Ever since I had the rear springs and shocks replaced, the car makes a faint clicking noise when turning to the right, which disappears if I apply brakes or straighten the wheel. The new springs raised the rear about 1-2 inches…I like the slight rake!
I fear some bearing in the drivetrain or wheel is overloading. Is this likely or is there another probable cause?
Since I don’t have access to a lift, and my trusted indie servcie shop is now a Kia dealership, it’s not easy to get the car elevated to conduct a thorough inspection, although I can’t see any obvious interference points - no telltale shiny metal around the rear end or driveshaft.
Thanks for any suggestions.
John McDonnell
northern NJ
\1986 XJ6S3 Cobalt Blue/Biscuit 171k miles and driving strong
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What is your ride height, John - it should be - measured from the cross member and ground; it should be 7.45" +/- 0,25"…
Everything is meant to work perfectly over the whole suspension travel - which is considerable, so the increased ride height ensuing from new springs is not the cause. However, a slack in a universal joint may chatter, and applying brakes may take up the slack. Or there may be some other explanation…
You can of course load up the boot with sandbags to bring the ride height down - to see what happens? And you can jack up the car to inspect for slack in the universal joints - or other areas of interest…
Hi FrankThank you for the excellent suggestions.
I’ll slide under and measure the ride height, which I suspect is may be too high and while I’m there see if I can discover any slack in the universals. If the rear is right, the front is probably low as the front springs are still original, and it’s probably time to have a shop install the replacements that have been sitting in the garage for too long.The transmission mounts are original and in bad shape. Could this be the cause of misalignment under power in the drive shaft?
I found two shops in NJ with good knowledge of Jag’s. MotorCraft in East Rutherford, and another in Flemington. Corinthian Motors in Mahwah closed about three years ago, and Radical Motors in Ramseylate last year, so I’ll need to drive a little for a shop that knows XJ6’s. I expect that the local Jag dealer is too focused on current models. Sadly, I live one mile from Jag USA HQ. Too bad they don’t have repair facilities for classic models!
John McDonnell
from HP notebook
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Loose engine/gearbox mounts will cause a lot more motion while accelerating rather the mere turning, John…
…so if acceleration causes no noisy reactions, mounts are not a prime cause of the clicking noise - but they should be kept in good order. If you had the powrlock diff, one would of course suspect that - but keep looking…
You should of course check front ride height - unlike the rear, it is adjustable using packing rings. Front ride height is measured from the centre of the outer headlamps to the ground - 24 5/8" minimum…
As an aside; measuring ride height consists of first press down on the bumper - then lift, and slowly release. Flat ground, of course, and full tanks - and car should be rolled 2 car length to release suspension tension…
