Am I flushing money down the drain?
 

Having read some of the current threads on transmission fluid replacement I decided to have mine flushed at the local auto transmission specialist. My 2000 XKR has 82000 miles on the clock and "touch wood" is running perfectly. Despite the filled for "life time" spec on the unit my decision was to play safe. The technician was a little suprised to find a Mercedes transmission in my Jaguar, but that apart no problem. An ounce of prevention as the old expression goes..
I have to say it was worth while, the car definetly shifts smoother if possible and responds seemingly quicker. Of course that could just be me justifying the cost. Also I got a small leak on the sender repaired.
The owner of the shop has been servicing transmissions for 45 years. His comment regarding filled for life" no way", he reconded fliud should be changed every 24000 miles, despite what manufacturers say. Food for thought maybe. Now what else can I worry about?
Anyway I hope my trans is good for some time.
Cheers,
Dave
1990 XJ40[ fast]
2000 XKR [scary fast]

IMHO, Timely Transmission Fluid changes are Mandatory.

You spent your money wisely.

Money wisely spent. The rule-of-thumb I've been told for these sealed transmissions is to change the fluid every 60K miles. 24K is unnecessarily frequent.

In my 05's manual, it states tranny fluid and filter change every 30k miles.

I have booked my 2005 XKR in for a transmission oil change at one of the UK's many independant Jaguar specialists. They're cheaper than main dealers, but it's still going to cost me £380. I'm hoping it will get rid of the bark/whoop...

He gave you great advice.

Next are powersteering and differential fluids. Both are cheap to do.

And who told you that?

If it was Mercedes, fine. If it was your Aunt Millie, then not so fine.

Mercedes has begun to issue specific numbers as of recent years. They have backed off from "sealed for life".

Nah, it was my Uncle Joe. :icon_shrug:

That opinion is from independent BMW specialists on the Magnificent Seven forum and from my local BMW specialist. Considering the XK8 has a BMW tranny, that's who I choose to believe.

I was looking through the ZF rebuild website when I found the only reference I have ever seen to replacing fluid in the 6HP26. It said the fluid was good for 60K. The owners manual for my 06 does not give a replacement schedule for tranny fluid at all. I suggest 60K changes for that tranny. We all know that they start having failures around 100K if this isn;t done. Why pay $5000 or so at 100K when you can pay $490 or so at 60K instead? I have an XJ8 at 62K right now that is scheduled in next Friday for a change. I got all the right stuff (8 liters of Lifeguard 6 fluid, new pan, new sealing sleeve and extra bolts) from CTSC in Calif. for $315 and the labor will run $175.

24,000 miles? Not 25,000 miles or or 20K or 30K?

I don't know how often it should be changed, but 24K miles just seems like an arbitrary number that the owner of the shop randomly selected because it sounds good.

I have done 30k mile automatic transmission fluid changes on every vehicle I've ever owned. I accelerate that if the vehicle is used primarily for towing. I have rebuilt transmissions and transaxles before and I'd much rather change fluid than spend time pulling the unit and rebuilding it.

I haven't even checked if I can get transmission parts for the Mercedes unit (isn't it a 722.6 variant?) in 00 XKR; I hope I can if it ever goes south as I hate paying out money for someone else to do it. The fluid replacement is worth the time and money on any vehicle.

The biggest problem with sealed for life is that the manufacturer and the consumer don't have the same definition of "life". Mfr means what they determine as the expected service life of the vehicle, maybe 100-125k miles. Lifetime to the consumer is forever.

Apparently having your transmission fluid changed /flushed using the specialised kit transmission shops have, ensures at least 90% of all old fliuid is removed. Dropping the pan yourself, will according to the technician who did mine, usually only remove 30%.
I paid £210 quid here in the UK for the flush, as some members have already commented, "money well spent", when you consider the cost of a new transmission. As for the arbitary "24000" miles fluid replacement comment made by the owner of the shop, why not. I suppose years of experience doing the same job possibly entitles him to express his considered opinion, as well as perhaps generating a bit more work for his business.
Cheers,
Dave.
XJ40[fast]
XKR [scary fast]