I took my '97 XK8 to have the transmission serviced. No driveability issues. I just wanted to know it had been done since I bought the car used.

Here is what was found on the magnets. Apparently shavings are normal; chunks are bad.





Now I am searching transmission rebuild threads and trying to figure out my appetite for pulling the transmission myself. Folks on the forum seem to have had some success. Maybe I will, too.

As an alternative, does anyone have a transmission rebuild recommendation in Austin?

Thanks,
Tom

 

Is it *possible* that the A-drum went at some point and the repair shop didn't clean the whole thing out? I would drive until a problem surfaced.

 

odd that just one magnet has 99% of the crap on it. You say it has been fine, no running issues, I agree with above post, run it till it dies. That could be a ways down the road.

 

Thanks, D.

I don't know enough about the internals of this transmission (yet), but A drum replacement seems like a priority in the threads I have read so far.

You are now the fourth source of advice starting with, "drive it until..."

Transmission shop: drive it until you have a problem, then come talk to us about a rebuild
Co-worker: drive it like crazy until the transmission blows, then figure it out
Indie Jag shop: drive it until the transmission starts to slip, then sell it

I want to drive it until have a reasonably priced fix for it. I have not yet wrapped my head around the difference between the sum of the cost of rebuild parts and the cost of having it rebuilt.

Now, if there were a drop-in manual transmission for this car...

Tom

 

In my opinion i'm 95% sure it's the A drum. The reason that the pieces of metal are on the one magnet is because it's forward right of the pan and that is the first place oil from the A drum is going.

The queston for me is are you planning to keep the car?
If your not going to keep it sell now before the drum goes completely. Once the drum goes who is going to buy a car that needs a several thousand dollar repair. After the drum goes I think you be lucky to get $1000 for it.

If you plan on keeping the car why not fix it now. I don't like driving a car I can't rely on. You never know when it will go. Yes you can probably get back home in limp mode but that is not a guarantee.

If you do the work yourself you can fix it for $300 to $600 depending on if you replace seals and clutch disc.

To me the hardest part of the repair is getting the transmission out and back in again. The actual A drum repair is fairly straightforward.
If you decide to do the repair there is plenty of help on the forum.
Good luck.

 

Thanks!

I definitely want to keep the car.

I'm all in favor of a $600 fix. I just need to figure out space to lift the car then work on the trans to make that price point achievable.

It seems like shops are interested in selling a complete rebuild, but I don't understand their math. Assuming the needed parts come to $600 (or even $1000), I have a hard time figuring out where the remaining $2500-$3000 goes. That would make it about a 25 hour job, and I don't think it is.

I'm sure the problem is my lack of knowledge.

Tom

 

With the way I was describing you are only repairing the A drum and not doing a complete rebuild.

 

Ah. I'm learning more all the time.

Tom

 

Regarding workspace- You can remove with a floor jack and jackstands, the bellhousing slides *just* between the body and the wheel. The transmission just needs to be stood up on its tail and secured (or leaned in my case) in position to remove the bellhousing bolts and pull the bellhousing>>Adrum assembly.

The rest can be done on any kitchen table covered with cardboard or wood for spills. The tricky part is lining up the clutch plates and making sure everything slides all the way home when reassembling. Swap out the valve as well, although that job would likely be better off being done with the trans in the car (less messy).

 

Thanks for the info! I'm pretty sure I won't be allowed to use the kitchen table for this, though.

Tom

 

Just had mine rebuilt. It was driving OK except for some occasional lagging downshifts. Thinking a fluid change would help, I dropped the pan, drained and replaced the filter. Two weeks later the shifts were bad enough it was throwing codes.

It was the A drum. Had them do a full rebuild with new seals, gaskets, checked the valve body and solenoids, etc., etc. and main seal while they were at it. I did a google search for the parts they charged me for and including the fluid (the liquid gold ZF stuff) it would have been $1k+ for parts not using Jag dealers. Cost me $2878 out the door to have them do it.

I'm in the "drive it until it breaks" camp. Even with the worn drum, mine did not leave me stranded and I could clear the gearbox fault/limp mode by shutting off the car and restarting it. Drove it a couple of weeks like that until I could get it into the shop.

 

Thanks, Mike!

BTW, I sent you a PM with a question.

Tom