So I have 188,865 miles on my xjr and have never changed the trans fluid since I have owned it. Bought it with 100,000 miles and have service records from Jag. Have no problems (knock on wood) shifts smoothly and fine through all gears and is my daily driver 50 miles a day mostly all highway. So any way since these are supposedly sealed for life transmissions and have no dip sticks, was wondering if I should get a change or flush just to get some new fluid in there. Thoughts and opinions are appreciated again I have no problems but do not want any in the future.

 

You don't have a dipstick but the gearbox has access for one. Why not get one and find someone (or YOU) to change the fluid. It is a Mercedes Gearbox (722.6).

Do a search for the process to replace the fluid. Same procedure for the last 70 years.

SEALED FOR LIFE means????????????????????? Jaguar might not care about the service intervals but what about the gearbox manufacturer????

Interweb search for Mercedes 722.6 gearbox maintenance might yield a plethora of relevant info.

bob

 

If it's shifting ok, I would replace the filter and just refill it. Do what Bob says and get an oil indicator for it so you can adjust the level in it properly.

 

Yes the gearbox is fine. So basically I should do a filter and fluid change with a new pan gasket and buy an indicator stick, so removing old fluid will not harm the box.Thanks

 

My 99 XJR pulled a fault and limped home a while back. I was setting up for a bunch of suspension work so I decided I'd do a fluid drain and filter change. The fluid at 85k was pretty sad looking but not as bad as I've seen in other cars. The fault was due to low fluid probably from a leaking pan gasket (small leak + long duration sort of thing). I picked up a dipstick for under $20 off ebay and fond a drain only removes ~ 4 qt of fluid (I was low so I actually only got a little over 3 qt but it took 4 qt to show full on the dipstick). Filters are cheap and mine came with a new pan gasket.
It's an easy service and you can do it once and keep driving or you can do 2 changes and remove a large portion of the old fluid in the exchange. The fault is gone and my old cat is shifting smoother than ever.
BTW, you need a big pan to catch everything once you remove the pan from the bottom of the trans, fluid drips from everything. If you don't pull the pan you obviously can't get at the filter but you also leave quite a bit of old fluid in the trans so I'd pull it any time you were draining fluid.

 

I love reading accounts of XJR (MB) transmissions lasting so long. I've had and have ZF transmissions and, while I'm sure they are a good product initially, they just always seem to be having some kind of problem. If they are properly maintained for the first 100,000 miles they are probably bullet proof, but I think you rarely find one that was serviced frequently enough.

I bought my XJR with 115,000 miles on it (by the time I got it home). The transmission had no record of being serviced. The car was only serviced at the Jaguar dealer, so I feel pretty sure the transmission was never touched. I hear all the horror stories about changing the fluid in an old transmission and dislodging debris causing the transmission to fail. Despite that, I could not justify just ignoring transmission maintenance.

I did as dwgates suggested. I dropped the pan and changed the filter along with a few liters of fluid. I drove about 500 miles and took out the drain plug to let out about 2.5 liters, and refilled. I did this roughly every 500 miles until I used up a case of fluid (12 liters). The last drain looked like new fluid when it came out.

That was about 6,000 miles ago and it still shifts great.

 

The most common trouble spot is the electrical connector seal found at the
right side front of the transmission just beyond the pan. It is a common
leakage point. In addition, when it leaks it is likely to wick ATF up the cable
and enter the TCM. At that point, it gets expensive to fix.

Get a new one at any Merc dealer as there is a revised design. $30 or so?
1 small bolt holds it in.

 

I believe that the service interval advice for the MB transmission changed at least twice. At first it was sealed for life. Then is was one change at 50K miles, then sealed for life. Now it is a change every 50K.

My fluid had been done at 50K by the dealer, and I changed it again myself at 135K. Based on what I saw, the every 50K is not too frequent, far from it. After 85K miles, there was a thick layer of black sludge at the bottom of the pan, up to the bottom of the filter. At some point in the future, that sludge would have been high enough to start blocking the filter. The fluid itself, on the dipstick, looked fine in terms of colour and smell.

I've put a couple of thousand miles on it since the change, and it shifts great. Once in a blue moon I get a rough shift from 1st to 2nd, which hasn't changed in frequency at all since the fluid change.

 

Just watch this video. It will explain everything and sealed for life jag transmissions and how IT DOES NOT hurt to change them.