Have a 2001 XKR with 33K miles. Been hearing more banging noise at the front shocks. Typically this is an indication that he shocks are beginning to fail. Are these shocks very difficult to replace?

Also, what is the wire that comes from the top of the shock under the hood?

Gary

 

Shocks at only 33,000 miles is kinda reaching, most of our XK8s go much longer on the OEM shocks...i'm on 79,000 and they were inspected by the jag mechanics when we changed out some suspension parts, and found to still be good.

My guess is it is bushing degredation, either control arm bushings or the lower/upper units located on the shocks. I'd go first there before I'd swap out shocks. Member Gordocatcar has had lots of experience with front suspension repairs and replacements, and I think he'll suggest the same thing over shocks. We'll see what others might say about this.

 

its more than likely your upper shock mounts shot from time not mileage. Look for offset nut and rod in the upper mounts, and or deteriorated bushing material where visable. And the wire is for electronic shocks( pricey) so unless theyre leaking oil or the mounts are truely in great condition its either something else or the shocks, but seldom. The other thing can also be bad motor mounts which would be evident from purplish staining down the sides of the mounts.

 

I had a similar problem in the front end of my XKR. Most likely it is one or both of the sway bar bushings.These will mimic the sound of a bad shock bushing.On the XKR, they are thinner wall bushings as the bar is larger. As the bar is larger, the bushings bet more of a beating and there is less bushing there. Not to hard to replace and not that expensive either. Shocks give very little trouble.

 

an easy way to diag bad sway bar links or bushings is to drive slowly down the road, and move the steering wheel back and forth to rock the car. bad links and bushings become really evident doing this by knocking. Upper strut mounts when collapsed knock more when going over a speed bump

 

Hey brutal, i've had my upper shock mounts replaced, and going over small bumps slowly, like the lip to my garage, still does produce a little rattle/knock sound. I'm thinking the sway arm or control arms. What do you think? I replaced my lower shock bushing during the big suspension updates a few months back, so not many bushings left to try.

 

quit going in and out over that bump in your garage........
try the back and forth with the steering wheel to rock the car, if you reproduce the noise doing this replace the sway bar bushings. and where did you get lower shock bushings?

 

Dealer replaced them along with the upper shock mounts.I didn't do them myself. Sway bar bushings seem more DIYable. I'll rock the car next time im out today... let's hope if spotted, a LEO doesn't think i'm just coming home from the new years eve parties.

 

Yea, i just order myself a new set of sway bar bushings. The old ones look like they have been melted or something. totally cracked.

 

Brutal, weaved a bunch last night at varying speeds between 5-20 mph and could not reproduce any noise. you think mine may be control arm instead of sway bar?

 

Agree with all above. It is unlikely the shock absorber unit proper is going bad a the mileage you cite. The rubber control arm bushings most likely the problem. They are the most common source of this type noise, then Sway Bar bushings. Finally there is the rest of the supension and driveline parts, but they are less likely to be causing a problem. Things like steering rack mounts, etc. are usually OK in a car under 50k miles.

In my '97 w/ 65k miles, one of my shock lower bushings had deteriorated. I found replacement bushings at Britishparts.UK. They were a bear to installed and we had to use a grinder and a hydraulic press to install them.

Before you think about just replacing parts, be advised the computer controlled (CAT) shocks on supercharged models retail out at over $350 each! So it makes sense to eliminate the most common causes first. A complete rubber bushing kit is available for around $550 from various sources.

gordo