I was hoping for some advice and opinions. My 2002 XK8 conv now has 59,980 miles on it. Am I to assume that there is a recomended 60,000 mile service that is due. If so, what all does or should that include. I thought I would check before I just pulled it in the Jaguar dealership. I believe there is a transmission flush as well as a trans filter of some sort that is supposed to be replaced. Should I have the Jaguar dealer perform this or is a local import service facility just as good. I will always trust my car to the certified Jaguar Technicians. Is there any particular questions I should ask while my car is in the air and the tranny is wide open. I still have a good two months worth of driving before I store it for the winter season. Is this something I should do right away and put a few miles on it prior to storage or can this be done just prior to storage and be fine sitting for four to five months. Does anyone recomned anything additional be preformed at the same time while it is in the shop. Any sort of prevenative maintance that you can add would be appriciated. I just want the best for my car, but at the same time, I have found this forum to be very informative and educational. Thank you for your advice and opinions. Happy motoring, Eroc.

 

There is a service requirement page in your owners manual that calls for the usual service items; change oil/filter, air filter and wiper blades. Changing the fuel filter is the one additional item added at 60k. Beyond that there are a dozen 'check' items and that's it.

Jaguar does not have a service interval for the transmission fluid/filter although probably 99.9% of the contributors to this forum would disagree. The ZF 5HP24 transmission has a reported history of failure higher than I consider acceptable without service. ZF now recommends 100,000 Km, 60k miles fluid/filter replacement.

I would ask your Jaguar dealer what the cost of replacement is before turning the car over to them. You might find the number a little shocking. The ESSO LT71141 spec ATF fluid is available at other than the Jaguar dealer for $14+ per liter and as non ESSO brands for $5.

Your transmission is used in BMW cars also. I found a local import specialist, experienced in ZF ATF changes that quoted $120 plus oil/filter.

I would do it now to ensure that you don't have any leaks or other problems rather than wait for half a year for a come back.

What is the manufacture date of your '02 (driver door label, 'B' column)? Early '02 cars, had the plastic cam chain tensioners that are subject to failure. My '02, with 46k miles had a crack in the plastic body.

 

MFG DATE 12/01...What is the plastic cam chain tensioners that can crack or sometimes fail? Thanks for the good information. I really only put but maybe 300-500 miles a month at best on my car. That is why I was asking about how soon I should get the service done. Regardless, thanks for your input and please let me know about the tensioners. If there was an issue, would I feel something while driving? This is probably something that would just disable the car should there be a failure.

 

From '96 through August '01 Jaguar used plastic cam chain tensioners in the 4.0L engines. There were numerous failures resulting in bent valves and worse.

In August '01 the engine assembly line changed to a metal bodied tensioner that solved the problem. While a December car assembly date is probably safe, it is not guaranteed. Ask your Jaguar dealer to give you a report on your engine, transmission and all options delivered on your car based on the VIN. The engine serial number is encoded with the manufacturer date, i.e. 010818xxxx is August 18, 2001. That is the date of the changeover.

 

Hey testpoint, I have a question on these tensioners since you are talking about them. Did Jag have different series of tensioners as far as color? The reason I ask is I just peaked at mine on a reman engine and the tensioner at the cam was a red/orange color. I thought I have seen photos of a cream tensioner else where in this forum. Any thoughts or insight.

 

I believe that all came as white plastic which discolored with oil and heat into the red-orange we see. That is an assumption on my part as all the new plastic units that I have seen are white.

While we conversationally refer to 3 generations, plastic, plastic with springs and metal, a tech posted at one time that there was about a dozen releases, counting left and right over the years.