Had my Anti roll bar bushings replaced yesterday because of Passenger side knock over bumps, I saw the bushings out of the car when the engineer had removed them, they where a little compressed but looked in good condition. I thought crap there is nothing wrong with them! After the job done wow much firmer ride and No knocking even the Engineer came out on the test drive and said thought I was going to hear the knock still as he thought I was mad to change them as he said at inspection they had a little play but nothing much and looked fine on visual inspection. So happy the car now rides as it should. The XJR is a big powerful car so exerts forces on rubber I can only imagine.

 

You can get most bushings from Coventry West in GA, also if you search Rimmer Brothers in the UK that site is great for pictures of parts and part numbers, they also sell in Dollars to the States and have great prices. Sometimes if you have the part number it is easier to order from some suppliers as some parts are interchangeable between models that the sales person on the phone does not know about, I have been told on a few occasions that this or that is not available when it is listed at Rimmers as fitting I have ordered the part by number and surprise it fits.

 

Even though I bought a set, I did not replace the bushing of the lower control arm. I checked it visually and with a large crow bar and is in good shape. I was wondering if the shock bushing might be damaged, be it feels solid too....

 

Thanks for sharing, did it make noise all the time or when going straight? It seems the noise is attenuated when cornering under load...

Right now I may go ahead and do it since I have the parts and I am out of ideas...The bushing look completely fine and don't give even with crow bar but maybe it's so subtle that I am missing it...Access is limited so it's going to be a PITA

 

While you're prying on things, you might get someone to put the car in gear, hold the brake firmly and hit the throttle, to see if the engine torque is causing the exhaust or something else to hit the frame. Broken engine mounts have been reported in a few cases.

 

Long shot, but in the essential buyers guide by Nigel thorley he mentions a hidden section of aluminium riveted to the main structure and the bumper bolted on the other end. This area is intended to collapse in an accident.he says a clicking sound of clunk from the front of the car is caused by the rivets loosening on the super-structure. These rivets can be drilled out and replaced by bolts which is a recommended jaguar fix. Proberly not this but worth a look?

 

Jag buff, my XJR made the knocking when going straight but only over bumps it did in corners when bumpy and it was load and sometimes not there at all. I thought it was the Arnott springs I have on at one time and also the front lower wish bone. My car passed 2 main dealer inspections with crow bar and all that but I had heard that noise before on 2 land rovers and a Ford Capri (European model) so took a punt that this was it. As I say the Main dealer mechanic was surprised it was the Anti roll bar bushings as the ones that came off look really ok, drove the car again today and Ronnie Rides great and no knocking, go figure. Don't know if this is your problem but worth a try. By the way mine took 5 hrs to fix at main dealer so yes a bear to replace.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by JRP
When you mention you have changed the lower wishbone bushing would this also be the same as replacing the lower rear control arm bushing? Reason for my asking is I am in the process of having both left/front lower rear bushings replaced. I detected a slight noise, but only when at slow speeds next to a wall while braking or turning. I wonder if this is your problem as well.

Issue manifested itself when at slow speeds (3-5 mph) slamming the brakes would cause what I would best describe as a movement of something in the front end although there was no noise associated with movement. Car is in my indy shop now getting them replaced I suspect this will take care of the problem as the issues all add up.

Good news is the lower rear bushings only run $40 a piece plus labor to install.
Even though I bought a set, I did not replace the bushing of the lower control arm. I checked it visually and with a large crow bar and is in good shape. I was wondering if the shock bushing might be damaged, be it feels solid too....


I sourced my bushings from Coventry West. Mine too past the look test, inspection test when new tires were put on. However this didn't mean they weren't bad. Indy mechanic said these bushings take a beating because when breaks are applied they are the first to counter braking force. My clicking noise was not noticeable when driving with windows up. I could hear clicking noise when turning (especially in a drive up) with windows down. Sound echoed off the building walls. I could also hear what sounded to be the same noise when at slowing speeds slamming on the brake. I could feel it without a doubt when at slow speeds the brake seemed to make an unusual movement in the front end.

Keep in mind Jaguar no longer makes these bushings and will attempt to sell you the entire rear control arm. Spoke with Indy and Coventry and have confirmed that the ones sources from Coventry are nearly identical and will do the job. $90 a piece for part. Original Jag part could be had from Gaulpin for $40

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by JRP
When you mention you have changed the lower wishbone bushing would this also be the same as replacing the lower rear control arm bushing? Reason for my asking is I am in the process of having both left/front lower rear bushings replaced. I detected a slight noise, but only when at slow speeds next to a wall while braking or turning. I wonder if this is your problem as well.

Issue manifested itself when at slow speeds (3-5 mph) slamming the brakes would cause what I would best describe as a movement of something in the front end although there was no noise associated with movement. Car is in my indy shop now getting them replaced I suspect this will take care of the problem as the issues all add up.

Good news is the lower rear bushings only run $40 a piece plus labor to install.
Even though I bought a set, I did not replace the bushing of the lower control arm. I checked it visually and with a large crow bar and is in good shape. I was wondering if the shock bushing might be damaged, be it feels solid too...."


I sourced my bushings from Coventry West. Mine too passed the look test and inspection test when new tires were put on. However this didn't mean they weren't bad. Indy mechanic said these bushings take a beating because when breaks are applied they are the first to part to encounter braking force. My clicking noise was not noticeable when driving with windows up. I could hear clicking noise when turning (especially in a drive up) with windows down. Sound echoed off the building walls. I could also hear what sounded to be the same noise when at slow speeds, 2-5 mph when brakes were applied with a lot of force. I could feel it without a doubt when at slow speeds the braking action seemed to make an unusual movement in the front end. These things combines allowed me to diagnose correctly which was confirmed by mechanic.

Keep in mind Jaguar no longer makes these bushings and will attempt to sell you the entire front lower rear control arm. Spoke with Indy and Coventry and have confirmed that the ones sources from Coventry are nearly identical and will do the job. $90 a piece for part. Original Jag part could be had from Gaulpin for $40.

 

Partial update and partial progress. I decided to remove the endlink of the swaybar on the driver side before messing with the painful 5 hour R&R of the bushing......well Robert you are on to something, despite no obvious looseness, with the bar disconnected the noise is gone when driving straight and turning left...there is still noise turning right but I believe it might normal interference now the endlink is removed.

So I now have yet another thing on my to do list for saturday...too many cars not enough time!

 

Update and success

The problem was indeed the the swaybar bushings. Certainly the upper arm bushing were perished but the clonking noise was coming from the sway bar. despite looking fine they will collapse to cause the problem. Looking at old vs new bushing, you will notice.

Replacement is not super difficult but does take some patience a little amount of fiddling. I approached it from the top - you will need to remove the air box/ intake runner on the driver side and coolant over flow tank on the pass side (you will need to drain) to gain enough visibility to the 2 bolts that hold the bushings, however; victory is not yours yet as you will also need to loosen the aluminum cross member to access the front bolts. In all took me a little over 3 hours including HID bulb replacement (flickering), and a cross check on the alignment. The car is now quiet and tracks correctly.

Thank you everyone for your patience, suggestions and encouragement.

 

Thanks for the update.

 

anyone have a source for 2008 xjl sway bar bushings...???

 

Coventry west jaguar GA will have them. Great that the problem was fixed Jagbuff.

 

I have same problem and have replaced all the bushings except the upper wishbone and the sway bar. I will give it a whirl this weekend. The sound is making me nuts. Thanks for the tips on getting at it from the top.

 

I have the same "clonking", on the driver's side. I have been lurking this thread for several months. Now that it's warming up, I'm starting to feel more willing to tackle this. Thanks very much for posting your progress.

 

I'm new to this forums and i just get 2004 xj8 73k on it. Thank you guys for all you posts,i'm going tomorrow to my mechanic to check this clunky noise,we see what he say.One think i don't know if better first go to jaguar dealer and let them to find the problem,the will charge for just checking?

 

I replaced the bushings on the sway bar yesterday. The job took a little less than two hours. I was able to do the job with out removing the coolant overflow tank. The hardest parts of the job were removing the aluminum piece that run above the sway bar and then bolting in the sway bar with the new bushings. I sill have a bit of noise going over bumps. I have changed all the bushings except the two on the upper wishbone. I would be happy to answer any questions that anyone may have.

 

Check the bolts holding the sub-frame to the body....
4 of them.

Tom

 

Hi Tom:

Thanks for the reply. Where are the sub-frame bolts located?

Tom