XJ Sport Rear End Noises...
 

Hi,
Some of you may have seen my post in the "What have you done..." thread regarding a predicament I found myself in recently, if not I'll briefly recap. Basically we went away to Southern Belgium for Christmas, a journey of some 520 miles. During the later stages of the drive there I noticed a sound coming from the L/H rear of the car if we were driving uphill or if we hit a dip in the road and the suspension bounced. During the week we were away we went out locally to visit some places, and I noticed this sound appearing again if I were driving uphill. At one point I joined a motorway to travel one junction and sat at around 55 mph, where I felt a wobble sensation from the rear end. Alarmed I pulled off and stopped to inspect the rear end, but looking underneath I couldn't see anything obvious. Then I pushed the wheels from the sides and the L/H rear had a bit of movement and the clinking sound associated with a wheel bearing. I checked the torque of all the wheel nuts on the car and they were fine, just in case it was a loose wheel. So I was resigned to the fact I was hundreds of miles from home with a injured car and would have to try and limp home.

However over the next few days I checked the wheel again and there was no sound or movement. I even went out on Christmas day and checked because the car hadn't moved and there was nothing. When we did eventually begin the drive home, I sat at 65mph the whole way and had no wobbles or movement of the wheel. But the sound was there again when going uphill or reacting to a bounce.

Yesterday I went out to the car and jacked up the rear end, I couldn't get any movement out of the wheels, spinning them round or rotating back and forth I don't get any noises but it doesn't feel smooth in relation to the diff. At this point I'm thinking it could be a diff issue rather than a wheel one. What do you guys think based on what I've described above? I'm stumped.

I need to have a long hard think about what to do with my X308 now, I'm in a position where I need to make a sensible decision. You all know how much I love these cars, but I do a lot of long distance driving for holidays and really could do with a car I know I can rely on. I've got the option to get a brand new car of my choice through my employer at a monthly rate which is very attractive. I'm currently in deep with a restoration on one of my other cars and can't really start stripping the Jag down because I'll end up with bits of car everywhere.

So I can either find out what the issue is with my 308 and look to sell and get a new vehicle or put her to one side for a year whilst I deal with this other restoration then look at overhauling the front and rear subframes including diff. It's a difficult position to be in for me, but my 02 car is almost 17 years old now and she's showing her age mechanically.

When I went through my rear end odyssey attempting to diagnose & remedy noises, the tech told me the carrier bearing would sound off usually w/ acceleration &/or up hill. Sub-frame bushings as well were checked. Just throwing that out there as I know how annoying noise in these cars can be.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4795703bdd.gif
SAD FACE!

Stu - have you had the wheel off and had a good look/feel around for heat? There is a large bolt in the hub centre that pretensions the bearing pack, it may have backed off. Also, can you pull the driveshaft in and out from the diff? Another handy thing is a long bar to lever items attached to bushes.

I'm sure you know what a wheel bearing noise sounds like, climbs and falls with speed - and it gets to a point that it's constant, it could be diff related but with a little planning and surprisingly little work, a diff, nay axle swap is a days work. To what extent you want to equip and finish the axle may take about the same time. Surprisingly one of my favourite jobs on these cars as they're designed to be dropped out. Have a look at the input bearing seal, any oil on the front of the diff?

I don't reckon it's enough of a reason to get rid, you'll only learn to hate the econobox the company provide as it will lack any charm or involvement, but you've been here before so I can only suggest what I'd do. If you have time run over and I'll lend an ear.

My 49th birthday, just finished a rather special Ruby port so feeling a bit giddy. I hope the post makes sense!

Happy New Year and may 2019 be peaceful and prosperous!

That's exactly what happened to me,when I bought my X308,one of the advisories on the MOT history said there was play in the rear wheel bearing.
So I checked and there was play.
So the first thing I checked was the hub nut which is a very tight 304-336 Nm.
I couldn't believe it,it was loose and I got about 1/2 to a full turn on it,no problems since so worth a check Stu.
It will be a shame to get rid of it after all the work you have put into it and it sounds like you have a good mate in SeanB not too far away.
I know what it's like to fall out of love with a car so I understand your predicament.

"SeanB" Hope you had a good birthday and thanks for all the good advice you give us through the forum.
Have a good New Year everyone
Andy:icon_biggrin:

After spending much of this weekend working on one of my other restorations today, I decided that I could probably carry out an overhaul of the underneath of my XJ. To do this I’ll probably buy another rear subframe from a breakers and spend a couple of months refreshing the bushes and shock absorbers. I’ll paint and prep everything and ensure the diff is strong and capable.
I’ll also take this time to replace my Catalytic converters as I keep getting 430 codes and I’ll also replace front suspension bushes. I will also get to the bottom of my issue with the rear parking sensors too. Time for Jessie Jag to take a break.