2003 X Type - Rear Suspension

[chromofoam]

Hi everyone

 

I'm just in the midst of grappling with a problem with my X Type.

 

Over time, it's developed a bit of a wierd clonk from the rear - I've read elsewhere that this might be bushes so I had a look online and I am bamboozled by the lack of information available on this part of the car!

 

The problem I have is that when driving along I've got an almost constant rattle which sounds like my brake caliper is flapping about in the wind. I have recently replaced the drivers' side rear caliper since my old one seized and was duff so I chucked it and got a virtually new Bosch one from a scrapyard (I had the sticky handbrake cable problem and fixed it twice, so if anyone needs to know how to do that I can help! Doesn't take long).

 

So I put the car back together and it was fine but then it started developing this rattly clonk which is really bad over bumpy bits of tarmac, but oddly it stop when I'm braking (whether hard or soft) which led me to think I'd been a wally and left a tool back there or hadn't put a bolt in.  Checked it today and the caliper is solidly on there as it was the day I bolted it in place - no movement on the caliper, the disc, the hub, the axle, the dust shields or pads, all solid and operating 100% fine - so after some reading and a bit of past experience with Land Rovers I thought it could be a broken coil spring or a dodgy bush, so out came the pry bar.  I tried any joint I could find but all were silent, however some looked a bit worse for wear.

 

My ARB's are fine, and ball joints look ok with no leakage or residue, shocks look good again with no seeping or leaks, but where I'm stumped is with the part names.  Every parts place I can find seems to call every single bush 'trailing arm bush' or 'bush hub carrier' and there doesn't seem to be a chart or schematic which explodes the layout so I can find what I need.

 

I'm inclined to replace the arms assuming they come with bushes already in-situ as that would just be a bolt out, replace, bolt in job without having to !Removed! about with bush pullers and the like.  I took some pictures and noticed that there are several parts;

 

1) The coil spring sits on an arms that is bolted through with a bush at the centre of the car, with an alignment adjustment.  There is a bush at the other end which pins this to what I would call the back of the radius arm.

 

2) There is a big bush about 18 inches forward of the rear wheel at the front of the radius arm - this is one that i suspect is knackered (explanation later)

 

3) There are the shock mount bushes.

 

4) There are two arms, one upper, one lower - the upper is like a flat piece of cast metal, kind of like a boomerang.  The lower is tubular with a slight kink in it but to all intents and purposes it is straight.  What are each of these arms called please??  They appear to bolt to the chassis/subframe.

 

The reason that I mainly suspect the foremost radius arm bush is because I couldn't simulate the sound with a prybar on any of the bush joints, despite much wiggling and grunting (now now, children!) - I could only replicate it when I stood up, got both hands under the brake disc and yanked it sharply upward, and rearward - i then heard the clonking and it seemed to come from somewhere beneath the rear passenger seat on the drivers side.  The thing I guess I'm a bit dubious about is that the problem could be elsewhere and the noise might just be transferring and reverberating up the body thus deceiving me.

 

I've attached some pictures to help visualise what I'm on about.  The last one is of the lower kinky tubular arm mount, and to me it looks buggered and I'm guessing it's definitely not supposed to look like that - any ideas?

 

P.S. If anyone out there is near Hertfordshire and happens to have a bush pulling kit, I would very much appreciate being able to borrow it to do this job if at all possible!  

 

Thanks in advance all.

 

 

[dinkydimps]

Hi, I can't help you personally although my x type estate makes odd noises also, however if no one on this forum can help you can I suggest Jaguar forum.co.uk, I am also a member on the site and they have a wealth of knowledge between them. Good luck :)

[chromofoam]

That's great thank you I will try there too!

[Les Moreton]

I have just replaced the Control Arms (2nd pic) on '55 plate X type and although it had not long passed its MOT the rubber in the bushes was non existent. Rear tyres were getting eaten by not being in line. Trade price was £47 for the pair so a cheap fix after 125,000 miles.

Les M

[KevinFX22]

For years I had a clonk and rattle from the back of my 54 X type estate. I changed everything twice. Each time I changed something including the anti role bar, the noise almost disappeared, but kept coming back slightly worse. Eventually I replaced the rear shocks. Ahhh!! Silence! Even now after 202.000 miles the car rides on a feather bed. In fact I've driven almost new hire cars that sound awful compared to my 'beauty'.

At its worst, if I went over rough road with the brakes on gently, there was no noise. It used to get right on my nerves, especially on a smooth motorway. Each time I hit an imperfection in the road there would be a clonk. It was so embarrassing when carrying a passenger that I felt I had to make excuses all the time. As I say, a stretch of rough road made it rattle.

I hope you get it sorted.

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the club, Les.

 

Your expertise will be valued, as the club thrives on exchanges of information.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Motoguzz1]

Hi All,

im a new member, 2003 x type, just came across this post as i have a rattle at the rear on uneven surface, only way to stop it is to put slight pressure on the brake peddle or lift  the hand brake very slightly, as every one else have checked rear brakes, dust covers and anthing else inbetween.

just wondering if anyone did find out what it is that is rattling like a tin cover ?

 

regards  

[chromofoam]

I found out my issues were brake rotors then rear trailing arms and bushes - whole lot needed replacement.

 

 

[david moore]

alasdair, your right with the first photo and its the upper arm. the middle photo is the lower arm so again your right. and your last photo is i think your front lower arm.  now your front lower arm has to be checked with the wheels on ground! so a garage will raise the car and do most checks with all wheels on the ramp before raising the car to check the rest of bushes and bearings. hope that helps ? and yes it may be your shocks? as kevin said was wrong on his x type. good luck on this and hope it all gets sorted...

[KevinFX22]

Whatever you do, make sure that nothing is loose in the boot of your car. You may think I'm joking, but not long after I'd got the rear end of my car silenced, the jack came loose and started making noises. I was near to pulling my hair out until I accidentaly discovered what was wrong when I emptied everything out of the rear of the car in a fit of rage. My relief on discovering the loose jack was like a cool shower after a half marathon.

All the best with your problem.

Kev

 

[david moore]

picture of a rear sub frame assembly on a 2.0d,   next is some components of the rear suspension,

[Guest]

On 8/12/2016 at 8:05 PM, david moore said:

picture of a rear sub frame assembly on a 2.0d,   next is some components of the rear suspension,

Can you tell me where these pics were from please mate?

Cheers.

[rodeyorks]

Hi Kevin, I think I have the same problem on my 2009 x type estate. I`ve done all the checks that you mention including taking everything out of the boot. What sort of job is it to change the shocks and was it the mounting bushes that had failed? Did you replace with same type or did you upgrade them? My car has done 145k but runs really well apart from this annoying problem.

Thanks

Rod