Bump for this interesting thread / poll.

First went out at 110K mi - the A drum with big slamming sound.

Second used Ebay unit (Advertised with 86k) lasted about 5K which was about 18 months or so. Rough shifts and was throwing transmission fault light. Not sure that the installer used the right transmission fluid even though we had talked about it, and he had shown me a bottle of the Esso stuff as proof. But when I drained it the fluid was red. No metal chunks in the oil though. I can still drive the car and the shifts have smoothed out somewhat after putting in some Lucas Transmission Fix. I also tried the Transgo (sp?) valve which did not help at all, and also a complete used valve assembly.

The third unit will also be a gamble but at only $600 on Craiglist (105K) seems to be worth the risk. I'm toying with the idea of trying to install it myself at the local U Fix It, which has car lifts, the engine support beam and transmission jack, etc.

 

99 x308. I'm the 3rd owner, but the 1st owner had the tranny rebuilt at about 90K miles. I don't have any details if it was drum or what, just a note of hard shifting/banging though gears on the invoice.

 

My transmission failed on approx 130K miles, it went as I drove onto the petrol station forecourt. I drew in and as I slowed to stop it jerked, then when I went to move forward it "dropped" into gear. It all went downhill from there.
I believe what contributed to the failure of my box was due to the many short journeys to and from work.
I'm being extremely cautious with my new box until I've had the fluid and valve replaced.

 

The history of my 98MY 308 Sovereign 4.0 litre is fully documented from the original owner....I'm No2 ;o)
The trans went out at 132,000klm....that's around 82200 miles and this was put down to hard city life driving.
'A'-drum failure was the problem and that takes out the front bearing.
Trans was rebuilt entirely at a cost of nearly $6,000AUD in 2005.
Since my owner ship in 2006, I have had the trans machine flushed twice and I use CASTROL Transmax-Z....which I believe is marketed as something else
in the US.
The car has now covered 215,000klm and going strong ;o))

 

I believe for the U.S. Market it is something like Castrol "TransMax Multi-Vehicle Import.... Meets or exceeds BMW/JAGUAR SPEC LT71141" bought some at the local auto store for a mere $20.00 US a gallon. Have not yet had a chance to use it. Going to replace the PRV, filter, etc when I go to do it.

 

That's the one....couldn't think of the name ;o))
It's an excellent oil and I will not use anything else, even though
it costs $96AUD for 4 litres (close to a US gallon) ;o))

 

Where is this "local U Fix It" located?

 

My local "U Fix It" is located at 2420 Industry St, Oceanside CA 92054. (760)544-6181
I think they are a franchise with locations all over.
Side note: I don't understand why they aren't open on Sundays, it seems to me that would be a busy day for them.

 

I bought the car in in September 2016 with 53,000 miles on it (in great, great condition) for only $4,700. After 10,000 miles of too many jack-rabbit starts and on-ramp merges, I had to replace the transmission twice in the same week (July, 2018) because the "recycled" unit that the used parts exchange provided was a ZF5HP24 from a '99 vehicle that turned out to be incompatible (valve body), even though the extended part numbers were the same. It turns out that you also have to match the serial number series as well. The car backed out of the mechanic's bay just fine with the first transmission, but then, after shifting into Drive, it just remained in third gear.

So, after days of threats, the parts exchange swapped out the transmission and refunded me for half of the labor cost. I had paid $1,100 for the transmission and $900 for the labor. My contention was that I had ordered an '03 transmission and received a '99 model. Their contention was that a "genuine" Jaguar dealer would have been able to properly re-program the one that they delivered in order to make it compatible.

Now, I am afraid to "floor it" for fear of destroying this transmission as well. Buyer beware!