Thank you for that info Leedsman. It is for this very same reason that I change the oil in my vehicles every 3000 miles or less. Back at the university, one of my professors was a tribologist for Chevron Oil. Synthetics were becoming popular at the time and he gave us students some inside information. That was 30 years ago, and I cannot remember it all, but his advice was to change the oil after 3000 to 4000 miles (depending on the thermal cycling and shear loading) because the additive packages were pretty much used up by then. Because it was the same additives put into the synthetics, they were all used up before any degradation of the core oil. His argument was that you could not utilize the benefits of the shear life of the synthetic, unless you could add just the additives as they were depleted.

So being a starving student, I realized that if I was going to change my oil every 3000, regardless if it was mineral or synthetic, why should I spend the extra money on the synthetic?

So, that was 30 years ago. Perhaps, additive packages are better now. But when synthetic oils are approximately 2-2.5 times the cost of mineral oils, am I going to trust that the additive packages in the synthetics will last 2 to 2.5 times that in the minerals? Maybe in those oils marketed for high mileage between changes, but other than that? I personally don't believe so.

Oil is an interesting subject of discussion. It is like a religion for people. Each person has their favorite brands, which has been recommended and sworn by people of influence (dad, granddad, mechanic, some engineer) and there is a loyalty to these brands. As for me, I am secular. I will buy whatever is on sale.

 

Heima --

The reason PAO synthetic makes a better ATF and engine oil is that the viscosity index is far better than mineral -- your tribologist man should have told you that. Far less viscosity improver is therefore required, therefore the lifetime is longer.
Synthetic was originally developed by the germans during WW2, taken up for lubricating jet engines in the 1960s, primarily due to the very high operating temperatures there.
If the engine in your car has any kind of turbocharger, this item runs VERY hot as it operates in the exhaust stream*. It therefore makes sense to use synthetic. It is much less likely to coke-up in the turbo bearings. Only the other day I saw on my tv an engine being bench-tested. The exhaust system and the obvious turbo were actually red-hot and glowing.
Re. the viscosity additive: I think it's Lubrizol who have come up with a new one where the molecules are star-shaped rather than long chain, and it promises to have a longer life. I don't know if this is available on the market yet.

Leedsman.

* Does not apply to superchargers. STR drivers need not worry on this score.

 

It's been about 144 miles since the tcm memory wipe and the transmission shift point are becomming much smoother. On another note I cant help that there is this feeling as if the transmission is deciding to shift up or not some times. I've been doing some research on the forum and seems to sound like it's hunting gears. could this be from the flash and will cure over time as it is still learning or a sign of TC failure? I'ts very slight if I wasn't monitoring the shift points I probably wouldnt have noticed it.

 

Well, I said I would get back to pricing of parts.

Fluid - Mercon SP, from Oreily Auto $4.59 a qt.
Filter pan, gasket, plug, and o-ring - Beck/Arnley 044-0351, $99 Rock Auto
Sleeve - c2c39599 $7.50 Gaudin Jaguar
Screws - c2c6729 1.05 Gaudin Jaguar

I've been doing a little research an it seems that the cooler lines could be high pressure. Because of that, I am little apprehensive to do a shade-tree mechanic transmission flush. Additionally, one rumor is that the fluid is thermostatically controlled. In the flow diagrams of the ZF 6HP26 repair manual, there is something looking like either a thermostat or pressure regulator, or check valve in the route from the tranny to the cooler.

I am thinking that a long drain including the cooler, then fill and run for a few minutes through the gears, then a long drain including the cooler, replace the filter, sleeve, etc and another fill, is better than just one drain and fill. Not quite a flush, but a heck of a lot safer than messing with high pressure lines.

The filter from Rock Auto is not the ATP for $105, I chose a BMW 545i filter, and got the Beck/Arnley. I know that Beck/Arnley repackages a lot of OEM parts, and I have my fingers crossed that it will be the same here. That is, a ZF filter and not a Taiwan filter. (Though Taiwan made stuff is pretty good, why not go with the OEM?)

Any comments are welcome.

 

Got the filter today. Made in Taiwan. (snap!)
It has a sticker on the side, stating to use only BMW transmission fluid, and it provides a part number.

 

I arrive home from Forida a couple of weeks ago loaded with new Jaguar parts,including what was required to change my transmission fluid,replace oil pan and electrical sleeve.
When I looked under the car,on stands since Oct 2012,I had a nice puddle of transmission fluid--looked like it came from the sleeve.

So I finally got to work on it today,using Forum resources---
1 My old transmission pan has torx 40 studs,
2 My fill plug is NOT hex,rather a torx-50
3 The old transmission fluid looks as clean as the new stuff(well alsmost)

So I am guessing that the previous owner had this job done some time before he sold the car.The last service(prior to my purchase in mid 2012) appears to have been done in mid 2011 and only 4000 miles ago.
Assuming the transmission was serviced at that time the sleeve sure did not last long.
A few pics added for interest

 

Here-

 

I'll bet that the previous owner may have had an ATF drain-and-fill but did not know about the sleeve issue so it was never changed....

 

Looks like that is what happened---the old sleeve I removed had the orange coloured O-rings.New ones being black.

It makes sense to change this $8 item each time the pan is off.

 

My machine had a leak from about the same location, but actually not from the sleeve - rather from the plug right next to it.

I have now tightened this plug, and it appears to have cured my leak. The question is just, what is this plug used for?

 

Looks like the ZF fill plug to me. It requires an 8mm hex....

 

But isn't the fill plug is on the right side of the tranny?

 

Yes. Just did a 6HP26 ZF pan/sleeve/fluid change on my wife's 2006 XK8 two days ago. The fill plug is indeed on the right side of the transmission. Klaus' kit from thectsc.com included a new fill plug. At 67,350 miles, the factory fluid was a medium brown and its friction modifiers were worn out. My wife had been complaining about sporadic rough shifts and hearing the infamous "ZF bark" for the past month or so. This ZF refresh job fixed both issues. We managed to get 5.5 litres of fresh Lifeguard 6 into the transmission before the overflow with the engine running and the transmission in Park told us it was time to screw the new fill plug into place....

Many thanks to Rick (joycesjag) for his ZF skills....

 

I had my fluid and filter changed 2 months ago by a transmission specialist in Friedrichshafen (Where these boxes are built).

The picture I posted was actually from the topic starter - if you check his posts, you can also see he had the filler plug on the right side. But his picture also shows this mystery plug next to the sleeve.

I wonder what it can be. Perhaps an undiscovered portal to another universe?

 

That would be so sweet if it was an alternative fill plug. It would make adding fluid so much easier.

Please oh great Jaguar gods, please let it be an alternative fill plug.

 

If I may say so, a well written and informative piece on changing ZF's ATF fluid by CCC. Going about it "by the book" is the only way to deal with a highly stressed system like the supercharged STR. This should mean no problems for the future. This is a piece for enthusiasts who are actually going to do the job themselves, not just read about it.

Leedsman.

 

Super, very helpful. Thanks so much for posting this, hard to find advice on Jag repairs. Worked out perfectly for me, gearbox stopped leaking oil!

 

I don't think the sleeve needs to be changed after the first time. It's like the IMT O-rings on the V-6 engine. Once you install the new part with the upgraded O-rings you are good to go. The sleeve should not start leaking again.

I don't think anyone has reported a replaced sleeve leaking?
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Just to add a note not mentioned here, if a fluid change doesn't fix the shifting issues, a relatively easy fix is the mechatronics actuators.

ctsc.com has the kit for $450, and the job is around 3-4 hours to drop the mechatronics, replace the actuators and reassemble. Can be done in your garage.

 

Which shifting problem? The Lurch is all software related.

Can you tell us which shift solenoids? There are a number of them. I think 7 in our 6 speeds?
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