I have a great running 1995 XJ6 with 109,000 miles on it. I have owned it for the last nine years. At about 75,000 miles I was concerned about a noise at idle and thought it might be the transmission. So I had it serviced with a new filter and fluid change. The noise turned out to be something else. The trans appeared in great shape with no residue in the pan out of the ordinary and the filter the same way. However, when they filled it they ran it to let it get warm and made sure it was at the top of the hot band. I then drove it about ten miles and checked it again and it was slightlly above the hot band. I pumped out enough to bring it back down. Thought no more about since it didn't leak. Just the other daly I checked it again with the engine running and in park as with all the other checks. The level is very hard to see but it appears to be way above the hot band. It had been driven about 30 miles on a warm day. Later on when it had not been driven very far but was warm it again measured at the hot mark OK.

What really is the correct proceedure for checking the level. If it is too full it doesn't seem to have had an adverse effect over the 30,000+ miles it has been driven. What got my attention is how fussy the XK8 trans is since I have one of those also.

I'm thinking of driving it about 30 miles over to my shop and removing enough to bring it back to the top of the hot mark. But since it is so hard to read the level on the stick when it is that warm I am concerned about removing too much.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.


EZDriver 1995 XJ6

 

Getting the fluid level "just so" is a PITA precisely because the fluid expands so much when it is hot. Most cars (not sure about yours) have an "acceptable range" on the dipstick so we don't have to get frustrated by topping off to a single exact "full" mark....unless we want to.

I've found that checking the fluid when it is merely warm is a snare and delusion. Its gotta be HOT to get an accurate reading. So....I leave it a bit on the low side and then drive at least 10-15 miles and check again.

My daily drive to work is 32 miles so that's just perfect for checking the fluid level.

Cheers
DD

 

It does appear that when it is really hot that it is considerably above the hot band. And it has been that way for a lot of miles with apparently no ill effect. But I am going to draw some out and get it down to the top of the hot band when it is really hot. Darn hard to read the stick with the oil that clear and thin.

EZDriver 1995 XJ6