Sorry to ask about this, I've seen few responses but I am not a gear head...

I have heard the squeal as I shifted from Park to Drive, very brief and never again.

Then, about 2-3 months later, while driving uphill I had to down shift because speed reduced and incline was steep. When I tried to put it in drive, the engine revved a bit then the car jerked into gear. CHECK ENGINE came on and yellow light with TRANSMISSION FAULT on the dash. However I can then drive, though I am a slow start up off from a stop.

When I park the car, same deal. It has trouble getting into gear (with an ugly jerk, depending on how high the engine revs,) then I am fine to drive though with a slow start from a stop.

I read the post about adding fluid, but if this is a no maintenance transmission, according to Jaguar, will a normal transmission shop open it up for a service? WHat do I need to tell him? (I have a transmission guy who comes very highly yelped.)

I have also read about A drum failure. What does that mean? Is that a transmission thingy?

61k miles on the car, 30 k in the past 18 months...

thanks all,

Joolz

Or do I take it to my Jag mechanic (whom I trust) and just have him take care of the problem with a guy he uses?

 

The A-drum is in the front of the transmission, behind the torque converter if I am not mistaken. It forms cracks and eventually blows up because of a flaw in the design. If it has 60k miles on it and has never been replaced, I would take it in asap. If it is not replaced, it could rupture and ruin the rest of the transmission. The component is about $300 or so if I recall, which beats 4k for a new/rebuilt transmission. Might be a good idea to get the check engine code too. However, if you know someone good with transmissions and trust them, take it in and see what they say.

 

You are certainly describing an internal part failure more than a fluid problem. An 'A' drum failure high on the list. It is not going to get better and is probably going to cause further internal damage if you continue to drive it. Might as well get it to your mechanic.

While the drum is less than than $300 you sorta got to add a little labor to get it out and back in. Removing/reinstalling the transmission is a big part of the cost. A couple of forum members repaired their transmissions, relatively inexpensively, by just replacing the 'A' drum but they did the work themselves after not finding a pan full of metal debris.

A rebuilt or used transmission is probably in your future.

 

Thanks to all. I'm off to the trans shop now.


[sigh.] The price for luxury...


Julie

 

Keep us updated

 

Alas the transmission needs to be rebuilt.

61k miles... I want be upset, but I know I didn't buy this car because it was cheap and easy!

Joolz

 

Joolz,

I just recently remaned my own trans. I would recommend a new "a" drum, which most likely sounds like it is failing. However I would also recommend a new valve housing for the pressure regulator. It has been discovered that this pressure regulator is part to blame for the drum failure. I will attach a guide that was issued describing the problem with the pressure regulator. From what I can understand, the pressure regulator is responsible for fluid pressure for gears 1st through 4th, this regulator wears out, and thus causes pressure spikes within the trans. The "a" drum is the weak link when these pressure spikes happen. The "a" drum houses a set of clutch packs, and spring loaded piston that is moved with the fluid. There is a clip at the back of the clutches and that is the failure point.

Here is the old drum, notice how the edge is punched out to make a slot for the clip.



Here is the new revised drum, the slot is milled out of a full piece of steel.



Here is the clutch packs going back in, and the piston below.



Here is an image of the valve body that I replaced. The piston on the right side of the picture is the pressure regulator that starts to fail.



Hope that this helps...

 

I don't get under the too much, that was pretty interesting.

I did have the A drum fail and break up and the trans guy said he opened it up and the transmission was a mess. I mentioned the concern about the valve, and he said that even after the A drum was redesigned, he still sees failures, that is the most common cause of need for rebuild.

My baby is humming now, and i had her waxed when I brought her home. It really is such a sweet car. I probably would be hugely disappointed about this if I had bought the car new (or close) for retail, but I didn't. I hope I have 100k before something major happens now!

Thanks all!

Joolz