Creaking Noise from rear of car

[Tcollis]

Good morning,

My car has been developing a creaking noise from around the rear wheels and it's gradually getting worse. I presume it's something to do with the suspension. It sounds like dry springs creaking as the car moves along the road.

Please could somebody advise what this might be and what the remedy would be. Also am I ok to drive the car until I have this seen to?

Thanks

Tim.

[J44EAG]

Tim,

I suspect that you may have the classic case of time expired lower rear wishbone bushes. The effect is probably most noticeable is you have someone enter the car via the rear doors.

These patent rear bushes are a revolving ball on a tube set up which runs in a nylon cup. They usually start to seize from about 80K miles unless they have previously been replaced. Not only does seizure begin to take place but wear also accumulates. The creaking is a classic symptom of bush issues.

If you go to the suspension sections of X350 and S-type, you will find illustrated posts where I`ve photographed and documented replacement procedures. Essentially you have two choices. The first uses after-market (not available from Jaguar) RG109 replacement bushes sold by Racing Green Cars for around £30 each. To do both wishbones you will need four of them. The boggy is that you will need at least a ten ton bench press to fit them. They need to be done in sets of two bushes per wishbone and fitting needs to be done with utmost accuracy. If you don`t have a press, then forget this idea.

The after-market is awash with replacement wishbones as well as genuine OE parts. Only you can decide which to buy but in my opinion, there are very good after-market alternatives around. Costs vary widely but the last figure I heard for complete new wishbones from Jaguar was around £179 plus VAT for each new wishbone. That gives a quick and easy answer for DIY home fitting at reasonable cost.

Your starting point is to try to find out if the creaking is lower rear wishbone related, then to study my suspension overhaul posts carefully until you get a good idea of what is involved and what you yourself are able to tackle.

I`ve probably re-bushed twenty five cars over the years which has been made possible by buying a huge bench press. Most people won`t want to do that so the Jaguar OE option is probably what most owners will err towards.

Mike

[Tcollis]

Thanks Mike, much appreciated. The car will be going to my local garage who do all the servicing and maintenance. They are really good mechanics and very trustworthy.

I will let them know what you have advised when I take the car in. In the meantime should I avoid driving it?

Kind regards,

Tim.

[J44EAG]

Just drive it sensibly and perhaps avoid long journeys. These bushes will keep going for a while and you won`t hurt any other components on the car.

Mike

[jeff1954]

Mike is right about this, However I had the same noise on my S Type for quite some time but didn't show up on the MOT until recently as an advisory on both sides. Needless to say I have replaced them. You can tel the difference once they've been done.

Jeff

[Thixendale]

My car is relatively new to me and I did not have any seeking, but my bushes were worn etc. and I had the rear suspension replaced and I must admit it has transformed the handling of the car. I replaced all the suspension components rather than just the bushes.
Tony

[Popsjag]

Had the same issue with mine.

Just spent the last 3 days doing my lower wishbones, stabiliser links and anti-roll bar links.

I used Polybush replacements.

[Popsjag]

More

[J44EAG]

As this thread topic has re-opened, rather than debate further what has to be done to replace or recondition rear lower wishbones on Stype, X350 or XF models, here is the thread I constructed some years ago on the subject. Although the car used was an early model S-type, the thrust is identical for XF or X350 rear suspension lower rear wishbones. Note that the front end overhaul on this car had the early one piece lower FRONT wishbones used which are different to the "banana arm" type suspensions which came into being on 2002.5> cars.

Go to page 9 onwards of this thread where replacement of lower rear wishbone bushes is illustrated and discussed.http://www.jec.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=200&t=8040

Mike

[Tcollis]

Thank you all, for that really useful information and advice. I will certainly be following it.

Cheers

Tim.

[Tcollis]

Hi all,
I don’t do many miles in my car so have only just got around to taking this to the garage to be looked at. I have been advised it is the offside rear shock absorber that needs replacing and my garage are currently ringing round for prices. They have not undertaken the work yet as they have advised me they are getting prices around £740. That’s before labour and VAT so it’s looking like this is going to be an expensive job.
They have greased it for me as a temporary measure which has stopped the creaking noise.
I would be grateful for your views on price and where I might source from?
Thanks very much,
Tim.

[J44EAG]

An online search will provide a number of sellers. Its then down to you to decide who to buy from and at what price.

Used parts are another option but with that goes a level of risk. Used parts always come with a degree of wear present. Sometimes you hit lucky and get a part that might have several years of use left in it. On other occasions the supplied part can be a disappointment. Eurojag and Auto Reserve do their best to ensure they supply quality parts with a short warranty so that is worth investigating. Prices are usually about one third of new parts.

Air springs/dampers are complex and expensive. What to buy rests with the purchaser.

Mike K

[Tcollis]

Thanks Mike, I will bear this in mind. I may leave it now until the MOT in November. I presume it will be an MOT failure in any case and it will give me time to save for the work.

Cheers

Tim.