Hi Folks,
According to a mechanic, my 1998 Jaguar XJ8 has a transmission failure. I stopped in a car park and when I put my foot on the accelerator pedal the engine revs increased but nothing happened. Suddenly there was a nasty clonk and the car jumped forward. Everything seemed fine until I stopped again and the same thing happened but this time with an error message stating "Gear box fault" or something similar.
The local garage informed me the transmission overhaul will be approximately $2,000. The Jag dealership quoted $8,000 to $10,000, suddenly $2,000 didn't sound so bad!
Is it time to say goodbye to my beautiful car or should I have it fixed?
The mechanic said this is probably the start of many things to go wrong with this vehicle - "12 years and 124,000 miles is pretty good for a Jag. I know a guy who will give you $1200 for it and you should probably accept his offer"!
What should I do?
Thank you for any advice!
Cheers Rob

 

Well you said nothng about the condition of the rest of the car. If it is about average, thenit MIGHT be worth doing the repair. I doubt you can get it "drive out" fixed for $2000 unless they were going to just fix the front drum, which is the likely failure rather than rebuild the box.

 

Rob, I agree with sparkenzap. If 2k does fix the problem, and the car is in decent shape you're still money ahead. Short of a major engine problem, this will probably be your single biggest expense. There's still plenty of life left in the car. Future problems will just be headaches and patience testers, more so than actual money drain. No different than any other car with some age on it.
Ralph

 

My 2000 XJ8 has over 140k mi on it. I am still waiting for the car to realize this and collapse into dust! With regular maintenance (my own), this car has been very reliable. The quality of manufacture is very high on Jags, yes a lot of cars are worn out at 150 k mi. Sorry to hear of your transmission. If you can find the right mechanic, perhaps a relatively inexpensive A drum replacement would do the trick? I would fix the transmission, you won't get another car like it!

 

The cost to rebuild the tranny on my xk8 was half the value of the book price of the car. I did it anyway. I like the car and don't plan to sell it anytime soon.

 

Hey Rob. I assume the guy is a pretty good buddy of your mechanic to offer you a whopping $1200 for your car. If you can get it repaired for $2000 look around and see what you can buy in a used car for $2000. I bet you stick with the Jag. Find a more honest mechanic while you are at it.

 

$1200 for a non running XJ8 is pretty durned good unless the rest of the car is pristine!

 

Hi Rob
Look at post #9 in a previous thread "Transmission Trouble".

It is a "Do it yourself" posts has a member who did the replace of the "Forward Drum" by himself for a total cost of under $200.
But I should mention that doing the work your self (removing and installing the transmission) is a not quick job and I would not recommend unless you have a special transmission jack, also access to a car lift.

The removal and reassembly of some the exhaust components is time consuming and is required because the exhaust is below the transmission.
I watched our mechanic reinstall the transmission. He is a really skilled mechanic and very careful to make sure he did the job perfectly.

Here is the webpage link: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=43202
You should look at the other posts on the Transmission Trouble thread. It has other members solutions and experences.
Hope this helps.
Jim

 

I'd assess my history with the car. Has it been reliable until now? Engine strong? Look good still? Will I be happy driving something else? What will that "something else" cost?

Can't buy another car for the 2k repair that will give you as must pleasure and fun than the Jag..

Love my Jaguar, got it at a good price and if after a few years I need to sink 2k into it, I'd do it. Assuming it still looks good and most importantly...I look good in it!

That's just my opinion.

Tom
2001 VanPlas- Black kitty.

 

Dear sparkenzap, Rae, Dan R, itspec60, tilbury, jimlombardi, tjb909,
Thank you for your replies to my request for help with the transmission on my XJ8.
A company in Peoria, AZ (1stoptransmissions) have said they will completely refurbish the transmission for $1525 and provide an 18 month warranty on the parts and labor. I will need to transport the vehicle to them on a truck and it will take 2 days to repair. Sounds as though they are pretty experienced at performing this type of work. Have any of you heard of / used this company?
Cheers Rob

 

Call the dealer and ask if they have any references they can share, and especially someone with a XJ8 1998-2003 or XK8 1997-2002. Also, call independent Jaguar repair shops in your area and see who they would recommend for transmission repair.

 

Just curious. I am installing a Lincoln engine onto my 2000 vandenplas. Would a Lincoln tranny fit into the jag as well?

 

I used to live in AZ and had them replace the trans in my caddy. They did a good job and did it for the price they quoted $1500.00. BTW they did the work for me about 6 months ago and I've put a few thousand miles on it without an issue.