I've got this rattling going on at the front driver's side of my series 1. I can't figure it out and figured I had better ask in case its something serious. When I drive and hit bumps, it rattles. Not all the time, and rather inconsistently (some small bumps make it rattle, some large bumps don't). At first I thought it was my e-brake cable slapping my brake line, because a clip was broke and there was some movement. I fixed that and it is still there. It is nothing in my hub-cap, I have secured everything I can find in the engine compartment and feel confident that it isn't that. I can feel it on my left foot as i drive, and it feels almost like something is "slapping" something else. The part I worry about is the possibility that it is suspension/front brake related. I found a shim that looked like it was just sitting in the coil, and pulled it out. This has been going on since before I found this shim, but I have a suspension that it is part of the problem. I fear it is a break pad rattle, as I believe I read something about. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It drives me insane listening to it.

Side note: The brakes work fine and I have no issues there. The car seems perfectly safe and rides great.

 

Common sources are shock absorber bushings, stabilizer bar bushings and end links, diagonal cross braces in engine bay (does a Ser I have these? Not sure) which have to be extra tight

Not sure that you'd feel any of these through you foot, though. Still worth checking them.

Maybe an exhaust pipe hitting the floor?

Cheers
DD

 

if it is being transmitted through the chassis, an engine mount?

also a known issue is that the top, front shock bushings deteriorate rapidly, you can easily verify this by looking at the bushing that sticks out inside the engine compartment, mounted below a large washer on the shock absorber shaft. A good permanent solution is to replace them with polyurethane bushings, either the red or the black poly bushes, (the red ones look nicer, and if you can get them yellow, all the better).

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I will get out there and start checking those things when it starts cooling off. I don't think it is an engine mount, as it isn't quite that hard of a rattle. The best way to describe it is... I guess it sounds kind of like a very loose piece of trim would sound going over bumps. It is not my trim though.

 

Alright, I went out real quick and checked those bushings. The driver's side fell apart in my hand, so even if they aren't the cause of the rattle, at least I will be getting new ones. It could be the cause though, thinking about it.

 

Alright, sorry for blowing up the thread with posts... Good news! The top bushing WAS the problem. I had some old rubber conveyor belt material and made a temporary bushing to see if that was the cause. Took it down a very bumpy road, and viola! Not a peep! Thank you guys so much for helping me figure this out. It was driving me crazy and made me not want to drive the car as much...

 

great! now try to get a set of polyurethane shock bushings, otherwise you'll have the problem again, and the price difference is not worth shopping around. You want to replace all 4 bushings, if the top one desintegrated in your hand, the ones below are also gone.

now, if your front shocks are very old, don't bother with Bilstein, KYB, Koni, or anything expensive, buy the cheapest shocks you can get. (I know fans of the above shocks will not like this !!). The shocks mentioned above will make the car ride very harsh. The Jaguar XJ was not designed to be a Flinstones car, it was designed to give a soft comfortable ride. Installing hard shocks will create even more rattles! I like Monroe and Gabriel shocks myself, (El Cheapo), they are the closest shocks to the original Girling factory shocks ride.

 

Good to know on the shocks. I do like saving money and buying inexpensive stuff. And I really like how this thing rides, so I will definitely be going with the cheaper ones when I buy new. A friend is an old Jag mechanic and says he may have a set of bushings for my car, but I'd have to dig for them...

 

post some pictures of the Rambler; Ramblers are one of my favorite cars, specifically the Rambler-Nash.

 

Here's one from my FB. I love those old things. Been trying to find a Metropolitan for my wife, but they are pretty spendy for how much of a car you get. I also want to find a late 50s Rambler, but have enough projects as-is.

 

Ramblers were very solid cars. I don't know what happened to the company that made them, it should have survived. That car looks like an easy restoration, seems intact, and is also a rare model.

 

Yeah we paid 500 for it a couple years ago. It runs, but needs the carb rebuilt. I have the kit, but I just haven't done it yet. All the trim, chrome, and dash components are there and the radio still works (AM only). Its nearly road ready but I have been busy with other things. Plus tires are spendy and it needs new ones.