Soon after I had purchased my beloved 2003 Coupe I could not help but to take her for some spirited driving through my local canyon, and to my dismay noticed an interesting sound coming from the transmission as it downshifted into 3rd gear – the infamous “squawk”! I guess this is very common to this ZF 6HP26 tranny as mine has only 35k miles on it, and actually was replaced also at 27k miles under warranty by the original owner for the same issue.

After doing some research here and contemplating the ultra pricey additive found in the TSB, I decided I would simply go with a fluid change to hopefully remedy the issue. When I first saw the price of the Jaguar fluid I was stunned at the price tag of $50 per quart, but after some searching for the best price I was able to find the genuine ZF Lifeguard 6 fluid was for $18.53 per quart at thectsc.com. If anyone knows of a cheaper source please let me know for future reference, if not hopefully this will help out others in need of this premium liquid.

I ordered up 6 quarts and called around to see how much I could get it done for. Since I was able to find a local Jaguar technician to perform the change for $90 I thought this sounded like a worthy deal so I dropped off the car, fluids, and new drain and filler plugs this morning. The gentlemen at ctsc stated with the mileage on my tranny he would do the fluid change first to see if that fixes the issue, so I actually did not purchase the new pan per his advice.

So I am hopeful this will clear the squawk for at least another 30k+ miles, anyone else have any experience with this they’d care to share? Does the additive or fluid change always fix the issue, or is there another root cause that should be addressed sooner or later?

I will report back after I get the car back to share the outcome, wish me luck all!

 

I believe that every 6-speed ZF owner here on the forum that decided to drain & fill their ATF in an effort to cure their infamous ZF squawk has reported that fresh ATF did indeed cure the problem. For just how long remains to be seen....

Our 2005 S-Type's ZF squawked occasionally during the miserably hot summer of 2011. Once we were well into autumn 2011, the squawk disappeared and has not returned. The car is now approaching 73,000 miles, still with its factory fill of Lifeguard 6....

My wife's 2006 XK8's ZF squawked periodically during the summer of 2012. Now that we are well into autumn, it still squawks occasionally but not as much as it did during the summer months. The car is now approaching 52,000 miles, still with its factory fill of Lifeguard 6....

I have done a tremendous amount of research on these ZF boxes (including speaking with ZF tech support several times) during the past three years and have not yet decided if I will refill them with Lifeguard 6 when I opt to do the drain & fill procedure on both of our Jaguars. I appreciate the fact that the cost of Lifeguard 6 has dropped significantly, but there may be better all-around ATFs out there for even less money. Several long-time members here have had success with Castrol Multi-Import, Mobil One, and Pentosin ATFs....

 

Makes me hopeful this will fix my squawker, for a while at least! Also makes me feel a little better hearing it doesn’t sound like it causes any serious failures..

I was thinking of going with the Motorcraft Mercon SP for $4.59 at O’ Reilly’s to save some cash, but I admit I really like staying OEM whenever possible. So when I found this deal I figured it was only $80 bucks more (for 6 quarts) to have the genuine ZF product for years to come so I went for it.

I already got the call that the car is ready and they said it only took 5 quarts, perhaps due to the fact they did not remove the pan I imagine.

Stay tuned for the outcome!

 

Well I am glad to report I have great news - after hundreds of miles of driving in various conditions and speeds including city streets, canyon runs grabbing hold of the j-gate, freeway traffic, and long distance top speed jaunts the transmission has not made a single squawk since the fluid change!

Thanks to the forum member postings, and also Klaus at thectsc.com for the guidance and advice to get this issue resolved quickly and for a very palatable price. This is what forums are all about! :-)