Well I guess I dodged that bullet for long enough. This happened on my 1998 XK8 135,000 miles.

Yesterday we came to a little used road that merged onto a highway after a stop sign. I have to say, this was probably the steepest road I ever drove her on (probably complicated but low visibility at the stop sign, but for some reason warning flags were up in my mind). All clear, no traffic, step on gas.
car struggled a bit to overcome inertia, then tranny slipped! BANG went into gear got moving.

Yellow transmission failure light came on. She was driving ok at 50mph, I didn't know what to expect when I had to stop! Good news, I made every green light for 6 miles.

Then I couldn't resist. Pulled over, shut her off, restarted. No lights! - until I started forward. She was starting in a higher gear. Felt a little slip until up to speed. Checked and realized no other forward gear selections worked.

Got her home, total 8 miles. Reverse still works.

Oh boy I didn't need this right now. But going to try to make the best of it. Now trying to figure out best next steps. In the spirit of all our interactions I have to admit I have a hard max budget of $2,000 to fix this.

Let me get an easy question out of the way. I just watched a video of how to replace the A drum on this tranny. I'd always prefer to do the work myself, but. . .?

Should I write this self help idea off in the spirit of safety and complexity given that I only have a gravel driveway and jack stands to work with? I figure the tranny must weigh a couple hundred pounds.

I've then got to interview repair shops tomorrow. What should I be sure to ask, what would you ask in my situation?

BTW, a search shows that the A drum costs about $250 for the parts.

Thanks so much for any help / advice you can give. I appreciate it ( a lot)

John

 

Working on a transmission isnt for amateurs. Im a semi skilled long time amateur mechanic and transmissions arent easy. They require a lot special tools to disassemble and reassemble that most folks dont have and you need measuring devices to set various parts. And cleanliness is critical.

I have remove transmissions from vehicles on gravel driveways and it is a nightmare. You can’t get the car up high enough to get the big kludgy transmission out from under it you’ll need big planks of plywood for the transmission jack because it won’t roll on gravel. But the real problem is getting the car up high enough to get the damn thing out because with the transmission jack underneath it you’ve lost about 8 inches of clearance. The most jackstands don’t raise you up more than a foot or so.

I wouldn’t think about trying to repair your transmission. Because without having done it before I can pretty much guarantee you won’t have all the special tools to take it apart find the problem and put it back together such that it works. You might be better off trying to swap one in. But you still got the problem with the driveway and your Clearance. Call Ron and get some quotes on having it rebuilt and I bet you it’s gonna be at least $2000

 

You've done enough repairs to be competent at this one. Build four cribs with 6x6 and get a harbor freight 600 lb transmission jack. As mentioned above you'll need a sheet of plywood to maneuver the transmission. The hardest part is probably r/r of the exhaust system.
Once the transmission is out put it tail first in a 35 gal. trash can. There/s lots of diy on the whole process.

Of course, if there's chunks of metal in the pan you may need more than just the a drum repair. Unfortunately, the weather is about to take a dive.

 

Transmissions are not as scary as people would lead you to believe. Buy the manual online and get a rebuild kit and you'll be $$$ ahead and a bit smarter coming out of the experience.

 

Hi John,
Sorry to hear.

Gus has lots of information on his site, including the repair manual and parts list which might guide your decisions:
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Good luck.

 

+1 on Michael's recommendation as Gus has all manuals available to DIY - also believe they are in the How To section of the stickies. I was fortunate enough to have a local transmission shop that specializes in ZF trans - so went with them for rebuild (2times) - 3500ish maybe a bit more - also came with 24month or 24000mile warranty. if you want a rebuilt to swap in - Jaguar

 

There might be some places in your area where a lift can be rented. Look up DIY repair shops. In many cases there are tools like transmission jacks available for use. Sounds like you cracked the skirt of the A drum. It is not a difficult fix. Make sure that you use a torque wrench.

If you are close enough to Staten Island i can get you to my indie and help with a reasonable flatbed transport. He is very fair with his pricing and will get you the updated drum so that this never happens again. Let me know. Look up Parks Auto Group on Castleton Ave, SI if you wish to speak to him directly.

 

Hi John

After getting your PM I came here to read a little more about your problem. A few thoughts. Doing it yourself with limited tools and experience would not be your best option. Bringing it to a shop for a rebuild and R&R is not going to fit into your $2000.00 budget. Since I see this thread is a few days old I'm guessing that you have already talked with a few transmission shops. Pretty much any decent shop will not quote you a price up front. Usually a quote is soft parts overhaul plus additional hard parts. Trust me they are going to want change the torque converter as well. You said the A drum is about $250 and more than likely this is the reason for your failure. Problem is I can't imagine a shop agreeing to change it without doing a complete rebuild. Another option and one I would consider is a used unit. May take some research or suggestion of one of our members for sourcing a used unit. But I would bet that a used unit and qualified R&R would be your best option for your budget. And remember you still have your old unit to fix or repair when time and money permits.

Hope this helps and let me know if you need some more help with this.

Cheers!

Andrew

 

I’ve successfully done this job under the same conditions as you are facing. RJ237 is spot on. I rebuilt my transmission and it was not that hard. You will learn that the concept of “lifetime “ transmission fluid is flawed.

 

Guys, I am still trying to evaluate and nail down my options and budget. OTOH I didn't want to look like I'm impolite or ignoring things after you each were so kind to jump in here. A BIG thank you to each of you, can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

So far I'm finding that price is "fixed" around here. Quotes are thesame price for replacement or for rebuild. In fact one of our esteemed contributors here has offered a ZF 5HP24 to me, i will pick it up this weekend. It needs some R&R too, but I was hoping to find a way to leverage that to reduce the overall price. I look forward to thanking and recognizing him publicly here, but of course I need him to bless that 1st.

Back to the price quotes, shops are locking in on the same price, $3,000 to $4,000 whether i ask them to remove, repair, reinstall it; buy and install a rebuild; or to fix the spare I'm about to receive - I install it!

More legwork for me, but these price quotes just are crazy aggressive. 10 to 15 hours - that's over $300 per hour. . .

Like I said, I don't want to appear to be asking for help, then ignoring your input. I'll let you know as this develops.

BTW, please confirm that I can install any ZF5HP24 tranny from any XK8. over the 3 or 4 yr period it was sold. IOW a 5hp24 from 2000 will work in my 1998.

Thanks again!

John

 

John,

Legwork indeed! Happy hunting whatever you choose.

I’m reminded of fellow member Mad hatter’s experiences where he found a replacement ZF5HP24 but found it wasn’t reconditioned. RIP off! Take care - I’m sure you know - and deal with reputable tranny shops.

I considered a DIY gearbox rebuild, as an exploratory task, but like others have said it’s not for the inexperienced. As it wasn’t essential work for me, I settled just for ATF change and Transgo PR valve upgrade.

Hope I never experience the dreaded A Drum weakness in the ZF5HP24.

Good Luck!

 

I ran into similar problems when I was replacing the turbo 400 transmission in my XJS. Most chain shops like AAMCO will charge a lot. Just mention the name "Jaguar." You can shop around and try to find an independent transmission shop or even a gas station that does a lot of repairs, that might give you a better price. When I looked into used units from an a dismantler they would only warranty the trans if a "reputable shop" did the installation. Let's face it, buying a used transmission is a crap shoot, unless you swap it yourself the R&R is going to be the biggest expense. Having your original trans rebuilt might be your best option, at least you know that it belongs in your car and it will be in good shape after the rebuild. I replaced the tranny in my car in my garage, it was a lot of work, and I lucked out because I bought the used transmission from a shop that was familiar with the donor car. The owner had the car serviced at that shop. The car suffered an engine fire and the engine and trans were removed. and sold. Is there any chance that you could find a friend or family member that would let you use their garage or even driveway for a couple of weeks? I don't know how difficult it would be to remove the transmission from an XK8 but I'm sure that you could do it if you've got any previous mechanical experience.

 

with the exception of the earliest two years you can use any year trans from an XK8 before model year 2003. Might want to do two things with the replacement unit. Switch out the A drum for the updated unit and reset the transmission controller so that it goes into learn mode. Just make sure that your wheel speed sensors (I believe its the rears.) are working properly before you do this.

 

So John, you're saying that shops want 3-4K to R&R (used unit) the trans? That's insane. It's a rear wheel drive unit not a rocket ship. A good R&R man could do this in about 4 hours.

 

Thanks Andrew!!! Good reference point. (And valued feedback!)
John

 

Hello Johnken !

I too have experienced a very similar experience with my 1997 XK8.....Twice!
The first time it happened, I found a ZF5HP24 for sale on E-Bay and $2,500 later was happily motoring down the road for 20k miles until it happened again. I broke down (literally) with exactly the same symptoms. I found the only remanufactured transmission with a 3-year warranty and bought it 4 $4,500 less a core charge. $5,800.00 later, The transmission seems to be humming right along with no hiccups. Keep in mind that I do a lot of my own mods and fixes, but when it comes to heavy, complicated parts like this, I know what I don't know.

It now just passed the 140k mile mark and I am hoping I can run the car into the ground before I have to deal with a ZF transmission again.

Best of luck to you!

 

I had a similar problem with my 97 XK8. I received similar quotes of up to $10,000 from the local Jag dealer. After much sole searching I took it to Rick Rood's Transmission Ltd in Waterville NS - he diagnosed it as bad park neutral switch. he disassembled it and cleaned the contacts for a P0706 code - original switch replacement was going to cost around $1400 for the switch (it is no longer available from Jag).

Car drives like new now

Preston

 

Getting back to the main topic. Have you found a shop that will rebuild the transmission if you remove it and deliver it to them? I'm sure that it will take a lot of looking. A lot of shops say that they can't warranty the transmission if they don't do all the work, that's total BS, If you mess something up in the installation it isn't likely to damage the internals of the transmission. What's a fair price for a rebuild? Parts and labor, I'm sure it would include a new or rebuilt torque converter. 1000.00 dollars? How much is a rebuild kit? What is a reasonable price?

Have you mage any progress on deciding to remove it yourself? One of the biggest hurdles for me was that I couldn't reach the bellhousing to engine bolts from the engine compartment. They had to be accessed from under the car! I don't know what the situation with the XK8 is. I you want to see how I replaced my transmission you can check out my blog. I covered it in the March 17th, 2017 and April 6th. 2017 blog posts. You can buy all the needed tools and equipment for several hundred dollars.
There are some on this forum that can afford to spend large sums maintaining their cars. I can't spend five thousand dollars on a car I bought for 3,500 bucks. I'll either fix it myself or move on.

 

Rivguy,
I can't wait to view your links on removing it. Thank you.

Here's where I'm at.

1. Thanks to jag JayJagJay I now have 2 transmissions, he was kind enough to donate them to me. One was from a 1998 (same as my car); the other from a 2000.

I was told that the 1998 came from a flood damaged car. The 2000 has a new Transgo pump, but was banging into reverse.

i could buy a rebuild kit for $350 and try to rebuild one of these. Problem there is,, i suppose I'm flying blind until I do it ($350 + x# hours) and see if it works!

2. Yesterday I (finally) found a transmission shop that will rebuild mine for $1,000. I've got to get it out of the car myself for that price. I'm sure your links will help me see what I'm in for.

When I visited Jay for his generous offer, the 2000 was still bolted to the motor. Interesting, the bell housing bolts weren't torqued too tightly, an impact wrench sure helped with all the no torque unbolting though.

Then we realized there were still 3 bolts holding it to the flywheel. Found an access "hole" on the bottom. 15mm as I recall. The fun part is that once a bolt is undone, you have to be careful not to drop it inside, then you must manually turn the engine to align the next bolt. (Yes, I'll be looking up which way to tune the flywheel, I remember- wrong way = damage!).

Ok she's all unbolted from engine, just slip her off right? (ha ha ha) not as easy as it sounds! We wound up hammering a flat blade screwdriver in to start a gap. Increasing the size if screwdriver lever until it slipped off.

I suppose another advantage of having the spare trannys is i can judge how high, minimum, i have to lift the car to get the tranny out.

So now:

1. Study removal process. Ensure i have tools and safe vertical access to do so.
2. Decide: rebuild or have it rebuilt.
3. Decide which tranny to fix. the used trannys from Jay are a big unknown.

As always I welcome thoughts and suggestions. Hey just thought of this: anyone know how many hours a tech with a lift would need to remove the tranny?

Edit: just found the removal procedure in the workshop manual. Whew, feeling a bit overwhelmed;-).

Thanks,
John

 

Hey John! Great meeting you the other day and sorry I was so distracted. I've never even looked under the hood of an s type before a week or so ago... Nevermind changing an engine in one. Just to mention, I finished and she started right up...

What I saw of the 1998 XK8 donor of that transmission is that she looked very very well cared for. That she was running right up until the day she went under water and NEVER driven again, which is good.

The other, from my 2002, was driven right up until the day the engine and transmission were swapped out. Shifted well except that growing clunk into reverse when cold. Only when cold. Then, to shift it into D when cold I had to pass D, go to 4 and then back to D for the light to light up. A simple cable adjustment I put off doing because I knew I would be changing the engine soon. Then,,, all summer I drove around a lot in my XJS... Pure joy, wish you might have seen her...

Anyways,,, the 2002 trans has 215k miles on it...

I think I would go with the 98 trans.
I will reach out to my buddy who can tell me the milage (fatigue) on the 98...

I wish you the best, Brother! The best.