Hello all,

I have an ‘04 XJ8 with 100k. I recently have had some transmission issues. It started with the dash light of “Transmission Fault”, or to that nature, and went into limp mode. There was a few drops of what I now assume was trans fluid that I had noticed few days prior. I was not far from home, so I drove her back to the garage. Took it to a mechanic the next day, drove fine, no dash light. To make a long story short with the mechanic situation, trans pan was replaced and new trans fluid added. They had stated it was low on fluid.

I got the car back, and have put about 300miles on her. There is still a leak. It appears I have found where it’s coming from, but I am unsure of what this is. It is a shaft a few inches long and is at the very back right of the transmission, about level or just above the bottom of the trans pan. Can anyone inform me of what this is and what a sensible solution may be? I appreciate all and any input.

Thank you


Looking from straight below, up at the rear of transmission.

Looking from side-view, passenger side. It is directly behind and the right rear of the transmission.

 

I should also noted that I have tried tightening the other end of the bolt, and it did budge a very minimal amount. I am not sure this fixed it, as a small amount of trans fluid re-appeared. I gave it one more strong arm and am waiting if it re-appears. It lost quite a bit of fluid on the ground prior to any attempts of tightening.

 

Stuck my phone up above. This is the sleeve I see is commonly talked about. Could this be the culprit? The fluid leaking out and onto garage from above pictures is clean. Everything up here appears dirty, but suspect.

 

Yes, more than likely your mechatronic sleeve. Sad news for you is the fluid needs to be drained and pan needs to be dropped in order to swap it.

No way to know how low your fluid level actually was unless they measured the fluid upon draining, which I doubt as they didn't even pay attention to looking at that sleeve.

Any competent mechanic working with the 6HP26 transmission should know to check/replace this sleeve.

It's leaking pretty badly I have to say and will cause a multitude of electrical/TCM issues.

I'd find another shop and get it sorted.

Also, what type of fluid did the tech use? Hoping Mercon SP and nothing else... (well, Lifeguard 6 is OEM spec but that fluid is golden hue)

Also, hoping the tech used a genuine ZF pan with integrated filter and not the China crap!

Good Luck.

 

+1 on what abonano wrote.In photo 1 and 2 you can see the rear gearbox suspension. Has nothing to do with the leaking, the oil drips down from above.

Fritz

 

Thank you both for the replies. I was told Mercon was used, I am not positive where the pan came from but I could probably indicate that next time I am under there.

The frustrating part, is that he mentioned the electronic sleeve the first time around is known to have issues, but felt it was the trans pan leaking instead. The odd thing, is that the leak has changed spots (relative to drip location in garage) from the left side of the trans pan, to now where you are seeing in this pictures. Why the sleeve wasn’t replaced at the same time, unsure. Had I been more educated, I would have asked to have it replaced anyway. Maybe trans pan was leaking and after that got a new seal, pressure started coming through the next weakest link, the sleeve?

In any regard, the car otherwise does not have any mechanical problems. I may explore a European shop down here that works on a lot of BMW’s that use same trans. Hoping a new sleeve fixes the issue or else I am guessing new/used trans would be the solution and I just don’t know if it’s worth it. This forum is a great place of knowledge.

Anyone have a ballpark figure of what a good shop would charge to drop the pan and replace the sleeve? Sub $500?

 

Should be sub $500.

The pan/filter can be reused, they should catch and reuse the fluid. (Mercon SP is good!)

The mechatronic sleeve is about $20 - $30

Tell the tech to save the old one. If the old one has orange o rings it's the old style.

The newer style has black o rings.

Biggest charge for you should be labor and a bit of additional Mercon SP fluid (if they reclaim it)

Again, you want to get this done quickly as that leak is heavy IMO. Also, if the pan was leaking (unlikely - unless the tech over tightened the pan) you would not see fluid I'm the back of the trans.

You don't want that leak to seep into the TCM harness or pins. You'll have BIG issues!

 

Since you have a leak, getting the proper fluid level is important for long term operation. There are three types of Mercon. Maybe more. Pin the shop down if they used SP, LV (most common today) or another variant. If not SP a total flush is in order.
SP works fine, ZF Lifeguard 6 is the factory fluid. SP seems to be getting more expensive and LG6 cheaper. On a six pack difference today seems to be 4.00 a quart.
Some have used Pentosin ATF1 in x350 transmission. Reason was it used to be under 30.00 for 5 quarts. At that time LG6 was 25.00 a quart. Garages used it a lot when it was cheap. It really is made for the earlier ZF 5 speed. But seems more expensive than SP today.
Ford dealer might be the place to get SP. They used this transmission in Lincoln Navigators about the same vintage.

 

If the picture of the connector is the one on your car I would look a little further for where the leak is coming from. There should be a fluid track from the connector if it was leaking. Yours does not show that.

 

The only other area I can think of is the rear seal on the trans tunnel, but I'm still going with the mechatronic seal.

 

The area around the mechatronic sleeve sure looks clean. Try cleaning the transmission pan to make leaks easier to identify. Mark the drips from the bumper to allow finding the area it is coming from.
Like is mentioned an overtorgued bolt may have damaged the gasket or pan.
Since the service performed moved the leak it seems to have solved the initial leak and created a new one.

 

I watched several videos of the trans out of the car too to get a better idea of what I am looking at from under. I agree, I would have expected it to be maybe little dirtier up there, but I can find traces of the trans fluid up into the area of where the sleeve is and the bracing around it. I do not find any traces of it coming from the pan or seals around the pan. Every time I trace it, the stains on the metal and the sloppy mess of the brace “steps” going up the mechatronic sleeve seem to have trans fluid mixed in with road grime. I am praying this is the issue. I am taking it to a shop that specializes in BMW’s, since this trans was used in many BMW’s of the same era, hoping they may see the same thing and able to replace the sleeve efficiently. Last place I want to take the car is to the dealer. I appreciate ALL of the input everyone has contributed. I will post an update as things move toward.

Side note….is there anyone in the Indianapolis area that has recommendation for a Jaguar mechanic?

Thanks a million already.

Garrett

 

For some reason Jaguar independents are scarce. But due to this being the ZF part any BMW or Audi specialist has serviced this transmission many times. My A8 and the wife’s 335 both used a version. Plus even a Ford dealer should have worked on this tranny since Ford used them also.
Hope it is your sleeve. Easy fix. With fresh fluid and filter I would reuse if it is SP.
But most independents will want to replace with their parts. That is to minimize potential for returns.

 

If you have access to an overhead lift, its not all that hard of a job.
Catch the fluid, filter it through a coffee filter, so it could be reused.
Or use just new, which would get rid more of the old fluid.
Thats what i did when mine started leaking a few months after changing fluid, & filter.

 

Thanks Panelhead and Wingrider. I wish I had a lift, I am not the most savvy but agree after seeing what needs to be done, I think I could tackle myself. I just do not have access to a lift to make it easier and have a back prone to aggravation. I am unfortunately going to bite the bullet and pay shop time for it. Thanks for the feedback on the other shops. I am glad my head went down a similar path as you fine folks who know much more about these cars than I do. I just love the way these XJ’s look, want to keep her going for as long as I can.

 

Alright, so looking for some opinions here. I am flabbergasted at the quote they gave me for fixing the trans leak. They are confirming the mechatronic sleeve is a leaking culprit. They will not reuse the trans fluid, and will replace the pan gasket and internal fittings (not sure) as well. It’s coming out to $1200 with taxes. In addition, they did a full inspection and drove the car, and compiled a list of up-sells. Some of them listed I definitely can and was already planning to do once the trans leak was sorted. But, here is an attachment of what they are quoting. Is there any opinions here? I paid $5300 (absolute steal at the time) for the car almost three years ago. Car is about to tick 100k. I know a lot of the things they are quoting are due to old age. I am not in a dire need to have the car, as I currently work from home and my fiancé has her car and I have a Shelby if absolute needed to drive.

I know no one can answer based on my financial situation, but just looking for any input before I call the shop back tomorrow to tell them what to do or not do. Is it worth fixing some or all of stated items, or maybe fix the trans leak and run her till she drops? Tough situation. For what I paid for the car plus the fixes up to this point, I’m fully into the car at about $8500, including brand new P Zero tires.

 

 

Look up your vehicle at Rock Auto.
Order
Transmission filter,
Sleeve
Motorcraft oil filter (2)
Air Filter
Cabin filter
Outer tie rod ends
Thermostat and housing if original
Fan belt
Radiator hoses

Go to Ford dealer and order 10 quarts of Motorcraft SP

Go to Walmart and buy three five quart jugs of 5-w30. Buy a set of Rhino ramps.

Take car to a a run down BMW shop. Get them to drop pan and replace sleeve. Install new plastic pan/filter. Refill with known proper fluid.
Start changing your own oil. Three jugs of Pennzoil full synthetic and two filters is less than 100.00 This is two oil changes.
Replace your own air filter (10 minutes) and cabin filter (15 minutes) and clean out the leaves from the cabin filter housing.
Take car to alignment shop. They can tell what is worn. Most likely is original you need

1. Upper front and rear control arms
2. Front lower curved arms.
3.Front Shock bushings on straight lower arms.
4. Sway bar links and bushings. Front and rear.
5. Lower rear control arms - yours are shot if original
6. Rear toe adjusters

check motor mounts, frame bushing, transmission mount, roof drains, and clean all the chassis grounds.


You will be be good for another 15 years and/or 100,000 miles.

 

I appreciate the detailed response, Panelhead. I am not currently using this as a daily driver, and have been researching the forums the last few hours. I think I could tackle the valve cover gaskets and spark plugs myself by acquiring new tools. All the other simple stuff like oil change, filters, etc. was on the DIY list too. I will touch up on the suspension parts to as they are all original. Sounds like this was also not be the place to get that done, alignment shop would have better rates?

 

Find a new shop, period!!!