My 06 STR has 169,xxx on the clock, the car runs and drives great my only issue is from time to time the shifting quality is eh. With the milage and no history on the transmission what are yalls thoughts on a drain and fill with re adaption of the transmission? Or is it too old in the life cycle and should leave it alone?

 

That's my DIY Guide of HOW to do it:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...s-type-264102/

Regarding the "IF": I personally would not concede defeat accepting that my S-Type tranny will die soon (169k miles) and just stand there and watch it die. I personally would STILL do the ATF change (see above), but I would keep the old liquid, which came out there, just in case. If the new ATF would not work with the new ATF, I would try the old ATF again. Some people may think that 169k miles may be too late for the first ATF change, well, I would try anyway... I hope this will not do any damage to your tranny....

 

I had my transmission serviced at 104K miles as the car was new to me and it had developed a bit of the legendary "ZF lurch"; this improved things considerably, with the new ATF and was done by my trusted "indy". I did then take the car to the nearest Jaguar dealer and they refused to reset the adaptions because of the age and mileage on my Jag, saying that the reset could make things worse... They flashed the TCM software to the latest version and sent me on my way after charging me an hour's labor for the "brush off".

I would follow Peter's advice above. Being in the States, you can use Ford's Mercon SP, which is the same thing as ZF Lafeguard 6 (only dyed red per Ford spec). Both products are made by Shell Petroleum. Your car will over the course of time sort its own adaptations; this just takes longer than starting with a clean slate from a reset.

 

Sounds perfect, looks like the mercon is discontinued, will shop around still

 

I get the tranny fluid changed every 50-60,000 miles.

 

fluid and filter isn’t going to resolve anything. just make sure it’s full, trans cooler lines like to leak at the crimps and they die an early death.

if you want to buy time throw a valvebody kit, solenoids if they test clogged, and a bridge seal but end of the day 99% of these die from stator bushing wear that smokes the e pack.

the 3-4 4-5 5-6 is gonna get worse and eventually it has to come out

 

You should replace fluid and filter. It may or may not fix your issues, but, automatic transmissions, regardless of what the manufacturer says, need to have fluid replaced. Manuals also need it too.

 

Mercon SP is widely available?
Now I do think $20 a quart is too much and I might check what Lifeguard6 is going for these days? It has come down a good bit.
No still $25 a quart or so.

Better at $14 a quart from Oreilly's
Mercon SP
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I'd recommend replacing the bridge seal and 4 tube seals connecting the valvebody to the trans. Check fluid level as it makes a huge difference in the performance of the car. You'll have to follow the fill sequence to perform it correctly. I'd only use lifeguard trans oil . Also when you drop the pan look at the magnets to make sure there is no metal . I rebuilt my valve body with a sonnax zip kit and did the above service . The transmission shifts perfect .

 

RockAuto currently lists Lifeguard 6 for $11.28 per liter.
Pentosin ATF6 is also supposed to be the same spec.

 

Rock Auto also carries the equivalent Mercon SP for less than $9 a quart.
Mercon SP
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Thanks for posting the link. You have to look it up separately.
RockAuto does not list Mercon SP under either the S-Type or under the Lincoln LS.

 

Correct and they never will? Jaguar will recommend using their fluid only as will Ford. So Rock Auto does not have a dog in this fight and will not go out on a limb to try and save us DIY guys a few bucks. Think if they did and someone claimed it ruined their transmission because Rock Auto was selling fluid that was NOT recommended by the manufacturer?

Jaguar has a worldwide agreement with BP-who owns Castrol.
We found out independently from a worker at the Shell refinery that Mercon SP is just Lifeguard6 colored red.
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There are several fluids that meet the specifications of lifeguard fluid . Pentansol is a good one .

 

Don B. has warned me back then, that the topic of "which ATF for the S-Type" is a very explosive topic.
I have written what I got to say to that topic in my thread, which I linked at the very top of this thread here (mine was the first reply to the originator of this thread here).
I have not changed my point of view since then.

 

If your car has that many miles on it and you want to keep it, you should replace the pan too. The filter is in the pan, I'm pretty sure and can't be cleaned. Here is where to get a kit to do everything. In general I think using the ZF fluid is the way to go, all the fluid in the car does not drain out so I think it's much better to add the same stuff, especially when you can get the Lifeguard 6 fluid for about the same price. The fluid will be the right color too, so when you check it in the future you can tell if it's ok or not..
https://www.thectsc.com/products/oil...ce-186-61.html

 

That explanation about RockAuto doesn't help much. If you look at the RockAuto list, they also show some random fluids like Valvoline ... Multi-vehicle...whatever... so it is not RockAuto's problem what they suggest, it's up to owner due diligence.
There is another link back to Mercon SP, which is that the Ford 6R transmissions were made under license from ZF based on the 6HP26, starting in 2006, and the 6R spec calls for using Mercon SP.

 

Yes the Fords used Mercon SP which was another clue as to the source of the fluid.
Now I wonder if GM's 6 speed uses a different fluid too? Or the same?
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