My 00xk8 transmission has been having issues, slipping, not going into gear properly, and gave up completely and wouldn't go into gear at a stop light.

My plan is to take the transmission out and do a complete rebuild. But it is my daughter's daily driver to go to school.
So since I have few Jaguar donor cars I'm taking the transmission out of a 99xj8 and put it into the xk8 so my daughter will be able to get to school.

The xk8 I'm taking the transmission from had a rod knock when I bought it. I have since taken the heads and other parts off the car and it has been sitting outside in the weather.

Everything on getting the transmission out is going good until I try to remove the 3 bolts holding the torque converter to the flywheel. I try to rotate the engine to get access to the bolts and the engine is froze. I believe it is the pistons froze ro the cylinders. I sprayed a ton of PB blaster in the cylinders and is soaking as I'm making this post.

Maybe some of you might have some ideas if I can't get the motor to turn. I don't think it is possible to remove the transmission with the torque still attached to the flywheel unless I take the transmission and engine out together first. My other thought is to break the engine side of the bellhousing ro get access to the 3 bolts.

Any ideas much appreciated.

 

Thank you Mr. PB Blaster. It broke loose with the help of a 5' pipe on my breaker bar and soaking in PB Blaster.
That was an hour delay. Now back to work.

 

Bob, I'm glad for you! Let us know how it works out. Good luck mate.

John

 

Sounds like you solved it.

For reference, the finest nut buster in the world is Aerokroil, a polymer penetrant.

I used to restore classic bikes and this stuff saved many an irreplaceable part. It will remove a rusted manifold bolt that has no form left. It is available on the net from Kano Labs, not in stores. I used to buy it from a restoration site for BMW /2 motorcycles, but it is now more available.

 

Thanks, l'll check into that. I use the PB on all exhaust manifold and pipes first thing before I do anything else.

So far got the transmission out of the xj8 and I'm about 10 minutes from getting the transmission out of the xk8. Then it will be putting the xj8 transmission in the xk8.

 

Just finished the transplant. My daughter took it for a test drive and she had a big smile on her face. That makes all the work worth it.

 

Good stuff: you don't waste any time

 

Congrats - Well done....

 

Well the smile didn't last long. Last night she was out and called me saying the the car won't go again. When I got there I could see why it wouldn't move. It look like all of the transmission oil was all over the parking lot.
It was dark and hard to see the exact problem. I open the hood and could see transmission fluid under the throttle body. The most likely thing it could be is that a transmission cooler line got damaged. There were no leaks when we finished earlier.
I know they are not easy to exchange. My plan is to replace the line with a braided steel line and use AN fittings to connect to the ends of the lines. I did the repair on a xj8 a couple of years ago. It took only an hour and I can route the line anywhere I want.

IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING!!!!!

 

Bob, glad a XJ8 fits, as I just ran across a 2002 XJ8 with the 4.0 in it that was running great until the owner ran into something that pushed the radiator back onto the front of the engine.
May try to get both engine and transmission. I think I read where the engine swap is a little more than straight forward. Still at the right price and a blown engine a bargain.

 

I was able to find where the coolant line was leaking. It was the line that comes from the right side of the transmission, goes over the top of the bellhousing, under throttle body, drops down then goes along the lower left side of the engine, then goes up to the top left side of the radiator. The line had broke where it transitioned from metal tube to rubber hose. There is now way of getting it out without raising the engine.
I pick up the parts at a local speed shop and tackled the job last night. It took about 3 hours. I had a hard time getting the line on the right side of the transmission out and back in with the new braided line. The catalytic converter was was very close to where the line when into the transmission. This alone took 2 hours.
I ran the line up over the bellhousing, next to the coolant reservoir, then to the radiator. The line is about a foot too long so I made a loop before it went to the radiator. This is just a temporary fix to get the car back on the road. I will route the line properly one of the next couple of weekends when I have more time.
Refilled the transmission and it works like a dream and my daughter can get herself to school. She was a trooper too. She stayed with me last night to assist me until we had it going again.

 

Congrats, you just saved a boat load of money! Glad your daughter is involved / happy too - no $$$ can equal that.

John

 

Great job. Hope there will be no more surprises for awhile. It is just too damn hot and humid to work on cars right now, at least in my neck of the woods....

With all the major California fires right now, how is the air quality in Sacramento?

 

Thanks John. My daughter doesn't mind if her hands get a little greasy. How is you new puppy, not new or a puppy anymore, doing.

 

We all have Jaguars. There are always surprises.

Both major fires are 100 to 150 miles from Sacramento but all of the smoke is filling the valley.
I know about your heat and humility. I bought 2 houses in the Hickory area and plan to move there when I retire. I want to get as far east from California as I can. If I go too much further east I get my feet wet.

 

Did you change the torque converter or keep the xj8 one with the transmission? I believe there are some differences, but not sure if they are noticeable.

 

Bob you will be a welcomed addition to the area.
Me too on the things that made the transmission work.

 

I left the xj8 torque converter in the transmission. It bolted to the flywheel with no problems. I don't know but maybe a there is a difference from a transmission in an AJ26 to a AJ27.

 

Thanks Wayne. I already have my first xk8 that I got back on the road there. Saves me from getting a rental car when I'm there.
Maybe we can get together some day. I know of you, Jon89, and Harvest14 and King Charles from the X308 forum are in North Carolina. There are a few others that might wish to join us. We had a cruise day through the Napa Valley a couple of years ago with members from Northern California and it was a great time.

 

BobRoy,

We get together at Wayne's home shop in Spencer multiple times each year to work on our cars, swap our stories, and eat great BBQ. Autumn and winter are the best times of the year for this. Come join us when you are in the area. I guarantee it will be worth your drive from Hickory....