Loud “bang” following lift

[allenjdeg2]

My 1969 FHC was recently lifted by my Jag mechanic to replace all wire wheels. The car was lifted at designed lifting points beneath body in front and at the bushing positions at rear. Following completion of service, driving the car home, I heard a loud metallic “bang” below the passenger side door sill. I first thought that I hit something in the roadway but didn’t see any debris in the roadway. The car performed normally and no damage was observed. I’m concerned that perhaps some structural abnormality may be hiding and may be dangerous in the future. Is it possible that following lifting the car was a bit tweaked and it just settled ? Inspection beneath the car following approximately a 30 mile drive was negative for any damage or obvious disruptions. Any suggestions?

[Heuer]

Sounds like a wheel weight dropped off and hit the underside of the car. Are the wire wheels new and where they newly balanced?

[christopher storey]

I am not quite sure what you refer to as "lifted at designed lifting points beneath body in front and at the bushing positions at rear." The only designed lifting points were the jacking points which were not really meant for use with a vehicle lift of any kind . And the place at the front where it is safest to lift is with a hardwood block inserted into the channel in the lower horizontal of the picture frame. What worries me slightly is that it is absolutely forbidden to lift under the Renolds tubing of the engine, suspension and bonnet frames, because it is possible to fracture this tubing which is delicate and which is designed to cope with the triangulated forces of the suspension and engine loads. I am also not sure what the bushings at the front are.

All that having been said by way of warning, I think it unlikely that a single bang, loud or otherwise, necessarily means that there is damage. What I would do is look very closely at the fit of the bonnet with the main shell of the car, to see that there are still even gaps all round both where the bottom of the fenders meet the forward parts of the sills, and at the top where the rear edge of the bonnet ( hood ) meets the forward edge of the scuttle. If those look o.k. then the front is probably unharmed, but if you are in any way concerned, then examine the tubes of the front end very carefully for any suspicion of cracking. Then examine the door fit at top, bottom, front and rear . Finally, check that all 4 main rear suspension cage hangers are undamaged, and that the front end of the radius arms are ok


PS having seen Heuer's post ( and having had that happen to me ) the bang is out of all proportion to the small size of an ejected weight ! - so that might well be the answer

[allenjdeg2]

Thank you guys for the response. I checked the new wheels and all of the weights seem to be in place . As far as the lifting places, I’m aware of the dangers of placing the stress on the wrong lifting areas. My Jag mechanic has a lot of experience on E-types and I’ll forward your great insights and info to him. I’ll check my body seams and door fittings as suggested and get back to you. Thanks again

[cactusman]

If they used stick On weights (hopefully not) then they may not be On the outer rim but inside behind the spokes as you look from outside. Another simple possibility is that you ran over a bolt on the road that was.flung up under the car and then bounced away....

[mystery type]

Ask your mechanic to check and see if he’s missing any tools.

[cactusman]

Good call!

[288gto]

Ask your mechanic to check and see if he’s missing any tools.

Or if you are worried, at least ask him to put it back on his ramp and give it a quick check over.