My thought is that is a lot of money.

 

Try emailing them at FleetProductsInfo@ryder.com and ask about the 134. For me, shipping was only about $7 and I bought a full case so it was a bargain.
Vector

 

that sounds like low fluid level, save some money and top it up yourself, but you have a different gearbox to the one discussed in this thread (no dip tube), more info can be found in the XK8XKR forum technical sticky...ZF trans service use the correct fluid if you do it.

 

WOW..$776.00 and I thought CA. had the market cornered on rip off dealers...He did understand you just wanted a fluid change , not a trans rebuild??

 

Mmmm, Southport...I always thought was on the North West coast...??/

 

My thoughts are that you should save your money & keep it in case the dreaded 'A' clutch drum fails-which it's known to do on the early XJ8's with the older versions of the ZF 5HP24 transmission.

At the moment just get the fluid level checked-at the mileage on your transmission there's a very good chance the 'A' drum may fail anyway, and this fail is nothing to do with the quality of the transmisson fluid in the gearbox-it's a design flaw/weakness in the gearbox, which won't be cured by new fluid.

That's a lot of money you've been quoted for a fluid & filter change, so I'd just get the fluid level checked & keep all your cash in case the gearbox fails anyway. If you spend all that money now on new fluid & filter, it will have no effect on the possible chance of 'A' drum failure & you will have wasted all that money for nothing.

Save the new fluid & filter for when the gearbox fails & is rebuilt with the later & stronger modified 'A' drum...

Your transmission is not the same type as on the XJR-that has a Mercedes gearbox, whereas yours has the ZF gearbox-and the early versions had this design flaw.

 

Just driving along, first sign loss of power steering, than alternator, all in two miles, pulled off road tow to shop, diagnose front crank pulley had spun on the locking coller...Has anyone ever heard of this? what would cause It? Thanks for any help offered. CM

 

It's rare but it happens, just seen a 2008 7 series BMW with a faulty seal that pumps oil onto the crank/timing gear and wrecks the top end of the engine, so it's just unlucky.

Some re-use the crank bolt, don't/can't put the recommended torque setting on it so it spins free...makes me think your timing cover's been off...this could mean uprated tensioners?

Make sure the crank pulley is in good shape - it's a harmonic damper with a rubber sleeve, this needs to be ok. Also fit a new crank pulley bolt and belt, do not try and salvage the worn parts it saves doing twice.

 

Yes the tensioners and chains were replace about 13 months ago, and 15k miles...no leaks from the front cover seal, but I Inspecting the parts after removel the coller was very loose when placed inside the pulley, also I looked up the torque spec..285 ft/lbs very tight, I'm thinking they did not retorque back to the correct torques?? It did appear due to the wear It had been spinning for awhile?/

 

I have done it both ways but here is what happened most recently. First some background. Old timer (backyard mechanics and real mechanics) usually say to leave it alone unless there is a problem or tranny is rebuild.

I had a transmission filter clog up on a 1985 Buick Riviera once and changed the fluid and filter. No problem.

I had a 1992 Roadmaster that had 125K that I "preventively" changed filter and fluid. With in 1000K the trans went out.

Old timers said the detergent in the new fluid caused things to break loose. Said they had seen it dozens of times. They suggested that unless the old fluid looked bad or had a burnt smell I should have changed the filter, filtered the old fluid and put it back in. They said the detergent properties of the old fluid was long gone.

They said if you kept up with it and changed it every 4-5 years new fluid was OK. But older trannys just had too much gunk in the sump and it would come loose with new detergent.

I have also heard the same thing about old car engines. Change the oil filter but put in a non-detergent motor oil. That, btw, is impossible to find now a days.

Anybody heard this line of reasoning?

 

It's a judgement call but not an easy one-the arguments for either viewpoint are equally valid & the poll results on this thread are slowly converging towards the middle ground. At the start of the poll it was a 70/30 split for new fluid/old fluid, but now it's narrowed to 60/40.

I'm wondering if there is a safe 'middle ground' option of draining off just a couple of litres of old fluid & then 're-lifing' the remaining fluid with a couple of litres of new fluid.

The reasoning here is that a bit of new fluid will dilute the contaminants in the remaining old fluid, without causing the possible problems you might get if the whole lot is replaced by new fluid.

Then keep doing this every 30,000 miles or so, so that the old fluid retains it's 'harmonious' working characteristics in an old gearbox, yet is also being 're-lifed' with a proportion of new fluid every couple of years or so-to make sure the level of contaminants doesn't saturate the old fluid as the gearbox ages.

 

Red October, you are actually on to what a jag mechanic told me. He had recommended that I should drop the pan and change the filter. this will remove about half the fluid, then repeat the process in about a year.

 

The XJR has a drain plug on the sump pan so it's easy to drop a couple of litres & then add a couple of litres of new fluid through the filler tube at the top, to 're-life' the remainder of the old fluid.

If you measure how much is drained off & then refill by the same amount, then you can get away without a level check-provided you're sure there haven't been any leaks & that the fluid level was correct to start with