Hi there,

Just wondering, My dads xj has just blown its box.
We've worked out that it has one of those useless "sealed unit" boxes, so I'm wondering if any other box would fit?

I would hate to put another second hand sealed box in just for it to loose drive again after a couple of months.

Are there any other boxes that would fit and would fitting another type box cause other issues I'm not aware of?

For instance I'm looking at a 2000 3.2 xj8 (not sport) on ebay going for nothing, would that box fit??

Thanks for any help guys.

Ian

 

When you figure out how to install a useful unsealed box, let us all know so we can try it out! And by the way, most of us do not loose our box every few months!

Seriously, dude, to install other than the original gearbox would be a major undertaking. And, assuming you are talking about automatics, what makes you think that the 2000 XJ8 box is any different from the onew in whatever "XJ" you have?

 

Hi,

You may find useful the following thread from the .co.uk site
5HP24 pressure control valve

Latest box is better! 2000 year may be a good choice but check the numbers shared by rrphil.

 

Your car is a 98 sport which is a 3.2 engine. It should have the ZF5HP24 box in it and so have all other 3.2's and 4.0's non supercharged so the one on ebay should be identical to yours.

 

$2,500 should get a rebuild with warranty installed. Not a terrible expense if you spread it over 100,000 miles. It is painful doing repairs that approach the value of the
vehicle. BMW and Mercedes use the same ZF transmission.

 

Thanks dinger that's exactly what I wanted to know,

Sparkenzap, What I was asking was if another variant box would fit, when buying a second hand box you have no idea how it's been treated, and how long it will last.

It would have been nice to fit a box that was serviceable rather than another sealed unit.
And I didn't know if there was a difference electronics wise with it being the sport.

I work on old cars, I fit V8's to old 60's ford zephyrs' and the like. Modern cars with all the electronics ecu's / sensors confuse the hell out of me, I'm a old school mechanic, not a computer / electronic whiz lol.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Well, whoever told you that the ZF in your car was "sealed" and could not be worked on was wrong. You might be confusing the OEM recommendation that the box needed no fluid change so is called "sealed for life". The ZF5HP24 is pretty conventional although it, like most every gearbox made in the last 2 decades, has electronic controls.

Electronic controls actually make a automatic transmission easier for the amateur to work on since ther are limited servo valves requiring precise torque and spring setup. Also, the tolerances in the hydraulic control system are not as critical in electronic controlled boxes.

If you decide to tackle the rebuild of the box you have, there is good documentation in hte stickys including the manuals. If you have ever actually tackled an automatic from the old days, I bet you will find the ZF box to be a much simpler undertaking. There are numerous posts about A drum failure, hich is the primary failur emode for these boxes. BTW, my MY 02, 4.0 liter has 175,000 miles on the original transmission and sgifts flawlessly. A 3.2 should give every bit as good of service. The MY 02 did come with the upgraded A drum, though.