Good morning gents,

I changed the oil, filter and fuel filter on the old cat. 96' xj6 VP. Noticed trans fluid all over the under carriage and diff oil near the rear prop shaft.
Note the trans and rear diff was serviced at 100k, I now have 105k. What are possible causes and or locations of leaks.

thank you,

 

You have the non supercharged model that has the ZF4HP24 transmission

 

Yes I believe so.

 

if you have a leak at the specific differential after the transmission and driveline you can have a clogged fill / breather filter plug

if the filter gets clogged which it often does as the oil heats up , the air in the differential pressurizes forcing oil out the seals to the point is starves the differential of oil

There are post on the mater

 

Yes I am aware of the rear diff breather plug.
Will assess later.
ty

 

Hi Godspeed,

It is always helpful to know the year, model and engine of the Jaguar you are inquiring about. You can use your User Control Panel to edit your signature to add these details so they appear with all of your posts. See Parker's and my signatures for examples.

If your Jag is a non-supercharged X300 with the ZF 4HP24 transmission, the most common leak points are the oil pan gasket, the dipstick tube compression fitting at the front left side of the transmission, and the oil cooler lines anywhere along their length and at their fittings on the transmission and at the radiator. Leaks at the input and output shaft seals seem to be relatively uncommon, though not unknown.

The power steering system uses the same oil, and another very common leak point is the low pressure hose from the power steering fluid reservoir to the pump. If you find fluid under your reservoir suspect this hose.

The axles are part of the rear suspension so the differential output shaft bearings are under significant stress and tend to wear out. Oil leaking from an output shaft seal or the pinion shaft seal where the driveshaft connects may be a sign of worn bearings or a blocked vent as Parker suggested.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thank you Don.
Apparently my mechanic" overfilled the trans by a quart.
and the engine when doing an oil change.
I siphoned off a quart from the trans and engine to the correct level.
I am wondering If that could have caused the problem.
Too much volume of fluid thus increasing internal pressure.

 

If I recall, the transmission may have a breather vent on top of the case, so if it was overfilled it could be possible that excess fluid was being expelled from the vent, but I don't recall ever experiencing that myself.

When you set the transmission fluid level, did you follow a procedure something like this? Drive the car at least 15 to 20 minutes to get the transmission fluid hot; park on a level surface; with the engine running, the park brake set and your foot on the brake pedal, move the gear selector lever through each gear position, pausing at each position at least 3 seconds; return the lever to Park and check that the fluid is exactly at the maximum hot mark. Even one pint too much or too little can cause issues.

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Don,

After servicing my Mercedes trans years ago, I followed the same procedure as you stated above. Went on a 300 mile road trip for work and shifted fine.

Wm.