Thanks @gchin and @got. I've gotten a bunch of second and third opinions and they're running about 20-1 to flush the tranny two or three times instead of jumping straight to replacing everything. The original service guy is sticking to his story and uses the water soluble bit to back up his diagnosis. He may be right but he's one voice against 20. And, he added about $6,000 to fix things that "might" need to be fixed, so at this point, I don't feel any alternative but to try another mechanic.

I'll let you know what happens.

 

You can't you loose with the flush both systems route and keep the tranny route.

Either way, you need a new radiator.

If you find out later that the transmission is lunched, you will only be out the cost of the transmission flush. The other stuff was mandatory either way.

But, chances are, you'll be good to go once the radiator and flushes are done.

 

Yes, PLEASE DO let us all know how it all turns out. Sometimes we don't hear the final verdicts and all of our opinions and thoughts are just left hanging. We'd really appreciate it if you closed the loop for us.

And good luck to you.

 

Update: Moved car to a new service center. The guy I took it away from was really pissed.

 

Your car your money, do what is necessary. Getting a second opinion is not a bad idea.

 

I'll bet he was. He was counting on you to put his kid through college, at that pricing. You did the right thing...please keep us updated.

 

I'll bet he was.........

 

I know manuals have friction plates, but do auto's have them?

Auto's have plates in the convertor, but they are always welded in and then you have the clutch bands. And why would anybody put water soluble parts in a sealed WET environment???

Having had a radiator go out and leak into the tranny fluid, I replaced the radiator, drained the tranny and replaced the filter and went to a goodyear shop and had them hook it up a machine that pumped new fluid in and saved the old into a container. That was at 158k miles, sold the car last month with just shy of 200k miles and tranny was working great.
But a $1,000, man I hope he was going to use a LOT of vasoline, cause he is trying to give you a MAJOR screwing.
Radiators nowadays should always be replaced with a new one, you never know how long the used one will last or even if it is any good.

 

Pardon me for the long delay reporting the outcome of this saga. I took the car to Bob Cutler Jag Service in Pasadena and he fixed it right up. So far so good and I'm happy with the service and the friendly atmosphere of the place. New radiator, new hose and flushed the transmission three times. That, towing and a few other things I asked him to fix and the bill was under $3k. Still an expensive problem but at least I kept my baby. The one thing I wasn't expecting was all the freon had to be replaced, apparently because it had to be disconnected to change out the radiator. I wondered if I was buying back my own freon but the price was so low per liter, I figured I wasn't being had.

Thanks to everyone who helped me through this. Hope you all have a wonderful politically correct holiday season.

 

Very glad it worked out for you, and thanks for taking the time to give us the final report.

Stay away from that first shop and happy holidays.

 

The Jaguar shop procedure is to drain the freon so that the ac lines can be disconnected to enable easy removal of the radiator. I was able to replace the radiator without disconnecting the ac. Just takes a little extra finagling.

Glad you got it all fixed.

 

Sorry to hear about your issue, just fixed mine , but i bought the car that way. the issue is the trans coolant tank inside the radiator has busted and the coolant has gotten into the transmission. it will run but the friction clutches inside the trans will swell up and crumble apart and start slipping. hard fact but true. i had to get a radiator from the dealer ( no one had a used one ) $700 depends on the model. found trans with a 1 year warranty for $1200 with 75,000 miles. i installed them myself , trans shop wanted $4000 for the trans rebuild and he also wanted to buy my car too ! good luck at finding the parts and installing

 

Swayon34,

Welcome to the forum!

We love DIY folks.

 

Cool thanks for the welcome !