XJS Suspension Woes....
Discussion
Hi folks. I know I’m a bit of a new-comer to these forums, but I’ve got an issue with my XJS that is seriously driving me to distraction.
Back last Spring I purchased a collection of new suspension components to enhance/refresh the ride and handling of my ’95 XJS 4.0L from a well known Jaguar parts specialist. These components included all the front and rear suspension bushes, rack bushes, rear radius arms, Gaz adjustable shocks and up rated coil springs. In addition, as I work for an independent Motor Factor, I supplied upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends myself.
I had all the components fitted by one of my local garages. Following completion of the job the parts had completely transformed the handling, but I had acquired some rather concerning knocking noises coming from the front end. These knocks were coming from both sides at the front albeit independently. I took the car back to the garage, where two mechanics spent a considerable amount of time going over the work they had done to try and find the problem, but to no avail. I then took the car to another garage for a second opinion. They too spent a lot of time on the vehicle but again could not find the problem.
It was then suggested that it may be an idea to change the front anti-roll bar links as this had not yet been done. I arranged for these parts to be fitted, but sadly, to my disappointment, this made no difference to the knocking.
Feeling disheartened by the whole chain of events, I parked the car in the garage and that is where it has sat for the last 5 months. However, with Spring just around the corner I thought that I should really try and get this sorted out. Before I take the car to a third garage to get yet another opinion and shell out more money, I just wondered if anyone had any ideas what might be causing the knocking, bearing in mind of course, that these noises weren’t there before it had all the work done.
Any advice, opinions or thoughts are more than welcome.
Thanks.
Back last Spring I purchased a collection of new suspension components to enhance/refresh the ride and handling of my ’95 XJS 4.0L from a well known Jaguar parts specialist. These components included all the front and rear suspension bushes, rack bushes, rear radius arms, Gaz adjustable shocks and up rated coil springs. In addition, as I work for an independent Motor Factor, I supplied upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends myself.
I had all the components fitted by one of my local garages. Following completion of the job the parts had completely transformed the handling, but I had acquired some rather concerning knocking noises coming from the front end. These knocks were coming from both sides at the front albeit independently. I took the car back to the garage, where two mechanics spent a considerable amount of time going over the work they had done to try and find the problem, but to no avail. I then took the car to another garage for a second opinion. They too spent a lot of time on the vehicle but again could not find the problem.
It was then suggested that it may be an idea to change the front anti-roll bar links as this had not yet been done. I arranged for these parts to be fitted, but sadly, to my disappointment, this made no difference to the knocking.
Feeling disheartened by the whole chain of events, I parked the car in the garage and that is where it has sat for the last 5 months. However, with Spring just around the corner I thought that I should really try and get this sorted out. Before I take the car to a third garage to get yet another opinion and shell out more money, I just wondered if anyone had any ideas what might be causing the knocking, bearing in mind of course, that these noises weren’t there before it had all the work done.
Any advice, opinions or thoughts are more than welcome.
Thanks.
My brothers xj40 had this issue, and after all the nonsense i found it was the circlip washer that held the upper bushing on the shock in place and therefore stopping the the shock strut from pushing into the bonnet.
When it was jacked up you couldn't see this and was hard to diagnose as it was always apparent. So it took ages to sort. Now i found that the circlip wasn't solving it so we pulled the shock and heated a washer to expand over the shock strut. Held fine then and has done over 20k since. Be careful tho as i dropped the washer as fitting it and the brother stuck out his hand and caught it.....Ouch!
When it was jacked up you couldn't see this and was hard to diagnose as it was always apparent. So it took ages to sort. Now i found that the circlip wasn't solving it so we pulled the shock and heated a washer to expand over the shock strut. Held fine then and has done over 20k since. Be careful tho as i dropped the washer as fitting it and the brother stuck out his hand and caught it.....Ouch!
The knocking is pretty constant. It occurs on anything but the smoothest road surface at any speed. The mechanics that have looked at it reckon everything is as tight as a drum. I guess if the top shock bushes are the source of the problem, it would be extremely difficult to diagnose in a workshop. The Gaz shocks came complete with bushes, but I'm just wondering if it may be worth purchasing a complete set of shock bushes from Jag? I'm willing to try pretty much anything. Having spent over a grand on this already, I'm desperate to get it sorted. Thanks for your input so far.
blueroom said:
The knocking is pretty constant. It occurs on anything but the smoothest road surface at any speed. The mechanics that have looked at it reckon everything is as tight as a drum. I guess if the top shock bushes are the source of the problem, it would be extremely difficult to diagnose in a workshop. The Gaz shocks came complete with bushes, but I'm just wondering if it may be worth purchasing a complete set of shock bushes from Jag? I'm willing to try pretty much anything. Having spent over a grand on this already, I'm desperate to get it sorted. Thanks for your input so far.
It does sound very much like the shock absorber bushes. It's difficult to check it stationary, as you can't really get the wheel to react fast enough to beat the shock absorber and make the knock.Thanks for the input folks. Very helpful. I think I'll get on the blower to Jag in the morning and get some ordered up. It wouldn't surprise me too much if something had gone astray in the fitting process, but to be honest, I've gone past caring. I just want to get the old girl back on the road!
Cheers.
Cheers.
Hi,
Just thought I'd give an update to those that offered advice on my suspension knocking. I ordered all the new bushes, cups and washers from Jag last week and set bout fitting the parts on Saturday.
To my horror, it seems that the monkeys that fitted the new shocks had left out the cup washers. After downloading an exploded diagram of how it was all supposed to go together, the new cups and bushes were fitted. To my relief it has completely cured it. It’s now as quite as a mouse. Really looking forward to using it this summer now that the problem is finally sorted. So many thanks for the advice- you were all right! Needless to say I shall be paying a visit to the garage to show them the errors of their ways.
Thanks again.
Cheers,
Chris
Just thought I'd give an update to those that offered advice on my suspension knocking. I ordered all the new bushes, cups and washers from Jag last week and set bout fitting the parts on Saturday.
To my horror, it seems that the monkeys that fitted the new shocks had left out the cup washers. After downloading an exploded diagram of how it was all supposed to go together, the new cups and bushes were fitted. To my relief it has completely cured it. It’s now as quite as a mouse. Really looking forward to using it this summer now that the problem is finally sorted. So many thanks for the advice- you were all right! Needless to say I shall be paying a visit to the garage to show them the errors of their ways.
Thanks again.
Cheers,
Chris
Edited by blueroom on Thursday 18th March 12:34
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