LlLHi All,
I need advice. I have a 2001 XK8 with 105k mi., just did new tensioners, water pump, thermostat & housing, blisteins x 4 & front strut mounts. Trying to decide whether to sell or keep. What other major gremlins (given the mileage) can I expect? I drive daily & she runs extremely good. Asthetically she is beautiful, Red with Ivory interior, top perfect. Your opinions & comments are welcome.
Thanks

 

I have the same car. The only thing that makes me uneasy is the A-drum failure potential in the transmission. You can search on it here. It is "somewhat" common. School seems to be out whether it is a bad design of the drum or a valve body issue or both. But apparently they fail with no real warning and the fix is a new or rebuilt transmission. I had a quote to replace it proactively for $1700. Not sure I will do it. But if it were addressed I would feel more confident driving my 4.0 liter compared to driving the newer 4.2. While we have these mechanical issues the later ones seem to have more electrical gremlins- this is not a data-driven statement other than reading this forum for years.

 

Mike, I think when you search the forum for issues you will find a lot more things that can go wrong. If they will, only time will tell.

On the one hand you have issues like the tensioners and other bad design problems, and on the other hand you have a 12 year old car - or 15 years in my case.

Unfortunately, we only read on this forum when things break, and not when all is well. Somewhere out there, there are a lot of these cars that is driving well..

I am just hoping that I can get through the original "bad things," like tensioners, water pump, etc. and then get to the point where I have the regular maintenance for a 15 year old car. Wishful thinking? I don't know.

If it wasn't for the looks, and the way the car drive, I would have probably cut my losses and sell the car. And mine is not even a daily driver..

 

After reading the BMW/ Jag zf5hp24 pdf on Gus's jagrepair.com site, I decided to remove the forward valve body and replace the valve with the upgraded version. Whether this will protect the A drum is not certain, but the valve was a little over $30 with shipping, so it was worth it to me.
Of course, if you have to pay some one to do this, it runs into money. I was going to remove the pan to change the filter and fluid, so it only added a couple of hours, including inspection of the bore.

 

Dear Mike,
If it's of any use to you, I just passed 118,000 miles in my 2002 XKR (I bought it with about 60K some three + years ago). I shouldn't jinx myself, but after doing every conceivable repair to this car, it is running better and with no warnings for a longer period of time now then at any time since I have owned the car. And realistically, what could you hope to sell it for and what could you buy that would be anywhere near as elegant, fun, sexy, powerful.....for double what you could sell it for. Keep it, and take the repairs as they come, if they come. It may surprise you, and all of the gremlins may finally subside for a long time as they have in my case.

 

+1 on tberg's comments. Keep it and drive it.

My 2001 has 104k on the clock and I have spent less than $1k in real repairs. Most of that money went to replace the tensioners.

It is my daily driver and I would not hesitate to drive it across the country anytime.

 

I'd say don't replace an A-clutch proactively. I had my A-clutch replaced with an upgraded part when I had the transmission rebuilt for other reasons. In fact, my problem was wire harness damage. I purchased by 1997 XK8 with 105K, a new engine at 65K, and transmission rebuild at 100K. From the beginning I'd have occasional transmission fault and limp mode under hard acceleration. After 2 years, at 120K I finally had the trans rebuilt again. The second shop found a bushing had been installed backwards (I'm not sure that mattered); they rebuilt the valve body and replaced the A-clutch. The trans continued to fault like before, and with additional diagnostics they found the harness from TCU to trans had intermittent open on three wires under hard acceleration (drivetrain torque flex). I speculate the harness damage either occurred during, or perhaps was the reason for, the first rebuild. The fault only occurred under hard acceleration.

 

Mark,
I had a similar experience with wire harness. When the tranny was pulled, the gears were fine, solenoids and wiring harness were not.