ok, after 6 months and roughly $4K, I think I've finally found the source of the rattle. (new upper control arms, new front lower control arms, new tie end rods, etc.)

I figured if I let it run long enough, the "rattling" would eventually wear enough to become found.

It's the bushing that sits between the fork of the air shock and the lower control arm. We had the car up on the lift to replace the oil pan gasket and I grabbed the tire and moved it up and down to check for play and the mechanic immediately saw the play in the bushing.

The part number is C2C36866 and I've got two on order, one for each side. Is this something that can be replaced "in situ"? Or will the whole arm need to be removed in order to utilize a press?

I really hope this is the final fix to chase that ole rattling demon outta there. I miss that buttery smooth front end when she only had 45K miles.

Cheers.
Mark

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

That's an awful lot of money to spend before finding it was down to two £20 bushes !! Did you not get second opinions on what was causing the problem, because the lower shock bushes are a very well known short life component. The whole weight of the car is carried by four shock bushes !

BTW, the bolt securing the lower shock mount is well known to be "difficult" and many shops will only estimate for replacing these bushes because of this. Sometimes a lot of dismantling is necessary if the bolt is difficult to remove. I believe it was all due to production line errors in how to apply Loctite to the bolt.

I have been quoted circa £220 for replacing my two bushes at a local Jaguar specialist, but with the proviso the bolts come out easily.


Good luck

 

Believe it or not, they all needed to be replaced. I kept the removed control arms in case they need replacement again. Part of the problem is I don't have a backup car to use, so when you add up parts/labor/rental car for the bushing replacement vs. part replacement, it was more cost/time effective to replace the part in a few cases, all of which I sourced the part from Jaguar Merrium parts or some of the other Jaguar parts dealers that participate in this forum. I did a good portion of the work myself. (upper arm replacement, air strut replacement, etc)

The biggest expense was replacing the front lower control arms. The shop I used for that was a BMW/Mercedes/Jaguar/Volvo shop that my friend owns that I bought the tires from. This was the very first part of the story and the very first expense.

Long story short, we didn't realize you could find the bushings and press them in and out. A few days later when I made this discovery, they had already thrown out the old arms. They were very apologetic and only charged me dealer cost on everything, so it was a learning experience for all of us. I had some other things replaced at the time that needed replacing, but it was the bedrock of the $4K number (probably $1800 of it?).

That number also includes 2 additional air struts that failed that I thought were also causing the rattle. (Yes, they had failed, no they didn't cause the rattle) (Call out to Arnott springs: These are great springs, and the gentleman who said that his Arnott springs were causing the rattle probably didn't realize it was the bushing and not the spring)

Everything else was bushing replacement only with work done by myself or my indie (jaguar only) mechanic.

I could take pictures to show all of the bad bushings, so nothing was replaced that didn't need replacing, but the kicker is NONE of them solved the front end rattle.

I saw where a few people on this forum replaced the bushings on the sway bar behind the radiator. Glad I didn't go that far! But I'm sure I'll get there eventually with all of the stored up heat the "R" engine generates.

I guess that leads to a separate question about tricks to keeping the engine compartment cooler so that all of these components don't fail due to heat stress, but that would be a separate thread.

Live and learn. At least I don't plan on getting rid of her anytime soon and I look forward to reporting back well past 200K miles.

 

Oh, I should mention that this car has almost 120K miles, a lot of which were city driving in Midtown Atlanta, which has some of the worst roads I've ever had the pleasure of bumping around on. I've since moved out to the 'burbs where the roads are much nicer.

Bottom line:
When the "R"s start getting up there in miles, expect to replace every bushing in the suspension. After all, it is a super car motor (400hp) in a proper touring sedan. (Or whatever they said on Top Gear that I can't recall right now. )

Also, throw in all of the coolant hoses including the one that you have to remove the supercharger to get to. ($$$)

Also, throw in the transmission pan and gasket. ($$$)

Also, throw in the oil pan gasket. ($$)

Here's hoping I make it to 200K without rebuilding the car anymore!

Mark

 

Hi Mark

I don't think there is anything to stop you getting to 200k miles except you getting fed up with maintenance and repair work costs ! Many owners have got the cars well up towards 200k and some over it.

FWIW, my own car has needed rear lower arms and shock bushes, plus a tracking rod, and "sway bar" link. We call then anti-roll bars here in the UK ! Front shock bushes are on the way out, so that's a job for next spring maybe.

 

Thank you for this info I think I have the same problem

 

I just change the front strut bushings without a press because I too am trying to eliminate a rattle. You can check my thread to see how I changed my bushings. But while removing my lower control arm, I was able to notice how bad my sway bar bushings are. It was very hard to tell that the sway bar bushings were bad while the suspension is all bolted together, but once you disconnect the sway bar end link you can easily wiggle the sway bar up and down and see if there is play in the bushings. This is on a 2004 XJR with 74K mi. So make sure you check your sway bar bushings when the sway bar is disconnected.

 

Hey Muddybear! I did see that thread. I meant to take a closer look this weekend at that writeup and see where you sourced the pipe.

I've had everything disassembled before to replace the upper wishbone mounts, and I purposefully checked the sway bar for play. Fortunately for me, it feels welded in place with no play, so I think I'm ok there for awhile. Hopefully that will last until after the double-century mark.

 

MuddyBear, I don't know what you are thinking with the hammer. I tried that for about 3 minutes. Then I sat and thought. I sat and thought for awhile. Especially since my 5 year old son was chanting, "what are you doing?", "Why are you hammering on that?", "Is it broken?", "Don't break it!".

So, I thought for a few minutes more, then remembered the ad for Harbor Freight in my latest issue of Motorcyclist Magazine.

See the attached pics. For $80, I got a super nice press that I'm sure I will always use and cherish, especially with my dream girl who needs bushings on a regular basis.

Easy out, easy in. No hammering. Happy, Happy, Happy.

Mark

 

What's the "Ton" rating on your press?

 

It's a 12-ton press. Here's the link: 12 Ton Shop Press

There was a coupon in the latest issue of Motorcyclist magazine and I think I also saw one in Kitplanes that brought the price down to $80.

I finished the job last night and only had time to take a quick trip around the neighborhood, but I think I've got my quiet, smooth front-end back! I've got an appointment to get the camber and alignment sorted this morning. Will report back later.

 

Yipee! 25 Miles this morning confirmed the rattle is finally GONE! Ah, so calming driving this morning, even in horrible, rainy, Monday morning traffic.

And just as I was pulling back into my neighborhood, the check engine light came on...

 

Nice work Hunter, a press is definitely the easy way to go. The hammering is all in the technique. As long as you concentrate the force in the right spot it come out pretty easy. But if you aren't hitting it right, you could hammer all day and not get anywhere.

Also, be careful pressing on your control arm like your third picture. It is possible to bend the control arm like that. The best way is to support the control arm directly under the bushing. That way the force is transferred better to the bushing and there is no chance of bending the control arm. That's the purpose of the larger pipe that I used under the control arm.

Glad your problem is fixed though, nice job. Sorry to hear about the CEL though. Gives me hope that all my noises will be gone when I get mine back together. I still have a lot of work to do. Just found some coolant hose that need replacing while things are apart, so waiting for more parts now.

 

Thanks, will have to get one.....