I have a 1998 VDP with 128K and I when I contacted a dealer about changing my transmission fluid, he advised me not to. He said that the metal particles in th fluid helped it change gears and changing the fluid would cause the transmission to slip. I have seen on this forum where several people recommeded changing the the transmission fluid at 60K intervals and I would like some advice from the forum on what I should do.

 

I plan on doing mine in the near future though my car has 80k on it. One thing to make sure is that you don't have it power flushed, this had been known for causing problems.

 

Honestly....who is the idiot of a dealer to feed you such hogwash!
At your mileage it would be ideal to change the fluid as it will be well and truly worn out and it can only be beneficial to do a proper full drainage and relace the filter.

The preferred method is to have a full hydraulic flush of the fluid as the normal drain, remove pan method onbly removes around a 1/3rd of the fluid and just replacing around 4 litrs it will be immediately contaminated by the old fluid.
The time is right, so take your car not to this clown of a dealer but an auto trans. specialist.
I have not heard so much rubbish in all my born days....no wonder there is so much misinformation about these cars.

It annoys the hell out of me to find there is so much ignorance around these beautiful cars, especially from individuals who claim to know this and that and take generalisations as gospel and feed it on to the genral public!

 

Fully agree to XJay8. Rarely heard such a Shullbit this dealer emitted.

Maybe you'll find a ZF service partner to service the transmission in your vicinity. Take a look at

ZF Friedrichshafen AG | Online Service Center

 

I am assuming that there is no difference between a "Power" flush and a "Hydraulic" flush. Winks said not to do it and xjay8 recommended it. I also had a service shop to tell me that they have a process that flushes and cleans both the transmission and filter without taking the pan off. Any comments on that? I found a ZF shop in Chicago ( about 2 hours from me) that I am looking to use. Anyway - thanks all for your comments and responses as they are greatly appreciated!

 

Mine was changed/flushed at 79K. No issues to date (83K).

 

Mine has 193k miles and I'm not sure if the previous owners had it serviced or not. It runs and shifts flawless so I'm kind of scared to open it up and do it, but then again at the mileage I'm wondering about it and the filter....has anyone taken their Jag to a Mr. Transmision or Maaco and let them do the transmission?

 

How much should I expect to pay to have it done right?

 

The reason I have been told to avoid the power flush, is that they run the fluid through the system at a higher pressure then operating. This higher pressure can cause dirt, sludge, and metal to become dislodged and re-lodge in the galleries of the transmission. Why not invest the money that you would be putting towards the power flush, and do a simple oil and filter change more often.

 

i changed mine at 80000 miles used synthetic, Mercon 5

 

i did it myself
piece of cake lots of youtubes on it

 

you pump it out having the engibe running and you keep adding until you have added as much as you have taken out
really easy

 

Winks....so, you are basing your assumption on pure heresay then without ever experiencing it?
Trust me, I have had a full hydraulic/power flush performed on my trans. twice in the last six years to full advantage and my car has covered nearly 200,000klm.
I use Castrol Transmax-Z (which comes under another name in US) full syn. fluid.

You can use the drain and drop pan method three or four times to compleetely change the oil which frankly is rediculous and a waste of oil.
As for somebody's assumption that a power flush cleans the filter as well is pure idiocy!

The correct way it is done is to drain oil and drop the pan, check over internals, remove pressure valves and replace any 'O' rings needed, check internal connections to solenoids, clean pan amd magnets, replace a new filter with new 'O' ring , new pan gasket and 'button up' as you Americans say ;o)

THEN and ONLY THEN is the power flusher connected to completely flush the oil....remembering that over 2/3rds of it are contained in the torque converter, not the box itself.
As for contaminating the new filter, this is completely neglible as the dirtiest part of the oil ws in the pan plus the old filter.

The engine is started in the second phase of the operation and trans. is cycled through all gear positions for a number of minutes then stopped.
All good power flush machines will automaticly provide the correct amount of oil for the box but quality techs will still check correct fluid level the 'factory' way....meaning that the fluid should be checked with trans temp. between 35-50 deg.C....at this point the oil should only just dribble from filler hole, then plug is replaced.

There is of course the 'Volvo Method'....namely doing a flush/fill via the trans cooler hoses....I know other guys who have used this method but unless you set yourself up properly first, it can become very messy!
And you still have to check the level properly from under the car which has to be completely level.

I know which method i prefer! ;o]

 

There is more than one way to skin a cat.

And more than one person has noted misgivings about powerflush machines.

My own preference is to drain the pan, replace filter, flush and fill via hoses using the transmission pump. This has all of the purported strengths of powerflushing, no drawbacks that might be attributable to powerflushing, and can be accomplished at home without access to a powerflushing machine. For some people, having total control over all aspects of the job is the most important consideration of all.

 

I seen on the forum, (this or the UK one)a thread about a car not running properly after the fluid change but after having the old fluid back in, everything was solved, so the metal particles in the oil is not just a story, if your car is high mileage. Just in case, keep the old oil for 1-2 days.
The filter can't be cleaned with a power flush, I opened mine and there is a large amount of metallic fine particles trapped in the filter's paper.
My advice,filter and oil change, plus 2 more oil changes at few miles interval, this is how I did on my car and no problems at all. A power flush on your mileage can cause more problems.

 

To each his own....whatever 'floats your boat'

 

They are correct about the power flush, but listen closely,

Take it to the transmission shop, have them change it using the flush machine that uses just your transmission pump to remove the fluid, its not a power flush (meaning, it DOES NOT have its own pump to FORCE THE OLD FLUID OUT VIOLENTLY, INSTEAD, FLOWS VERY SLOW AUSING JUST YOUR TRANNY PUMP).



Then have them change the rear end fluid as well.
I have done this way over 100k on all my cars and trucks, YOU'LL BE HAPPY YOU DID

 

What a load of old codswhallop!!
You should have your transmission professionally hydraulicly flushed PERIOD!!
Replace the fluid and filter.
there are a number of good quality fluids out there which meet or exceed the old ZF7411 specs.
Don't be squeemish....get it done!

 

I was hoping to hear consensus before deciding what to do on mine....2001 XJ 120,000 miles...

 

I used Pentosin in mine. No problems at 130K miles.