My 1995 Jaguar has been in my garage for a year, when I drove it today the noise in the front sounds as if the shocks or struts were bad. It was fine when I parked the car. My question is could it just be a case of needing to grease the car or could the shocks be bad.

 

If the car is making a noise from a lack of grease, the damage is done. Hearing a noise up front and assuming it is the shocks is a bit of a stretch though. You will need to poke around and be a little more thorough with it

Check the shock towers to see that the bushings are okay and everything is snug, and do a good visual inspect of all the bushings up front. If it has been sitting it is definitely a good idea to hit all the grease points, but you will have to be a bit more descriptive for us to help you find the problem.

 

I would first look at the shock bushings...

 

Also, let it be noted that a bad shock, simply won't do its job, road holding ability will be poor, the ride will be bouncy, the car may fail the "bounce test", a bad shock will not cause a noise though. A bad shock is simply failing a absorbing shocks and helping the suspension smoothly return to its original spot.

The only noises related to shocks would be where they are fixed, so the bushings up top at the tower and again at the bottom. If those are degraded and loose, it can cause a noise, especially over bumpers or rough terrain.

the grease points up front are for the bearings and ball joints. Ball joints are usually never loose enough to make a noise, they just eff up the steering geometry and increased wear to themselves, causing irregular tire wear and irregular steering.
They can become worn enough to make a noise, but if the car has been sitting, I would look elsewhere.

 

If it sounds a little bit like loose change at the front it may be parts 5 below.


Shock Absorber and Spring-Front-5.3 Litre - Parts For XJS from (V)179737 to (V)226645 | Jaguar Heritage Parts UK

 

I had what I think is the exact same problem recently. Hadn't really driven the car for an extended time, and then the same nosies front the front end. Like you, I though it was shocks, or something major. Turns out it was bad bushings. Had them replaced. Parts and labor < $150. Pretty easy job. 1-1 1/2 hour labor, bushings are cheap, even at your local Jag dealer. I feel like I dodged a bullet.

 

Hi Paul

I had a very similar problem, with a noise at the front of the Car, that sounded like two saucepan lids being banged together.

When I checked it out, the Shock Absorber Bushes, were completely missing as this had never been picked up on numerous past MOT's.

The Crashing noise was caused by the Threads of the Shock Absorbers, grating up and down in the holes where they go through the body.

OEM replacements are not all that expensive and is a very easy job to do, although I ended up making my own from much harder material than the OEM.

It instantly cured the problem and as a result She handles like a dream!