I'm looking for peoples thoughts on this.
I read the DIY section on changing the transmission oil pan/filter and sleeve on the XJR. Being super busy and perhaps a bit lazy I instead took the car to a supposed British car specialist here in LA. They did the job in a little over two hours....and wanted to bill me for 3.5 hours. I argued and they agreed to lower my rate a few dollars.

Now, my XJR is pristine. Never been towed. No mechanical issues. Just turned 70k miles a few days ago.

The second day driving my car....about six miles after the first day of driving about 24, I give the car some gas as the light turns green and get about six inches when I hear a loud banging sound. First thought was the transmission blew up. I run out of the car and jack it up with the scissor jack in the trunk.

I saw no pieces of transmission on the ground...but then noticed the driveshaft was up high in the tunnel!

I discovered the driveshaft was separated, as though it pulled out from a sleave, in the front of the shaft. I had suspected it was the rubber mount but that appeared fine.

Now, this is the same basic area of the sleeve that is to be replaced when the transmission oil and pan are serviced.

Seems way too coincidental that a car that never had a mechanical breakdown all of a sudden has a bizarre failure just ~30 miles after the transmission was serviced and its the same basic area underneath the car.

Has anyone every had or heard of such a driveshaft failure on a 2004 series XJ?

Anyone familiar with the construction of the driveshaft?

Is it possible the shop was irritated with me and could have done something?

Seems odd to me a car goes 70k miles without a major problem then 30 miles after the transmission area is worked on there's a driveshaft failure next to the transmission.

Thoughts?

 

The plastic sleeve is at the rear of the tranny, but the shop really had no reason to touch the shaft. Unless you see something very obvious...like missing bolts or dents in the shaft from being jacked on, it sounds like it was just bad timing.

 

If the shop did the sleeve they would have removed the trans support.

Im guessing they did not tighten the bolts and when you gave it a bit of gas the trans moved enough to pop the shaft

Cheers
34by151

 

I don't think you need to remove the support to replace the sleeve but to make sure check the tightness of the bolts on the mount then you know for sure

 

Absolutely...there is no need to loosen anything else to replace the sleeve. Of course, that doesn't mean they didn't!

 

Thanks for all the replies. I saw the car on the lift for the first time now. (I crawled under it a bit while waiting for the tow truck on the side of the road last Friday. ) I was shocked by what I saw! The shaft did not disconnect from the rubber donut behind the transmission. Rather, it sheared off! The shaft is basically thin wall tubing. I'd say thinner than exhaust tubing. Right behind the point where the shaft connects to the transmission is where it broke. I spoke to Jaguar specialists and parts recyclers and no one has ever heard of this happening. My theory is its a bit like an empty soda can. It's fairly strong in the direction it was created to support.....but put a crease in the thing and it collapses easily.

My car has been trouble free and the only reason I had the pan replaced is I noticed drips of oil on my garage...so in other words, a bit of preventive maintenance. The plug that gets changed at the same time is just inches from where the driveshaft failed. Moreover, a transmission shop tells me they lower the transmission mount for better access to the plug.

My car has given me 70k miles without any issues other than air shock replacement. The drive shaft failed 30 miles after this shop replaced the trans plug and trans oil pan/filter. I was in traffic and just started to move from a green light when it failed while hardly giving it any guess at all. (E.g., I didn't do a 6000 rpm neutral drip nor was I drag racing the car!)

Any thoughts here from the Jaguar community on what may have happened here?

 

Well I am not a Jaguar tech but I have done this job twice, once on my Vanden Plas and once on my S-Type. I did not touch the rear mount or the prop shaft on either.It is just not necessary.


You need to post a close up picture of the failed pieces --there is a possibility someone may spot something. Also you may be able to determine if the rear mount fasteners have been recently moved.

 

ExcelsiorZ,

That is truly distressing!

The only possibility I can think of is that the shop used a jack on, or otherwise dented the propshaft while doing your pan/sleeve swap.

If they removed the trans/rear engine mount, perhaps the mechanic felt he needed to support the assembly and chose the propshaft to locate his jack. It would be worth very carefully inspecting the propshaft for any signs that this is what occurred, and if so, insisting the shop replace your shaft at no cost to you.

 

Here are photos of the shaft in the car still....there's not much to see as it literally sheared like a soda can.

 

Never seen a road car prop do that is the rest of the drive train ok the metal has like you said ripped a like a can . I would say there has been a fracture or weak point in the weld at the front of the prop and has give way when you have put your foot down I don't think the work done on the car would have caused this

 

I know you don't want to hear it...but I don't think the shop caused this. At least not the most recent visit. A failure like that would take more than 30 miles to run its course. It would take time for a dent or nick to fatigue and grow to the point where it could no longer take the load.

If they dented it enough to cause a quick failure, then the shaft would likely have vibrated like a big-dog during that 30 miles. It is most likely a manufacturing flaw that grew...or a dent that started to split many miles ago.

Once you get the parts out, if you can look and take some close up pics of the drive-side stub, we might be able to see beach-marks radiating from the point of origin. That is the point to study to see if you can detect abuse or other damage.

Also, you are very lucky this happened at slow speed. It would have been a wild ride if you were in the left lane on a LA freeway when it split!

 

I know for sure there was no dent or crack there before because the car was put on a lift the day before by another shop and they did an inspection with me also looking over the driveline. The shop was not a Jaguar specialist and they said they could do the job but acknowledged they had never done one before. So, with me under the car they went over what they thought would have to be done, with a flashlight, pointing out where the plug was and how it would need to be accessed. I remarked how my drivetrain looked pretty new for a 2004 car. There were no creases or dents in the driveshaft at that time.

I spoke with an engineer yesterday and he said if they used a pry bar on the shaft, which he said was entirely possible, or other wise put a dent in the shaft, that could cause it to fail.

I also spoke with a couple of Jaguar parts recyclers and they said never heard of such a failure. They also said that if it occurred within 30 miles of being worked on that very area that, to them, it was pretty obvious.

It would not take long for the shaft to fail once a dent or crease is put in it. The shaft, as mentioned earlier, is thin like exhaust tubing, perhaps significantly thinner. If you push down on a straight soda can its pretty strong. PUt a little crease in its side then push down and it doesn't take long at all for it to collapse. The idea that it would take a long time for a crease zone (i.e., a structurally weakened area of the shaft) to fail is incorrect given the thin wall nature of the tubing.

 

Have you spoken to them?
Chances are unless they are willing to put their hands up you will have a tough time to prove anything.

 

I just spoke to Jaguar NA and then to a leading Jaguar Dealership. I spoke to the service manager who then also talked to his senior most tech guys. He said he'd been with Jaguar for 26 years and never heard of one of these driveshafts failing like this. Ever.

He concluded the shop likely put a crease or ding in the driveshaft while doing the pan and plug replacement.

He said not only has he never heard of it ever happening, but the fact that it occurred 30 miles after picking the car up made it pretty apparent.

 

I agree, but what does the shop that did the work say?

 

I just got a voicemail from the shop. They are "upset" with me for even thinking they might have done something that could cause the driveshaft failure.

Suffice to say, they take zero responsibility and even fail to acknowledge it is possible for them to have done something wrong.

 

I agree that the circumstantial evidence is very strong. I think 30 miles is plenty of distance for a slightly-damaged propshaft tube to disintegrate, given that the XJR engine produces what, 400 ft. lbs. of torque? But without clear evidence of prybar or jack marks, I don't know how you will force the shop to admit guilt and reimburse you for a replacement shaft assembly.

 

Everyone is jumping to conclusions here. It may be the shop's fault, or maybe not.

Take some pics of the drive side stub that are close up and in focus. I spent 7 years investigating aircraft accidents and have a degree in material engineering. I will look the pics over and let you know what I see.

If the shop is at fault, the evidence of a dent or damage will be on the broken pieces. If it is the result of high cycle fatigue...and not the shop's fault, then that evidence will also be there.

When you ask Jag...you are asking for an engineering assessment from customer service reps. They have no idea what happened and are trained not to ever admit fault. Asking a mechanic at the shop is only little better. They are likely only high school grads and have little experience other than replacing broken parts.

Off hand I see nothing abnormal about the material used in the shaft. That is how all driveshafts are all made...you just don't get to see how thin they are until they break.

 

All of which also suggests that *your* repair shop made a mistake that *no other repair shop has ever made* while servicing the transmission.

I'm not sayin' that's impossible, obviously, but.....it adds to the strangeness of the situation if nothing else.

Cheers
DD

 

Agreed. Any damage caused by the shop will be quite evident. I see nothing in the pics that would indicate one way or the other.