEM part number fields.

Hope this helps.

Jim Lombardi

 

Replaced all of that stuff already, the tech tells me that the items he removed looked fine.

That was never the cause of the noise.

Shocks are dry.

Not sure what it can be now.