How about sway bar end links? This is the first thought my mechanic had, but then he went on vacation and someone else was working on the car. I presume they checked the end links, but I don't know if that's something you can positively determine if they are bad or not just by yanking on them or visually inspecting.

 

The simplest way to eliminate them from contention is to disconnect the lower link from the sway bar. tie rap the bar so it doesn't hang and take the same drive. If the rattle's gone, they're probably shot. Once the link is removed, you can also grab the sway bar and push it front to back. There should be no slop. If there is, the sway bar bushing on that side is probably bad. Two birds with one stone.

The mechanics of it are a simple ball and socket. If you can't get the nut off, with the wheel off the ground you grab the sway bar and push up and if it's bad, you'll hear and feel it click and you can see the ball moving in the socket, like it shrunk. Watch both the upper and lower while you do this. Safety first if you jack it up yourself.

 

I'll add a few more checks.

Recheck the anti rattle clips didn't come loose.

This should not change when braking but you should check heat shields, brake rotor dust shield for looseness as well. Pull and regrease the guide pins.

What are the part numbers of the pads and clips you used?

 

Thanks, I will suggest the tests recommended to the mechanic. They did check the dust shields (in fact, they thought they had fixed the problem by tightening the splash shield and I took the car for a check ride and the problem was still there).

I am sure they checked exhaust heat shields as they went through the entire underside of the front of the car to see if anything was rattling.

Where are the anti-rattle clips? Are those the R logo plates?

I've seen a couple videos of sway bar end links rattling, and I think that could be the culprit. Luckily the parts are cheap, and hopefully the shop will give me some goodwill labor since they have incorrectly diagnosed the problem at least twice now and I've wasted so much time dropping the car off and picking it up every few days for the last two months.

 

See the attached pic. I don't have an R but the logo plate may be attached.

 

Thanks, those are not loose on the car.
I was under the car today with the mechanic and we noticed a couple areas where suspension parts appear to be hitting one another. This seems to be a sign of more extensive suspension damage from the pothole than originally thought.

Also, the mechanic disconnected the sway bar end links on both sides and we went for a drive. The noise was actually about 5X worse and appeared to happen on both sides. He was careful to tie all hanging pieces so they wouldn't bang into each other. I dont know if this is conclusive or not.

 

Did he check the sway bar links while connected too? That doesn't appear to be your issue in any event.

What suspension parts are hitting each other? That would certainly be the likely issue.

 

We noticed that gap between the lower strut bolt/nut and the banana strut bar was much smaller on the left side than the right side. The left side was what hit the pothole. Also, there were some gouges right in this area suggesting that these two items could be rubbing together.

It didn't seem like the sway bar end links were loose, and the boots are not broken like they are in the rear.

 

Thanks, let us know the outcome.

 

I am bringing the car to the shop tomorrow, but I took it for a test ride this evening and noticed that if I take a hard right hander, perhaps at 25 or 30 mph making a right turn at an intersection, the left front tire squeals and starts hopping. Definitely disconcerting and a sign of damaged parts and/or bad suspension geometry.

I'm starting to think I should take it to another shop for a second opinon. Aren't there shops that specialize in this kind of thing? Shouldn't they be able to take measurements to find out exactly which parts are out of tolerance?

 

Did they do an honest alignment?

 

They don't do alignments in house but they said they sent it out for an alignment and it was checked and if something was wrong with the geometry they would've noticed. Not sure what to believe

 

Well, that sounds like a cool story but didn't find a problem either. With some miles you should see the tires wearing oddly if the geometry is out. You certainly shouldn't be scrubbing the front tires going around a corner so something is wrong somewhere.

 

Time for a second opinion I think, as something appears bent out of shape. Also, not to throw dollars at it but the alignment check sounds a bit fishy to me given your symptoms and the different height measurements between the left and right strut/ control arm. The measurements should be the same on both sides.

I recommend you just provide minimal information to start. What you did that caused the problem and note the difference in the gap between the lower control arm and the strut bolt. Let them decide the course of action and recommendations. It almost sounds like your current mechanic is just doing what you tell him, but I'm not there, so take my comment with a grain of salt.

 

If they sent it out they still should have received the before and after data sheet which usually all good alignment houses provide with the alignment.

 

Sad thing is I'm away from the car all week at a conference. The mechanic today said they can't figure out what could be causing the noise. They did not see running where they applied paint to the suspension parts suspected of rubbing. They are wary of replacing the strut bar at the cost of 850 bucks because they can't be sure it will fix the problem.

I will probably take it to another shop Friday.

 

Honestly...take it to a Jaguar dealer at this point. Have them look at it and diagnose it.

 

+1 You have already put in a lot of time and effort for little if any decent results.

 

The senior mechanic (who was on vacation previously) said today that he thinks the noise is a rattling dust shield. He said he banged on the wheel with a mallet and could hear the rattling.

I don't necessarily buy it because the dust shield is just as loose on the right side as the left, and the right side doesn't make noise. However, perhaps they are loose in different ways. It would seemingly make sense because in the rain there didn't seem to be any rattling noise, and it could have possibly been damaged during the brake job which occurred at the same time I had the tire/wheel/hub replaced for the pothole damaged.

The mechanic also said he drove it 15 miles and couldn't hear the noise. Maybe my ears are just that sensitive, but this doesn't seem like one of those quiet subtle noises that too hard to hear unless you have heard it for weeks. However, I will concede that there have been times I've driven it and thought the noise was fixed, only to have it come back terribly mid-drive.

I am very frustrated as I doubt the dealer would provide a much different result, but I may end up resorting to going there if they can't fix it. At some point, I may just take it to Carmax and be done with it. They probably won't hear the noise during their appraisal.

 

Perhaps a shield, but the hopping on a hard right you mention is weird as are the different dimensions between the control arm and lower shock bushing. Still would take it to a dealer with those 3 issues.