I started a new thread but asked the same question on my clunking thread. To sum up I replaced my shocks with new Bilsteins (same as stock) and new strut mounts. However I am getting clunking on both sided. I was able to inspect a junked X-type today with stock factory suspension that had not even been touched. I realized that on my car with the new struts I only get about three threads from the threaded shaft showing above the factory nut. However the junked one with original shocks shows at least 5, perhaps 6,

Both cars are normal comfort suspension (green mark on springs).

Can someone who has replaced their shocks/struts with new Bilsteins pop their hood and look at the center strut nut to see how many threads are showing above the center strut nut? I want to be sure that the replacement BIlsteins are the same length as the factory fitted ones from fifteen years ago...

The rub is that I am at the correct torque spec and can't seem to get it to be much if any tighter at least not by hand, not 2-3 threads worth it doesn't seem anyway.. Using an Impact wrench just spins the shaft since there is no way to hold the shaft from the top.

I suppose it's possible I didn't seat it correctly when I assembled the assemblage with the spring compressor. Perhaps I left 2-3 threads worth of space between the shock shaft base and where the bearing sits on top of that. Yes I used the correct spacer and the factory top nuts. However it's the same on both sides, doesn't seem that I would have made the same error on both.

Thanks.

 

Yep. Wish I would have seen this 10 days ago. You've probably already solved your problem. Nonetheless, yes I replaced my front struts with Bilstein Struts.

OE on my car was Comfort but I switched over to Sport and kept the same comfort springs. After installing everything, I encountered the same issue as you. Put them on and tightened everything down just to be on a test drive and hear clunking. Popped the hood and realized the threaded center bolt (I guess the top of the strut) that pops up in the center circle was causing the clunking. There weren't enough threads at the base for the nut to screw down the shaft and tighten the strut down enough. So I put a slightly larger nut on first that just slid down the shaft, then a washer, and then the lock nut and just tightened it down. The washer was more or less to create separation, cover the slightly larger hole opening on the first nut, and to have a smooth surface to tighten the lock nut down onto. I haven't had a problem since.

 

Thanks and actually no I have not fixed it yet. I ended up ordering new Jaguar strut mounts and bearings, they just arrived and I had to leave town for a week so the car has been sitting. What you describe is exactly what I think is happening.

So the first nut is just skinnier (around the body) so that it threaded on down the hole to the top of the shock shaft? And did you use the official “spacer” that the car had stock? Or did this sort of replace that and then a flat washer? Trying to picture it exactly so I can try to replicate without removing everything from the car. I can take the top nut off as long as there is weight on the suspension without anything moving.

 

Based on your question and how I am interpreting it, what I needed to do is different than what I think you are asking.

I'll try to explain and I'll take a picture of mine and post a follow up with the picture.

Just for context - For the whole assembly, the spring goes over the strut and cradles the bearing at the top of the assembly. The strut mount sits in the bearing etc... The top of the strut has a threaded shaft that protrudes through the bearing and the mount. The mount has 3 bolts that are tightened down from the engine bay. I got under the hood and tightened down those 3 bolts on the Strut Mount.

So I got everything installed just as you're supposed to. Made no modifications or adjustments. Had the mounts bolted in and everything. Started driving and hear clunking from the strut(s). When I checked I noticed that the threaded pole/shaft that protrudes through the bearing and mount (see googled pictures) was somehow loose, but I had literally torqued everything down before putting the strut assembly back in and tightening the 3 bolts. So the threaded shaft is still exposed through center hole in the body mount. I put 1 bolt slightly larger in circumference around the outside of the shaft and let it drop to the base where the strut mount is - I never took the assembly back out while doing this - then I put a washer over the shaft and then a threaded lock nut and tightened it down onto the washer and the bottom slightly larger bolt. I tightened and tightened to pull the 'slack' out. It doesn't make sense why that would make a different, but I think that the reason for the clunking is that the nut provided doesn't tighten the mount to the bearing well enough so the mount is shifting around in the bearing cradle. I don't know if you bought new bearings and mounts when you got the struts, I did so when I reassembled everything the only things that were not new were the knuckles and the springs. The struts, bearings, bellows, mounts were all replaced.

Does this make sense?

 

Yes that’s exactly what I’m dealing with, the issue is with the shock shaft threaded area, not the three body nuts. I have new mounts, bearings, shocks, control arms, etc but reusing bellows, bump stop and spring. I think I get it, I’ll have to look at it in person when I get back next week. So the extra nut that’s more like a spacer for you, you dropped down so it sits on top of the strut mount plate, not all the way down onto the top of the shaft (where it transitions from a smooth shaft to a threaded end). Then a flat washer and then the locknut and tighten it all up. It’s worth a shot, my other option is to take it all apart again, might as well try this first…thanks!

 

Here’s a picture of what I did.

 

Ah ok that is very instructive! On mine currently the top nut (with the flange) is resting on the strut mount plate, won’t tighten any further and is only showing three rows of thread above it. The factory spacer is below that and not visible unless the top nut is removed. So I guess yours is different. Mine are regular (comfort) shocks and springs. I did not think to measure the amount of threaded shaft between the old and new shocks before installing so it’s hard to compare at this point. It’s possible I didn’t compress the springs enough before I slipped the mounts on top of them. I may have just compressed them enough to reveal SOME thread and then put the nut on, perhaps the power of the spring is now too great to be counteracted by tightening the nut further (or not letting it anyway). I may try to use spring compressors from below while installed to see if there is any removable slack in there….
Thank you VERY much for the explanation and detailed photos of what you did/have, I very much appreciate it!

 

Hence the video you said you watched (Autodoc) showing spring compression before reassembly.

 

I did watch the video several times. Thanks for the pointer to compress the springs. Have you done this yourself or just amassed all the video links? It’s in fact possible to compress the springs varying amounts, ie enough to get the mounts on them and the nut on or to compress them literally all the way so every last coil is flush against the next one which seems like overkill or perhaps somewhere in the middle. The video you reference certainly didn’t specify or caution in that regard and it’s a little different when using a wall
or floor mounted device rather than the common shade tree mechanic loose clamp variety.
. With the benefit of hindsight it’s possible that I did not compress them enough. Or perhaps I did and it’s something else entirely that’s the matter, hence this follow up post request.

I politely asked for assistance and shared my issue so that in the future perhaps someone could learn from the additional input. Thankfully after two weeks someone actually decided to be helpful. I’m no master tech and don’t pretend to be, I’m simply trying to fix the car with my son and learn something while doing so instead of being yet another person on the internet just bagging on all older Jaguars and what moneypits they can potentially be. I owned my first X-type back in 2004 before there was much in the way of forums for the car (as everything was still under warranty) and was pleasantly surprised to find the vast resource of this forum this time around, almost two decades later.

 

Aside from the last comment that seems to reference some other conversation, at some other point,.....I will let you know that I compressed my springs quite a bit so that I could easily set the bearing and strut mount and bolt it down. Then I eased off the compression. I watched the Autodoc video too before doing all this. I replaced my struts and shocks maybe 18mos ago. I probably have a post on here asking about the springs and struts/shocks combinations and what could work (e.g. comfort shocks with sport springs for a lower sportier stance, sport shocks with comfort springs for ride, is it bad to mix, etc.....)

Anyway, despite compressing the springs more than enough I still encountered the clunking. It may just be how the Bilstein's are designed, I don't know and couldn't say. I know that they ride nice and I'm happy. I also know that despite compressing the springs properly and reassembling, I still had to MacGyver a solution because it clunked. So, my advise to you is to expect to have to double up on the bolts as I did. If you compress the springs and tighten the mount down further and it solves your problem, great! If not, you know what Plan B is that doesn't require taking the assemblies out for a 3rd or 4th time. If Plan A and Plan B don't solve the problem, well, not even watching Autodoc was going to help.

 

Finally found some time to look at the front struts again and realized the likely source of the clunk.. When viewed from above (engine bay) with the factory flanged strut nut fully torqued to spec there is a gap between the bottom of the nut flange and the part of the mount that it (can) sits on. I was able to slip a piece of paper into the gap to confirm but it's likely close to a one mm gap when eyeballing it from above, certainly enough to cause the clunk I would think if it moves up and down and the bottom of the nut contacts the mount area as the shock de-compresses after a bump (shock pulls back until nut hits mount, then car settles and shock tightens again against the underside).

So what's stopping it from going all the way down? It seems to currently be the factory spacer. If that was not as thick (or high I guess) then the nut would be able to go down more. That spacer in turn sits on the center flange of the bearing. It's possible that bearing in the mount is what's actually too high or extends too far at the top side.

Solutions that I can think of seem to be:
A) get a smaller spacer so it doesn't sit as high (I suppose several washers might work until the gap is just right) or
B) Take the load off the wheels (jack) and torque the heck out of the nut to get it to go down by pushing the spacer down onto the bearing which MAY push the bearing down inside the mount some My fear is I will somehow damage the bearing though while doing this. Removing the whole thing again is a last resort, not really wanting to do that.

Any advice? .

 

FIXED!

Removed the factory spacer under the main strut nut and on the passenger side inserted two bronze 1/16 thickness 1/2" ID x 7/8 OD thrust washers and on the driver's side it wanted more so it got one of the bronze washers and a 1/2" ID galvanized steel split washer that's a little under 1/8" thick, slightly less in total than the factory spacer once compressed. Tightened both sides up and went for a spin. A glorious, clunk free, no rattle whatsoever spin over ever bump and road imperfection I could find.

So if you have clunking in the front end from the upper strut area check to see if the flange on the nut is actually in contact with the flange or ridge or whatever you call it that it sits on. Visually it looked like it the first few times I looked at it, but then I realized there was space (use a small strip of slightly bent scrap paper to see if there's a gap). The spacer is there to take up the empty space but in my case (maybe the new struts, maybe the new upper strut mount assembly? who knows) it seems to have changed the amount of space needed to fill.

Note that it was possible to remove the spacer and tighten the nut all the way down onto whatever it is it sits on but then there is a void underneath it which seems a bad idea. That void space needs to be filled, which is what the spacer is supposed to do, just now in my case it ended up being too much (too thick).

Now on to the rear end and then for an alignment...

Thanks to all who gave advice, I appreciate it.