Having had a rattling, metallic type sound emanating from the front suspension for a while now I decided to try and pin it down to a particular part or parts which may have failed.
No play was to be found on any ball joint or bushing, all the boots were good condition plus the shock absorbers and anti roll bar bushing were also in good order. I remember seeing a suggestion on the forum that the top shock mounting have been known to fail causing this kind of noise particularly on poor uneven road surfaces, fortunately checking on eBay a trader was selling 4 new old stock mountings for a bargain price of £99(the mountings are same front and rear).
Having received the parts I set to work removing the each shock and remembering to paint mark the spring, damper and ensure the correct alignment for the new mounting relative to the inner wing mounting holes, the job was relatively straightforward and I was finished in a day(making sure the battery was kept topped up on a battery tender).
On taking it for test drive the noise was completely gone, the ride somehow felt more controlled and firmer - success and at a reasonable cost.
Hopefully this helps out other members of this excellent forum who have been puzzling out this problem.

Paul

 

Is this the part in question?

https://www.berkshirejagcomponents.c...75-c2x22614562

 

Xj & xk have the same upper mount .

xf & s type use the same upper mount

 

C2P23038 is the part number that came with the parts, these match perfectly with the originals.

Paul

 

I recently posted a how-to for the front struts, it’s here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-276401/page2/