Hello,

As the title really. My X300 3.2 has a noticeable “kick” as it goes from 1st to 2nd, and I’ve read that a synthetic oil in the gearbox is the solution to tame it.

Does anyone have any recommendations for stuff in the UK?

Any tips on the job? I’ve read that you can drain a couple of litres and top up, and then repeat several times, is that best? Any advice is welcome.

Thanks

Craig

 

Buy the JLM664 filter and buy 3 Liters of Motul Dexron III.

That should fix the problem. For piece of mind you can do this again the next time you get your oil changed.

 

Stale ATF is the most common cause on these No-Electronic ZF transmissions.

I only run Syn ATF in all of mine, and that has been since the early 90's, and smooth as I could ask for.

Simply drop and refill a few times, with 30 - 40 miles of driving, with many gearchanges inckuded. NOT specifix miles, just a guide.

The Change cable from the throttle capstan is possibly 1 turn too tight, so slack it off ONE turn, NO more, and see if there is a change. Return it to where it was if the is NO change.

 

Hi Craig,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us.

A few thoughts:

First of all, the behavior you are describing could be caused by low fluid, allowing the transmission to slip-and-bang during the 1-2 shift. Have you checked the fluid level properly? To do so, drive the vehicle for a good 15 or 20 minutes to get the transmission fluid to full operating temperature. Park on a level surface, set the hand brake, depress the brake pedal and shift through all gear positions (R N D 3 2), holding each position for a minimum of 3 seconds. This fills all the passages in the valve body. Return the gear selector to Park, and check the transmission fluid level. It should be exactly at the HOT mark. Even a pint low (or high) can cause issues.

Another common problem is wear on the gear selector cable ball joint where it connects to the transmission lever, or loose or missing cable bracket screws. Inspect the cable connection for rust and wear, and confirm that the bracket is securely mounted and that one or both screws aren't loose or missing. As Grant mentioned, the cable may also be stretched and require adjustment.

If you decide to change the fluid, you can drain the transmission then refill with fresh fluid, drive for awhile as Grant suggests, or simply run the engine for 15 minutes while you have the car raised and level and shift through all the gear positions repeatedly. This will mix the new fluid with the old. Shut off the engine, drain and fill again and repeat the engine running/gear shifting process. You could then test the car to see if the behavior has improved, and if so, drop the pan, replace the filter and gasket, reinstall, and refill with fresh fluid again. Total fluid required will be about 12 liters. I like to do the filter change after the first two drains-and-fills so as little of the old fluid as possible passes through the new filter.

Fluids I know of that are suitable for use in the ZF 4HP22 are Mobil 1 ATF or Redline Oil D4 ATF (both synthetic), and Valvoline Dex/Merc in the blue bottle (non-synthetic), NOT the synthetic Valvoline Dex/Merc in the red bottle, which has a viscosity index far too low for your transmission. That is a problem with most of the modern synthetic fluids that claim to be backward compatible with Dexron III - their viscosity is much lower than the original Dexron III and will not make your transmission function as designed. You need a fluid with a viscosity index of 190 or higher, or a kinematic viscosity at 40°C of 35 cSt or higher. I just took a look at the Material Data Safety Sheet of the Motul Dexron III that JezuzNoChill mentioned and its kinematic viscosity at 40°C is 35.1 cSt, so that does look like a suitable fluid.

As you probably know, Dexron VI was touted to be backward-compatible with Dexron III applications, so I once ran Dex VI in the 4HP24 of our '93 XJ40 for about a year. Only after I changed to Redline Oil D4 did I realize that the torque transfer in the converter had been suboptimal with the Dex VI. With the D4, the gear shifts were just as smooth, but the car felt much more "hooked up" and acceleration was much more direct, and engine braking while descending hills was far more effective. Modern torque converters are designed for lower-viscosity fluids, but the one in your 4HP22 really needs a high-viscosity true Dexron III type fluid. If you decide to use a fluid not mentioned in this post, do your homework first by searching the fluid name and MSDS to review the viscosity ratings (e.g. Mobil 1 ATF MSDS).

Cheers,

Don