Been getting a persistent knocking sound from the front suspension over bumps, mostly in right turns. One Jag tech said I needed new lower front bushings. Another disagreed, said everything looked fine. Who is right?

The top mounts appear to look healthy except the driver's is off center. Could that be the cause of the knock? The reddish/brown material around the inside has no cracks. Shocks are OEM green with 82K on the car,

Appreciate any comments or advice. Thanks!

Left top

Left front bushings

Left rear


Right top

Right front

Right rear

 

I bet it's your sway bar bushings. They will definitely cause a knocking sound over bumps. They are probably the easiest to change of all of the bushings, and they are pretty cheap.

Here's a thread on how to do it: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...s-video-50477/

 

OK, thanks Sam. The tech who said I needed new front bushings also mentioned lubricating the sway bar bushings. What would be a good lubricant for that? I was thinking of lubing them to see if the knock went away as a diagnostic. Is WD 40 good for that, or could it damage the bushings?

 

I agree with Sam. Don't lubricate the bushes, change them. It's super easy to do and makes a big difference.

 

Lubricating the bushings is not a good thing unless you want to see if the noise changes but if you do plan on replacing them. I found several years ago lubricating them is not a good thing. Replacing them is the right thing to do. I replaced my sway bar bushings and most of my noise went away. Sam has a video on the replacement and I have photos either will work, however, I am still experiencing noise. My bet on my car is the lower shock bushings and plan to replace them when I have a place to do it. The control arm bushings are another spot to look but if you elect to do them you should look at removing the shock and replace the upper and lower bushings. No point in doing any job twice.

 

Yes, I just wanted to lube them and see if the knock went away before taking anything apart. If it goes away then I know that's the problem.

 

I am not sure how long any lubricant would take to change the characteristics of today’s bushings to reduce or change the noise. But think about this, if you apply lubricant plan on replacing them down the road.

 

One easy test of your sway bar end links/bushings is to stand in front of each front tire, place your foot on the top at 12:00, give the tire a good shove. If the links/bushes are badly worn the top of the wheel will move in and you'll hear a disctinct clank or clunk. When mine were doing this I took pics, too I thought they actually loked good....until they came out. After replacement there is no movement of the tire/wheel, and no noise at all. It's a fairly easy job.

 

Just went out to the garage and gave it a try, and didn't hear a thing. Even had my back against the wall on the right side, really rocked her, and still heard/felt nothing.

That's the thing with this car (and I'm not complaining believe me haha), but I've tried everything to find this knocking sound including the ball joint test of driving it in tight circles (and heard no popping), having it up on a lift and grabbing the wheels in every way possible and tugging at them until my arms were sore, pulling on every component of the suspension while on the lift, etc, on and on, and have heard/felt nothing.

I'll stay away from any lubes, Gus, and keep driving it until it reveals itself somehow. Seems a tight front end, it's a light knocking sound, not one that seems alarming. I'll just leave well enough alone for now.

Thanks everyone!

 

I had clanking noise when turing onto a drive way or hitting a bump. Turned out to be sway bar links.

 

Most of the time replacing the sway bar bushings fixes most of the knocking problems. The job is about 1 ½ hrs and is a quick fix. The wishbone bushings do fail and most of the time they along with ball joints will cause an alignment problem. But if you have to replace the upper wishbone bushings you should replace the shock bushings.

Any good independent alignment person should be able to inspect give you a shopping list.

 

I haven't had an alignment done since I got the car almost 3 months ago, wanted to resolve as many suspension issues as I could first. Maybe I should go ahead and take it in for one at a different Jag dealer and see if they spot anything in the process.

 

If I might add, as far as lubes, WD-40 is not one. Its a solvent and can rinse any existing lubes away and/or deteriorate rubber if you use enough.

 

You do not need to use a Jag dealership to check the alignment. Find a reputable alignment shop that can walk you through the process and show you what and why. Remember that many shops need your business and will do what they can to help. If they are not willing to help then you are in the wrong place. However do not let them hoodwink you into anything. Ask a lot of questions.

 

I agree with Sam, start with the little stuff first, $20 in sway bar bushings, and maybe new end links, will take 30 minutes each and could be all you are hearing. The sway bar bushings, deform very quickly under the weight of the front end, that rubber doesn't take very long before you get metal to metal contact under impact.

My driver side shock mount was also 'off center' when my dealer recommended a change also. It was crumbling too, orange dust up around the bolt...but since you just bought it, the seller may have cleaned all indication of progressive deterioration. Keep that in mind for a future maintenance item, they are inevitable. Watch your ride height in that corner too, and when camber can never be put back into spec (-1.2 driver) or worse, upper mounts and maybe even new shocks will get you back up into the range easily.

I just thought of another possible noise - the engine mount, left (driver) side more specifically! This mount gets the initial engine torque from acceleration, and being 'fluid filled', the mounts can tear and leak, resulting in no cushion on that side...noises ensue. Dealer discovered mine destroyed at 82,000 miles, replaced under warranty.

 

I'll ask my indy shop about the sway bar fittings. Car is going in Monday for the driveshaft diagnosis/replacement, should be time to look at some of these other issues.

I notice my warranty covers engine mounts. Certianly worth looking into. How would the shop determine if one or both were bad?

 

If you have a large parking lot with speed bums nearby it can give you a great place to "hear out" numerous clunks, groans, and squeeks. If you can go over the bumps at both wheels fron, both wheels at angles, each wheel separately, slow and fast enough to jar the suspension, you should get some feedback.

I must admit, though, that after replacing the sway bar links on mie it was solid as a rock doing all those maneuvers....but still had the clanky rattle when going over the "botts dots" in the road. I am not sure I have actually found that noise-maker, but I did find that my lower shock bushings, uppoer mounts, and the shocks themselves all need replacing anyway. But I'm at 115K miles.

 

IIRC, they can be visually inspected and felt up.

 

Thanks, I'll have them checked this week.

 

That sounds exciting.