Hi all, newbie here. I've done a bunch of searching on the forum and while I have found a lot of information on how to replace the A Drum in the transmission, I haven't found much on just doing a swap and I have a few questions. For background, I have a 1998 XJ8 which fails to engage first gear and slips in and out of reverse. I've concluded that I could do a rebuild, but as I'm not planning on keeping the car for long, I'm considering finding a used transmission and swapping it out.

My questions are:

1) When finding a used transmission, is there a feasible way to fill it outside of the vehicle since they come drained and is there a way to directly get fluid into the TC?
2) Is there a mating process that a new transmission has to go through on the electronic side? Or is it simply plug and play?
3) Regarding MY1998, I've seen some places saying that MY1999 transmissions and newer won't fit. I didn't think that was the case but want to confirm before I buy one.

Any other recommendations or suggestions would be very welcome! I do much of my own work but haven't dropped a transmission in quite a long time and never on a Jaguar.

 

The TC can be filled by simply pouring a quart directly in the snout. The trans has a fill plug on the right side of the trans, it is also used to check the fill level. The 1996 to 1998 used the AJ26 engine and was then changed to the AJ27 engine so that accounts for the non-compatibility.

 

Thank you for the concise explanation. That was very helpful. Really narrows down the transmission choices! Would you happen to know if the xk from the same years might work?

 

XK and XJ both used the same transmission. I noticed i stated wrong side for fill plug it is left side. The plug on the right can be used to drain. Stop by www.jagrepair.com and I think you can download a copy of the shop manual for the XJ

 

That's what I thought, but didn't know if there were any unique quirks for the XK I needed to be aware of. Thanks for all the help. One other thing, since I hadn't seen you mention it yet, are the transmissions plug and play or do you need to reprogram the TCM when swapping in a new unit? (Apologies if this is answered elsewhere, I just hadn't seen it in my searches so far.)

 

I just installed a 1998 XJ8 gearbox into a 2000MY XJ8L. (it operates normally)
I did replace the forward ('A') drum before I installed the gearbox.

You can tilt the gearbox slightly to get the fluid into the fill/level hole (overfill it slightly) and then remove the plug when the engine is started to get the level correct.
You will likely waste some fluid but it can be done that way.

All Jaguar ZF 5HP24 gearboxes will work. It does not matter what year goes in what, and they are 'plug&play'.

 

Vern, are you sure about the fill plug location? All the transmissions I have seen fill at the right rear.

 

This is all great info guys. Thank you.

 

socal308,

I successfully swapped a zf5hp24 in a 2002 xj8. I had similar issues and I got a lot of excellent help from some knowledgeable guys. You can see what I did if you want. check the thread i started on 4/23/20 called

2001 xj8 trans install / fluid issue, advice needed

jeffxj8

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I am ordering a transmission on Thursday so I'll head over to check that out.

 

Hi Socal308,

I've swapped my old 5HP24 out of my 2001 X308 with a 1997 5HP24 and it operates as it should (plug & play).

If you're going to swap the transmission yourself, you may want to remove the coolant tank completely (workshop manual states: move the tank out of the way). I wasted a good 2 hours because I couldn't move it far back enough.

Also, the heat shields on the left side are pretty hard to get too. Make sure you have a over-complete socket set with enough flexible couplings/extensions.

It's a pretty doable job. Disassembling parts of the exhaust, disconnecting a bunch of wires and breaking lose the bell housing bolts can be done alone, but I highly suggest you find somebody to help remove/reinstall the actual transmission. It's very very heavy.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm attempting to clear enough garage space to do it soon. About how high did you have to lift the car to get it out?

 

I did mine in a grease pit (the depth was around 2 meters), but on another forum post I saw someone do it on their driveway. Depending on the height of your transmission trolley/jack I would say that around 0.8-1,0 meters meters should give you enough clearance.

 

Yeah, exhaust is the worst part.
The gearbox has 2 locating pins, and when I was breaking the gearbox away from the engine, only 1 pin released, the gearbox swung and broke off the bell where the other pin was.
Maybe leave 2 bolts in loose a half inch to control this.
Rob

 

Oh damn, fortunately it broke of the old bell-housing, not the engine block itself..

What I did (and it worked like a charm) is drilling a hole on each side of the old bell-housing (when it is still connected to the engine) on that flat part of aluminium (near the top).
Then I used a long M5 bolt, nut and washer. I pushed the M5 bolt through the hole that I just drilled and adding a washer and nut. With the nut on the front of the bell-housing, I could screw the nut pressing against the bell-housing to sort of 'push' it away from the engine, breaking the locating pin loose . I did this in sync with the other side, gradually but slowly pushing both sides loose.

Leaving a couple bolts in loose a half inch in to control this sounds like a good option.

With the re-installation; after cleaning the holes where the locating pins go, I used some wheel bearing grease on those 2 locating pins on the bell-housing.

 

socal308,

I did the job comfortably at this height. my motorcycle jack was perfect for lifting and lowering the trans.

some notes from my job.

if you remove the trans, its an excellent opportunity to replace fuel and brake lines if needed. (i wish I had)

the bolts and studs that hold the cat converters to the manifolds will probably get destroyed. I just replaced all of them. MAP gas and vice grip job, easy (I got them from dealer)

be certain to properly seat torque converter, its a little tricky. I destroyed the pump dogs on my fluid pump. ( luckily I was able to harvest the pump from the original trans, it had a bad a drive)

careful with the o2 sensors as you remove the exhaust system (i destroyed one)

I have a manual and can forward you the section if you want. fell free to ask me about it. I'm not an expert but i did successfully do the job.

jeffxj8

 

That picture is excellent! I have a similar setup, except I'm using a regular Trans scissor jack. I'd love the manual if you have a way to send it over

 

socal308,

There probably was a better way to send this

. I did not use any of the specialized tools.

I used another jack under the engine and bolts for the TC handles. They were not really necessary anyhow.

My flywheel did not have the blue positioning dot, nor did my TC have a positioning dot. I installed it random position.

Getting the TC properly seated on the trans shaft is important. The TC should turn independently from the flywheel before you bolt the TC and flywheel together. (learned the hard way)

Good luck and feel free to contact me. Ill try to figure a way to send more of the manual.

Jeff xj8