Hello all. Having a bit of an issue with my '93 xj6. Was traveling the other day and hit a patch of unpleasant roadway, my cat is lowered a lot and seems to have not faired well. I have a very loud, very frequent clunk coming from what seems to be my right front. Upon visual inspection of the front end there is nothing out of the ordinary. All bushings are accounted for and in good shape, motor mounts LOOK ok, steering rack is holding in place just fine. Is there any other components I'm missing here? Beginning to get pretty stumped with this. Thank you kindly in advance for any help.

Addition; I've come to the conclusion that contact is being made between the motor and the subframe. What could cause this if things look normal?

 

Hi Bennkishh,

The most common cause of a clunk or knocking sound from either front corner is failure of the shock top bushings, which allows the shock shaft to bang against the hole in the wheel well. The photos at the links below show what I mean:

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For the engine to contact the subframe, an engine mount would have to break. I can't recall ever hearing of that happening on an XJ40, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible.

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

Hey Don, thank you for the help. Shock top bushings look to be fairing well. This sound is a lot louder and more solid sounding than I'd think they would produce anyways. Would it be possible that the engine mounts could appear in good shape upon visual inspection but actually be shot in a different maner? I'm thinking of taking the car to my local specialty shop and having them take a look. It's a very aggressive and loud bang that I get. I've also began noticing it making noise at idle while the car is in park, which is leading me more and more towards thinking there is contact between engine and subframe.

 

I think you would be able to see damage to a front engine mount, and as I mentioned, I just haven't heard of that happening on an XJ40. The next possibility that comes to mind is the rear engine mount/transmission mount, but when it fails you normally hear the clunking from under the center console rather than a front corner. It would be good if you can get the car up on a lift with the wheels free to hang so you can pry around on the mounts and suspension components to determine where the free play is.

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

exhaust? trans mount?