We changed the Filter/Pan and Fluid on the 2003 XK8 last Thursday and replaced fluid with the Mercon SP @$6.50 qt. The Pan/filter/bolt kit came from Germanpartsaver seller on E-Bay. Plastic pan and bolts kit very good quality. Cost for Kit was $66 incl S&H. The cars show 118,000K miles and did not appear to be tampered with. OEM T27 bolts were problem but the replacement T40's went back great. Held 6.5 qts of Mercon SP. Old fluid reasonably clean and did not appear to have been abused. After driving for 30+ miles, tranny seems to shift smoother and operate as normal. No problems prior to service. We also did drill and tap on the R/E (1/8 NPT plug) Was able to remove lower fill plug with a home made 1" long square 1/2" bar stock steel tool and thin 1/2" open end wrench to turn the tool. Installed 2 qts. of Castrol Synthetic GL-5 75-95W. Will try to get pics of the hole in the X-Member cut with 1" hole saw to minimize chance of stress riser cracks. Octopus Hose? maybe later, only 12 yrs. old:-)

 

Good job. Mercon SP has worked very well in my 2005 S-Type's 6HP26 since we did a drain-and-fill in early November. Smoother shifts were immediate, especially in the lower gears. Keep us posted going forward....

 

As some are aware, I broke my Rt. Femur in mid March. Have been in Rehab facitiy since. The XL 16 is in car but need to drive car min. of 50 miles to ensue good saturation. No idea how much longer due to severity of break. I will post when my results are in.

 

Hang in there, Kelly. The good news is that bones heal a lot faster and stronger than torn or ruptured ligaments and tendons do....

 

Best wishes for a short and full rehab Kelly!