Will this cause the clunking noise I hear?

 

Clunking and maybe even a squeaking, yes. Get new shock mounts in urethane from Welsh Ent. They will be longer lived that the stock part.

 

LessthanZero,

Welcome to the all inclusive X100 club of crumbling front upper shock mounts. Absolute classic symptoms you have, including hearing front end suspension clunking/banging, and having bad cornering/handling. I have a photo from below …. below. LOL



If you poke it with a screw driver it'll come to bits like biscuit crumbs. Replacement is home DIY-able, if you're handy with a wrench, and Rev Sam has a nice YouTube video of it so you know what you're getting into. See link below.

While you're in there, it's decision time on what other components to change to refresh your front end suspension.
There's some extra info in a recent thread by Billieg. Link below.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...mounts-223174/

At a minimum, you should do the lower shock bushing too, and there are also affordable upgraded poly bush kits available for the upper A-arm etc. You'll need to do both left and right side together, and make a decision on the ball joints. You'll need to get a professional wheel alignment/balance job done at a local garage.

Then you'll become a member of the X100's renewed front end suspension club!

...….But you'll probably need to look at the rear now.....

 

These mounts are definitely shot and need to be replaced. Chances are your camber is way off and the inside edge of your front tires are quickly wearing out. For the clunking, also look into replacing the anti-sway bar bushings. A bit tricky to install (access is not great), but super cheap, so there is no sense in inspecting them, just replace them.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

And if he's changing the sway bar bushes, he should also do the links as well. Might as well also get the lower shock bushing, as that is also probably toast and contributing to the clunks. At that point, doing the lower and upper control arm bushes with the lower and upper ball joints and tie rod ends would complete the front suspension. He should also get the steering rack bushes replaced.

His front end will be new at that point. The rear end is now the new target for renewal.

 

I had those issues but what made me go through my front end was the front end sitting so low. It looked
like it was resting on the front tires, and the front end ground clearance was horrible. I had to slow down or take an angle
at every little uneven spot in the road or risk scraping expensive parts on the asphalt.

I also had a steering wheel that would shimmy above 50 mph. Renewing the front end rubber cured that as well.

Lots of great info on here if you decide to DIY.

 

Thank you everyone. Figured that was the cause especially since the shock is off center.

 

This thread came at a PERFECT time. Both of my front strut mounts were looking highly suspect... and recently I developed a 'clunk'. Yep, it's time! Was watching an OEM replacement pair on eBay for $126 shipped but now notice the upgraded poly set from Welsh for just $150! Also reminded me to replace the bottom strut bushings and also in a poly. I love this forum!

 

I was getting clunks like described, and my shock mounts looked like the picture, but the clunks were coming from a bad sway bar bushing passenger side, and a bad lower shock bushing. Replaced both, and the clunk went away. I did later replace the shock mounts, but I wanted to go item by item so I would know what was causing the issue, starting with the cheapest / easiest solution. Putting the car up on a lift and poking around with a crow bar made it easy to find the culprits. I think the sway bar bushing was taken out by the Power Steering line leak on that side ( also fixed).

Another indication of the shock mounts needing replacement is a low front end. You can measure from the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender. Looking for something just over 15.5 " ( someone will jump in with the exact measurement).

 

That lower shock bushing is spherical, are you sure poly will do the job? I can't find a listing for poly in that position.
Or are you referring to lower wishbone bushes.

 

Polyurethane lower and upper wishbone bushes and sway bar bushes can be obtained from Powerflex. You could probably find the lower shock bush in poly using a universal bush of the right dimensions from Energy Suspension. However, I don't know if a poly bush is a good idea for that application since, as you pointed out, it's a spherical bush. Welsh Enterprises sells urethane shock mounts for about $150 that are highly recommended by most in the forum for their added durability.

 

I suspect that poly lower shock bushings wouldn't last long since the full front weight of the car rests on them and they're relatively narrow?