Hey all! I'm Brando. Last weekend, I came across this car on Marketplace, and decided I couldn't let it get scrapped. I got the car for very cheap, and drove it home (all fluids had already been flushed and replaced, don't fret!)

Well, the closer we got to home, the more the transmission began to grind and slip. So the day after getting it home, I found a ZF 6HP26 out of a 2007 XKR and bought it. I figured I'd swap this in, new torque converter, then send my trans off to get rebuilt over the winter.

Well, what I didn't see in my research was the 2007 having paddle shifters. I'm feeling like I'm SOL, and just wasted a whole bunch of money because of ignorance and newness. I did a ton of research before I bought it, and somehow missed this crucial detail.

I'm wondering if there's any salvaging the situation, or if I'll be relisting this transmission and just accepting the fact that I'll be trailering this car to its various shop appointments vs. driving it. Any help is so appreciated, thank you very much.

 

Maybe you could do a steering column upgrade.

 

Isn't the paddle shift just linked to the trans ecu? I'd have thought the actual trans is the same.

 

It's a nice car if you can work on it yourself. If you got the wrong transmission (that sucks) go ahead and sell it and move on that's not the cars fault. Before telling you to take on a high dollar item like a transmission there are a few things you should check out. The first, is the timing chain tensioners and finding out if they have been changed? What do the suspension components look like?

I think it comes down to whether you want to keep the car and drive it or fix it and sell it? Also, if it came with a flood title the car is not worth very much however, to have and enjoy it for the price of fixing it doesn't sound like a bad idea. Good luck.

 

Bladerunner you're right it is the same transmission. If it was me I would call ZF Transmissions tech support and ask them if it would work or at least what the differences between them are. They should know lol!

 

Hey good morning all!

For those that haven't seen my other posts, 3 weeks ago I purchased an '05 XKR that had fallen victim to the flooding that hit Spencer, Iowa, in 2024. The car sat underwater, over the dashboard, for a week before water receded enough to get access to the storage facility it was in. The owner then had it sent to a shop to have the motor professionally gone through, and got it running strong
However, the transmission was worse for wear. The torque converter was making awful noises, and it wouldn't stay in gear.

When I got it home, I immediately sourced a used transmission out of a rear-ended XKR. However, when we went to put it in last weekend, I quickly learned that it was not a direct swap as I'd thought it would be, based on hours of forum posts. The transmission was from a newer X150 gen, and was setup for paddle-shifting. So back to the drawing board.

I decided to give the old transmission a refresh and see if I could get really lucky. When we drained the pan, about 2 gallons of water came out. I was not optimistic. But I replaced the torque converter, the bridge seals, upgraded to the metal pan and filter assembly. Cleaned all oh the connections thoroughly and went through the electrical system, as related to transmission functions. We put the trans back in, crossed our fingers, and...

It drives! It's incredible what the correct Mercon SP fluid and functioning torque converter will do lol

But alas, I wasn't out of hot water just yet (that's a pun, btw, you'll see)

Pretty quickly, my excitement was dashed by the dreaded flashing J-gate lights and gearbox fault once more. From my reading, I'm thinking I need to do a pretty hefty overhaul of the J-gate mechanisms. They're very crusty from the water intrusion. And, to top it all off, the car decided to overheat, which was a first. I've had the car idle for long periods of time and never had an issue. But I believe my fans are no longer functioning, and I'd be shocked if the small-town Iowa auto shop used the correct coolant. It looked awfully watery...

So the project continues chugging along! (get it?)

All-in-all, I still fully believe I'm on the right path and I don't regret taking on the challenge. There's gremlins that will tear my patience for sure, like the car being stuck in valet mode, and the hydraulic pump for the top mechanisms not shutting off unless you pull the relay. But if the car is running and driving well, it will keep me motivated to continue tackling these woes one-by-one!

That's where we sit. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! At least not salt water. Good luck.

 

You are obviously a fella who loves a challenge! Most “satisfied” XK8/R owners have chosen to follow this sage advice: “Buy the best, rust-free vehicle with documented maintenance you can find”. Low mileage is not necessarily a bonus. That said, preserving a classic that would otherwise have been crushed is a most worthy calling!

 

Hi ElixirXKR,

I have merged your most recent thread with your original thread. It will be most helpful to others if all the pertinent details and progress are contained in one thread for reference.

We're watching your progress with great interest and cheering you on!

Cheers,

Don

 

If it sat with water over the dashboard for roughly a week, you need to gut the entire interior of the car. Seats, carpet, door panels, all 4 window regulators, dashboard, hvac, everything in the interior. Everything needs throughly dismantled, dried out, disinfected, cleaned and lubricated at a minimum. Unless the previous owner had all that done prior to you, that really needs to be done.

 

I do think you are on the path, and obviously you bought it knowing it sat underwater for some time, so you knew you were in for fixing a bunch of weird quirks. Kudos to you as another member said you were up for a challenge, and I am the same way. I bought a 97 xk8 and have been chasing down and fixing little things all over the car and mine was never (to my knowledge!) flooded. But here’s what I can relate to with your post. My 97 has had an issue with almost every single pcb (printed circuit board) in the car in one way or another. I don’t know how different things are from my 97 to your 05, but what I do know is pcb’s and water is a scenario for inevitable catastrophe. I’ve replaced capacitors in the main ecu, had to clean up contact points to the bulbs in the dash, a/c module and module beneath it(asc button/seat heaters etc), the j-gate circuit board took some ingenuity and soldering skills to fix and jump broken traces as well as bulb replacements, the cigar lighter socket was so far gone I replaced it with a double usb charger, I had fan issues which turned out to be the fan motor full of dust/debris and a thorough disassembly and cleaning fixed the fuse blowing, my mirrors only wet up and left which was the circuit board in the door mirror switch which took some soldering repair, the tail lights worked here there which again took circuit board contact cleaning…the list goes on. Point I’m trying to make here is two part,1) check over your ecu and trans ecu to make sure no pcb components or pcb boards are bad. And 2) when I did my trans service, I originally dropped pan, drained oil and did trans go valve kit and filter, and refilled following procedure, I then drained pan and refilled about a month later, procedure again, drove a little, and did procedure a third time to get the proper level. Maybe a couple of drain and refills could help, as there’s like 10 quarts of trans oil total but a standard drain from the pan will only get out about 6, so there could be some water in there still.
as for j gate, the console removal is fairly easy, follow the YouTube videos using two credit cards. That’s a pretty complex mechanism that if under water could rust or corrode and cause issues. Or possibly like I said it’s in the circuit board.
As for the overheated issue I would suspect what you did, possible wrong coolant. If in doubt, flush it out. Also read up on the water pump issues(more for older models) and thermostat sticking issues. Also be aware in passenger side behind front fender is another overflow coolant tank, very easily accessed by removing plastic wheel well. A lot of issues have also been notes with the overflow tank in engine bay float mechanism.

just some food for thought. Keep at it man, you’ll get it good eventually. It’s just a bunch of plastic and metal, don’t let it defeat you. If you dropping trannys and changing torque converters it seems you have the skills needed to do what it takes to get it running and driving reliably again. Best of luck!

 

Also change the diff fluid as there’s a breather on top of it that likely has water in it too.