Transmission wooes
 

So I just bought a 98 XJR, Had it for all of 5 days before the trans died. Now I'm not a rich doctor,matter of fact just the opposite I'm a privet in the army.I got the car right ($6500)and It showed no signs of trans problems when I got. I needed a family car (baby on the way)that would be safe and something fun wouldn't hurt. So to the issues When in park or neutral the car makes a metal on metal grinding sound plus when in neutral or park and you rev it it wants to push the car. when you pull it into gear it bangs in rhythm with rpm but when its on jack stands and you get it to shift up it dead smooth. The grinding and banging changes pitch and intensity depending on how much tension is on the drive line. I'm a car guy and I plan on pulling it my self but was curious to what I might be looking at for whats wrong? Plus who knows where the absolute best deal are on 722.650 rebuilds kits? where can I get hard parts if something is chewed up? I have a buddy that can do the labor for 500.00 but now I'm worried about the parts. Ive seen e bay trans for 1500 but I cant afford the core charges.

RE: Transmission wooes
 

Hey there Lowincome, welcome. If you're in park or neutral and you are hearing a metal grinding sound I would suspect the torque converter. Do you have a SES light on? I am not sure but if your TC is slipping or giving up you will notice a difference in engine rpm:Output shaft speed which in many cases is monitored and will set a SES light. It would be very unlikely you have mangled any hard tranny parts, but you can find parts here http://www.jaggparts.com/jaguar-transmission-parts.html

You got a great deal price wise, but you ended up with an expensive car to fix even if you do the labor yourself. You should also look into a CD repair manual on eBay or an ALLDATA subscription.

Good luck,
Pat

RE: Transmission wooes
 

Greetings,

Thank you for your service in defending the U.S.A.

Sorry for your luck with the XJR.

Your car has a Mercedes transmission, I believe the model number is 722.6. I do not have any personal experience with the fault you have described, but I recently read of a failure that may be similar to yours. If you search Roadfly XJ8, there was a poster named "blaksplash" who had an XJR trans fault: his problem first became evident from a fluid leak at the bell housing.

The failure of his transmission ocurred when the bushing sheared off the front pump, and was stuck on the converter. He obtained a front pump through Mercedes' supply chain, and was apparently successful in replacing just the pump. I suggested he overhaul the transmission, since there was bound to be debris circulated through the unit as a result of the failure: he replaced the filter and fluid along with the pump, and got off cheap.

This problem might be similar to yours, I don't know. At least his experience showed that "hard parts" were available, although you might have to go through MB or BMW to source them.

I do not rebuild transmissions, so there isn't much more I can add. I have read about (and conversed with) some owners who had problems with rebuilt units from one particular vendor on Ebay. My luck has been good purchasing low mileage, used ZFtransmissions and installing them with fresh fluid and filter after flushing the trans cooler. I don't have any MB transmissions though, and have not had to replace one yet. Otherwise, I guess a local rebuilder is the other option. Good luck.

RE: Transmission wooes
 

Hi Norcal,

I found trans filter kits on that site, nothing else. Did I miss something?

RE: Transmission wooes
 

They do have other parts like seals, bearings, shafts and other "inside" parts. I did not do an exhaustive search for primaries, secondaries, etc. However, I am sure you can find those things once you start looking around for specific parts.

You may be able to get a rebuild shop to find what you need.

Pat