This being my first post other than my intro in the New Members area, I wanted to ask about what seems a dreaded problem with the X. My 2002 X had the transmission replaced at 43K miles. It now has 74K miles and it will be getting a complete flush in a few days by a local trusted shop. My question is that if it was replaced by the dealer, was the replacement one that was posibly of better quality and would not fail like many already have, or am I expecting to deal with a bad transmission in the future? Any thoughts?

BTW, I also read many posts regarding the changing of trans fluid, and this is something I will be doing anyways since my extended warranty requires it.

Ozzy

 

The trannies are weak to begin with so failure is possible at any time. The don't exactly drop like flies, but they surely are not to be trusted with your life.

What happened the first time? Gear problem, slipping, etc...?

 

Don't really know. It was done by the first owner under warranty.
Are the replacements the same as originals, or upgraded to better quality in any way?

 

I'd imagine they are direct replacements meaning the same thing...more than liekly remanufactured so they fixed what was wrong and went from there...that is my guess but I don't personally know...you should be fine!

 

If you want to take any preventative maintenance, you could install a tranny cooler. Heat is a transmission's worst enemy, and the cooler could help out with adding to the longevity of it. Tranny coolers are really cheap, and installing one is fairly simple. I'd check out that route if you have worries.

 

Father in law had one installed and it cost like 3-400 for the biggest baddest one they had....I'd imagine one for our small engines would be even cheaper! His van now runs sooo much cooler...

 

Besides aforementioned about the trannies , you should change your tranny filter as well .

 

Where would be a good place to go to have it done at? Besides the jag dealers of course!

 

Well, such as independent jag specialists, tranny shops, even a privateMB shop ....Anywhere but where you can't see shade tree mechanies lol

 

Bet they still get a lot though don't they? Could you go to a tranny shop or would it have to be someon specializing in jags only?

 

The latter one .BTW, I believe any DIYer can still do that

 

Took it today to get both the transmission and gearbox serviced. The shop is a reputable one and they did a rebuild on my Trans Am's transmission a few years back. He said he could get the Jatco fluid no problem, so I asked him to service the gearbox while he did the transmission. I am out of town and my wife will pick it up tomorrow, will let you know how much it is.
I had read a few other threads about these "Sealed for Life" transmission & gearbox. So I asked the shop guy, and he smiled and said, "they are serviceable". He has done other Jags before so I would say this is indeed a good thing.
Thansk for your replies, it somewhat eases my mind some.

Ozzy

 

OK, the cost to flush out both transmission and gearbox was US$161.00, and that included replacing a leaking CV Boot clamp, which I had mentioned to him that there was a leak and didn't know where it was coming from. So he got it fixed while it was on the lift. This is a Transmission only shop, and they have always had a good reputation. I do most work on my cars but since this car is new to me, I just don't feel like messing with it and let the expert take care of it.

-Ozzy

 

You can do it yourself for about $50 - the price of a standard tranny cooler, which has about 500% larger of a cooling area than the stock one plus you would be running the stock one and the aftermarket one at the same time so you get the benefit of both. Or you can spend about $100 and get one of the more expensive ones if you want. Personally, I have seen both side by side and think that the $50 one is fine - especially after comparing it to the stock one which has practically no cooling area at all. Hooking it up is simple. Just locate the stock cooler - usually in front of the radiator on the bottom and looks just like the radiator but small and skinny (like the length and width of a foot long ruler, and about 2" depth). Cut out a small section of the line with a pipe cutter and then run a hose from one end of the pipe you cut to the "in" of the cooler, and the other end to the "out" of the cooler. Attach the cooler to the radiator with the pins it comes with, and you are done. It takes literally 30 minutes start to finish.

That must have been some sort of super-deluxe model that your father-in-law had installed, lol. The labor would be cheap on install.

 

For everything you had done, that price is a steal. It's nice to see that some shops still have a heart. Doing it yourself would have been cheaper, but probably not worth it for the amount of labor.

 

Their standard transmission flush service on a regular transmission is about US$70, not including filter change I believe. So I agree, it was a decent price.

 

Decent price I'd say a steal...especially if they warrant their work as from the sound of it it wouldn't be worth doing it yourself...although that was auto trans...and yours was standard...you say they'd charge 70 for auto?

The tranny cooler they put on was like 100 he could have bought the lesser one for 60 but he wanted the bigger for towing a dual axle trailer...his van is also v8....the smaller ones were cheaper but he figured for the little bit of extra money why not...I believe they changed his fluid filter and all of that...problem was that his radiator was what was bad and making his van overheat...so he spent that money than had to do the radiator...following both though his temp gauge never goes past about the 40% marker since the work was done and that is also with pulling the dual axle trailer loaded with product! The money for the cooler was well worth it for that piece of mind...

 

Mine is Auto, sorry for the confusion. What I meant to say was that it normally cost around $70 for auto trans in any other car with a dipstick, pan, etc...
The fact that it was more work because they have to remove plugs and it's not really a regular flush it costs more. Plus they did the Gearbox too.
I had my TA done and it was around $70.

Ozzy

 

Thats cool I still don't think the $161 was too bad a deal either...car run better now? Can you notice the difference in the transmission?

 

No difference that I can notice. I was mostly doing it as a preventive maintenance since I just bought the car. I like to start fresh with everything that way I know for sure where I stand on maintenance intervals.

Ozzy