Hello all,

I love this forum btw - thanks to every member and admin, have learned a lot here.

So my story goes like this, noticed oil leaking on the drive way - took the car to the mechanic as he just did an oil change 4 days ago, asked him to verify the bolt/filter was tight and not leaking. Mechanic told me the transmission pan was the culprit, to the tune of $500 to repair, I gave the ok and picked up the sleeve C2C 39599 for an extra $12 at the local jaguar dealership.

Mechanic installed the new pan/filter and sleeve + 5 quarts of "original transmission fluid" , said car was ready. When I went to get the car, transmission fault light was on & cruise not available on dash. Shifting the car from park to reverse took a 20x the normal amount of force but the j-gate did go into reverse (no lights on the j-gate, pushing the S button light did not turn on either) and the car drove - transmission would not move out of first gear until 40mph and about 3k rpm, at which it tried to change gears but the entire dash went nuts- all sorts of lights went on and all the needles/pins went to the far left, power steering felt like it turned off. Parked and turned off the car.

Took the car straight back to the shop - mechanic checked and said the computer is saying cannot communicate and he cant read the error codes. He assures me he used the proper fluid although I did not see the actual bottles. He is "checking" the issue - in my humble opinion I told him I feel like something is not connected or the wrong fluid or not enough fluid was put in. As I read more I feel like checking the battery if it is the culprit- however it is only a 1 year old battery and car has shown 0 signs of any transmission/battery problems before this.

2006 Jaguar S-type 3.0 111k miles - transmission was perfectly smooth before and no issues. Appreciate any / all advice - this job although seems easy and tons of details on the forum, I was not comfortable doing it myself and without a lift - now I am wishing I had tackled it myself, stuck in a borrowed car until I can get this resolved. I scanned the car myself before leaving and received error codes: U0155 & U0101

Thank you in advance for any advice/help.

 

Have the Technician check to ensure the correct fluid level has been attained with the vehicle level and the gearbox at 45 C to 50 C temperature level. Search this forum for information on servicing the ZF 6HP26 gearbox for the correct procedure.

If the electrical connector sleeve has been replaced, be sure the sleeve has been correctly seated with roughly 3mm gap to the gearbox body and that the plug has been fully and correctly installed.

 

Ty, will pass on that information and update the post later - I am losing faith in the tech at this point and worst case may just take my car and redo the work myself over the weekend. Just hope they didn't damage my tranny.

 

Possibly a failing battery, but maybe not...

Are you saying the shifter is physically difficult to move into reverse, drive, and other slots along the J-gate? If so, I would look at the cable/linkage assembly...

Beyond that, I would question the tech EXACTLY what fluid was used, (although I doubt that would be the issue, but good to get an honest answer), and I would also ask if he followed the ZF fluid fill procedure, as these gearboxes are very particular about correct fill level, and if he isn't informed of this fact, could have botched the job...

 

Yes , shifter is extremely hard to move from P to reverse, a lot of force must be used but it moves perfectly easy and smooth from reverse to all other gears. This has never been an issue before- always moved easily. Also, the lights under the j-gate (P,R,D) none of them are lit up and the sport mode button does not light up when pressed. Leads me to believe the electrical connector wasnt plugged in well after sleeve replacement, I did see the old sleeve/pan with the orange o-rings vs the new black ones on the replacement sleeve.
But not im 100% what connector that is in the sleeve.

 

I also suspect that your electrical connector is not fully engaged. The pan must be dropped again, the new sleeve must be reseated, and the ATF must be refilled properly. If you can save your ATF to a clean catch basin, it can be reused. I know from having to do this on my wife's XK8 in July 2013....

 

See the attached file from California Transmission Supply Company regarding the correct procedure to replace the connector sleeve on the ZF 6HP26 gearbox.

If the gearbox was not warmed to the correct temperature of between 45 C to 50 C when checking/adding fluid, it is most likely low.

 

Can some please explain why that connector needs replacing?

Thanks
==================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons
'08 Jaguar S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 hp / 259.67 torque)

 

It doesn't. The sleeve does. It leaks, esp. with age.

 

The seal on the original connector sleeve has been uprated to a new material that improves sealing.

It is quite common to see a small seepage or leak from the sleeve area that may require the fluid to be topped up. When the gearbox is serviced, the sleeve should always be replaced along with the filler plug washer and pan.

 

+3 on the connector sleeve needing to be fully-seated.

 

Yes and most likely the pan was not the problem. When the sleeve leaks it runs down to the pan and drips off.

The pan is black plastic and it's not that easy to see the sleeve leak because there is no room to work or see very well.

I think the connector was not installed correctly but the problem with the shifter sounds mechanical and had to be caused by the mechanic.

Do NOT let him off the hook! Your car now has more problems that it had when it went in for service.
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Thank you for all your replies and advice.

Today the car will not start, all the lights go on as normal - dash still shows transmission fault but car will not turn on. As the key is turned to the on position - the dash is lit up but no noise etc, just nothing and does not turn on. Tested battery shows 1200ca and good, did not charge battery.

I am nervous to let this guy touch my vehicle any further but I am at a loss, I believe my first step is to re-do the pan/sleeve job myself and make sure that connector is seated properly & clean. Before this guy touched my car everything has been running perfectly for 15k miles with only maintenance being done.

The shifter cable is bolted tightly on the side of the transmission.

 

When trying to start, watch the PATS light. Should go out. Else flashes a code (over the next 2 mins or so).

It may be some such interlock as the brake switch and this'll help figure it out.

 

Dash still showing transmission fault. Only lights on are the amber circle for transmission fault, check engine & oil light.

Car will not start up. Thinking to leave the battery disconnected over night maybe the ecu will reset?

Should I tackle the pan/fluid/sleeve & connector job tomorrow, as the car will not start now I dont see how I can get the proper amount of trans fluid back in ?

 

To ensure the correct fluid level is attained, you need to have a thermometer to register the temperature of the gearbox sump. An infrared thermometer can work along with a pump to add additional fluid as needed, which can be difficult given the location of the fill opening next to the exhaust.

 

Thanks for the clarification, I have an infrared thermometer i was planning to use and manual pump - but seeing as the car will not even start I dont know if I should open the pan and check the connector?

 

Are there any DTCs stored and is the PATS functioning correctly?

You can see if the sleeve is correctly seated from the outside along with the connector plug being fully engaged.

The engine must be running to correctly gauge the gearbox fluid level.

 

The PATS light is on top of the dash in the middle up by the base of the windshield. Not on the dashboard.

That's the little red light we are talking about. Is it solid red or is it flashing and does it change when you turn the key?
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since you have mentioned a problem with the shifter being hard to move, the car might not be correctly in park or neutral so it will not start.

Try moving it even slightly to see if this corrects your no start.