Blown front strut?
 

I hit a large pothole about a month ago, and in the process blew a tire, which turned into a whole fiasco with the lug nuts spinning off and the shop having to destroy the wheel and hub to get the wheel/tire off. Now that the hub and wheel are replaced, there is a pretty loud rattling sound when I go over "sudden" bumps on the same wheel, not necessarily big bumps but just unsettled pavement.

What is the most likely cause? A blown strut? If so, I will probably need to have both front struts replaced. I heard there is a non-Jaguar branded strut that is the same as OEM--any idea what this brand is? I can't seem to find it.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions. Considering there was work done on the wheel/suspension it may be just something that is lose . Check around for things like a loose brake shield or other metal around the steering arms. Also look at brake clips or hose mountings. Check the shock for anything lose. Let us know what you find.

I think you are right to not jump to conclusions--I guess I'm just trying to prepare myself for the worst. The last fiasco with the hub and the wheel ended up costing me $4000.

I spoke with the shop that did the work, his first thought was that it could be a sway bar end link or bushing that has gone bad.

It a strut blows the front end will do the hoopty bounce and you'd have oil leaking. I'm thinking something got knocked loose up there. A front end alignment may show it.

amcdonal86,
The ebay listing below are genuine Jaguar branded shock absorbers with corresponding part numbers. I have purchased them and installed on my car. They are approximately one fifth the price of buying from the dealer. I had all four installed on my car about a year ago.

xkr shocks | eBay

^^^^^^^^^^^
+1 on this

$4,000 ouch!!! What was causing the lug nuts to spin and not come off??

I cant believe a shop destroyed a wheel over stripped lug nuts.... find a different shop.

I have my doubts about what the shop did, but it is one of the best known shops in the area that does a lot of work on classic European imports like Alfas, Jaguars, Lancias, etc. I do trust them and have been going there for a few years.

A tire shop (a different shop that put the tires on a couple weeks prior) had severely overtightened the two piece lug nuts, and when I hit the pothole and the wheel had to be removed, on at least two of them the chrome caps spun off.

I believe then my shop hammered on a socket and tried to extract the lug nut, but since they were so tight on there the studs were just spinning. After that, they tried to use a chisel to gently cut through the lug nut. Eventually they had to use an air chisel which resulted in damage to the seating surface of the wheel. On top of that, Jaguar says they do not sell the studs separately from the hub (although after doing more research after the fact, it looks like I could've used Lincoln LS studs or something), but the shop was not 100% comfortable reusing the hub anyway because of the amount of banging they had to do. That, and a genuine Jaguar Senta wheel is hard to find used, but they did eventually get a hold of one. So the total bill with the labor, wheels, the hub, the lug nuts (i had them replace all 20 lug nuts and torque them properly) and some labor for cleaning up the other wheels and applying some antiseize, came out to probably $3600. Plus the towing fees and the cost of a new tire, mounting and balancing!

It seemed like a perfect storm at the time--hopefully the shop can find the clanking noise.

You can hear the suspension noise here twice as I go over small gas main covers in the street.

I agree that it probably isn't a blown strut--it doesn't seem to drive different, just makes that noise.

Wow, chiseled them off... About a month ago my buddy brought his daughters Jeep over that spent a couple years on the coast and needed three nuts removed. Him and the tire shop had done rounded them off to nubs and I was able to torch them off without damaging the wheels beyond scorching the clear coat. We tried for about two hours to remove them mechanically (die grinder, chisel etc.) and finally took about ten minutes with heat. I could even see the lug melt away from the studs and probably could have saved the studs if it hadn't been distracted by rain rain running down my back.

Per the noise, you'll need to get down there and start shaking stuff. I've also had luck with someone else driving while I try to find the source while it's rolling next to me. Just pick a rough parking lot and see what you can hear.

For it's worth, my 07 XK had a very similar knock from the right front over rough pavement. There was a small barely noticeable fluid leak from that shock and no issue with ride or handling.
Replaced shock/strut myself with low mileage item from Jag wreck. Problem solved for $350, if I recall. Hope you get out that cheep.

I had the knock as well. Changed the anti-sway bar/stabilizer links and it disappeared. You can find them on ebay for well under $30/pair.

Well, I just got the car back from the mechanic. He said he could not hear anything. Truthfully when I dropped it off it was not making the noise. But of course, when I picked it up, it was making the noise like a madman. I said I would bring it back next week when I had time to do a test drive with the mechanic.

However, I started doing my own testing around the neighborhood--I think I have found the culprit. I think the front brake pads are rattling!! I noticed that if I drive over unsettled pavement it will make the rattling sounds, but only if I'm not depressing the brakes! See for your self below. The first lap around the block is without depressing the brake pedal, and the second lap is riding the brakes around the block. Of course, at the end of the video my brakes were smoking (not shown). Oddly enough my infrared thermometer said it was only 250ºF--don't Formula 1 brakes get to like 1200 degrees?!

Anyhow, I think my theory makes sense because I had the shop replace my front pads and rotors, and I had them use Textar (not Jaguar branded) parts. I was told they are OE supplier, just not Jaguar branded.

Sounds like you are correct.

Yep, most pads have spring loaded levers that hold them against the calipers so this rattle doesn't happen. I don't know how Jaguar did these though.

Good job on troubleshooting it. It's amazing what you can learn when you start to logically diagnose a problem.

Agreed, nice job. Yes they have the anti rattle spring. I had the problem on my X350. I replaced the springs and the problem went away.

Years ago my new Cadillac CTS-V was delivered with lug nuts factory-tightened to a very high torque. Dealership tried to remove the locking lug nut using an air wrench, which was a mistake. These locking lug nuts are meant to be gently hand torqued.
I was left with a rounded lug nut which the dealer proposed cutting off with torch.
Sought out my neighbor, who is a major tire dealer. He had the answer. There exists a semi-secret "socket" supposedly known only to tire dealers. Its purpose is to grip rounded lug nuts - sort of a reverse "Easy Out". Its cutting edges grip the rounded wheel nut, and removal was quite easy. Of course the wheel nut was destroyed.

I am beyond frustrated right now. I took the car back to the shop and took a test drive with the mechanic. He thought it was the oil cooler brackets were loose. We took a look under the front bumper and it turns out the oil cooler was loose. Replaced a couple of bushings holding it up, and took it for a drive. The noise was still there!

I pointed out to the mechanic that it doesn't make any noise if you go over the bumps with the brakes on. Finally we agreed that the best course of action is to replace the pads with the genuine Jaguar pads and clips. I took the car back, and went over the same test bumps we went over (it was raining at the time), and the car was silent as expected! Presto!

Except today, I took the car for a spin for the first time since having the new pads fitted, and the noise is BACK. What on earth could it be? To me it sounds like metal on metal. I was thinking upper strut mount, but the fact remains that it doesn't do the noise with the brakes LIGHTLY on.

So what the heck is going on here? They say they have checked everything in the suspension. And what else could possibly be the problem with the brakes? What else could hitting a pothole have damaged? Could the caliper slider pins be damaged? What gives???

I am about ready to take the car to Carmax and be done with it.