Hello every body! I bought this 89 Xj at the beggining of the summer. I noticed a loud rattle in the front end any time im off road and cruising at speed. It does not make too much noise when cruising on road except when i hit any substantial bumps. I replaced the drivers side hub assembly and the ball joints seem to be in OK condition but i still cannot figure out what the issue is. I was wondering if any other Xj owners had experienced anything similar and what they have done to fix their problems. Im curious to wether it could be the controll arm bushings or possibly the C.A. bolts going into the unibody, has anyone had problems with those bolts wallowing out the mount holes? Sorry this is so long but i want to figure this out beforer i get stranded on the trail. Thanks for any input

Buddy had a XJ and the track bar bolt wasn't torqued to specs, rattled like crazy, especially offroad. It can be "tight" and still rattle, check it with a torque wrench to whatever the factory specs are.

Also check the trac bar bracket where it attaches to the unibody.The bolts always come loose.

What are you using for front bumpstops (the lower ones that sit inside of your springs). If they're not tight they'll rattle against the springs.

sweet!! I'm headed home right now(just got out of class) and im gonna check the track bar and mount and also the bump stops. Ill update if it is any of these things. thanks for the input.

Don't forget to check out the swaybar end links. The bushings can wear out and then it's metal on metal.

I went home yesterday and checked a few things. It turns out that the track bar mount at the frame and the lower controll arms bolts at the axle were both loose. Im glad i found these because when i was under there i also found that the d/s shock was just about to fall out of the upper mount hole:eek: ended up going on a 12-2am romping session in the desert, seems that fixed the rattle. Guess i need to check most all the bolts on that beast to make sure everything is tight. Thanks for the input guys!