Tranny rebuild or replace ?
 

My '99 with a 5HP 24 tranny is starting to do strange things and I fear the trans is giving up... lurching off the line and chirping the tires. After reading a bunch of threads on here, it appears that this particular trans has a predetermined early death. That being said, I don't want to wait for that to happen, so I am looking at either having mine rebuilt or buying a rebuild. I found a place in L.A., Euro Transmission Specialist, that will sell me a completely rebuilt 5HP24, with all of the upgrades for $2700. I was quoted $4000 to have mine rebuilt. My question is has anyone purchased one of these rebuilt trannys before and is it recommended ?? Just asking...

Theoretically, a rebuilt tranny should be the same as having yours rebuilt.

I'm guessing the rebuild includes dropping and reinstalling while the rebuilt unit is parts only. That labor is probably $1000 minimum plus replacing sleeves.

Probably a cost wash unless you do labor. Advantages of local is after service.

The A-drum in my 5HP24 failed last year. Had mine locally rebuilt complete with 6-month/6,000km warranty. Good luck.

Since my last entry, I was hunting around on the net and found a guy in Lake Forest ( Orange county, CA.) who specializes in BMW ZF trans rebuilds. I talked with him and he will remove, rebuild and replace my 5HP-24 for $2500 !!

That seems like a deal. I had my XKR's 6 Speed ZF resealed and it cost $2300 in the DC Area.

That's a bargain. For a full rebuild mine was $3700. Included A drum, torque converter, all new springs, seals, filter, etc. with one year warranty.

My '99 is on its 3rd transmission! I had the first one rebuilt for around 4k and it lasted 40,000 miles, sadly. I did not think the rebuild was great and when it failed I elected to install a used transmission which I am happy with. This cost around 2k + or so.

Oh, forgot to add. If you go the rebuild route get them to check the wiring harness and connectors very close. Seems most just reuse the old with little thought. I received the high transmission temp light warning off and on for several weeks until it settled in. The fluid seems to way, way over priced.

Gents,

There's lots of upgrade parts available for this series transmission also. Most important (on any automatic) is additional cooling capacity. I plan on adding a larger cooler to my XKR this summer when I do the fluid and filter change, as I've had several automatics on other vehicles die and it was always a "heat related" failure. If anyone made a deeper higher capacity aluminum oil pan, that would be my first mod.

Who is this wizard and how do i contact him?!?!?!:icon_dance-tap:

O.C. Motorsports in Lake Forest. 714 325 6484. I'm curious as to what he is going to tell you.

Curious what he ended up telling you on your trans.

Oh, haven't done it yet. As long as I don't have to step on it at speed, it'll be fine for a while.

The issue with local rebuilds is if you do not know the quality of their work which is often substandard. They will often warranty it for a year but the actual loss is when the unit fails after two or three years and many less miles than the original. You would almost be better off going to a franchise place where they give a very long warranty. Several of my friends lost money this way multiple times plus the inconvenience. If they sent it to Jasper or a respected authority on the particular model they would have saved double in the long term.

Has anyone actually pulled their own transmission out for rebuilding? I figured it should be too hard to remove. I have removed many transmissions from many makes over the years, but just wasn't sure bout these jags. Mine is a 1998 XK8. I am just thinking if a person could find a good transmission shop to rebuild it, even if I have to ship it off, I might do that. None around here will even touch it.

Just do a search for transmission rebuild on the forum. Many members have done it.

Just be sure to have tried everything first, I dread to think how many have had a rebuild when they didn't need it. I haven't read every post but, here's one thing to try on a 5 speed , if you haven't .
Reset Transmission Adaptive Shifting - How to Programming Instructions DIY ? MB Medic

That procedure is for the MB transmission for the XKR/XJR. The OP has a ZF5HP24.

Since my Jag is a 1998 XK8 mine is a ZF5HP24, correct? I am only days old in this jag stuff, so just starting to learn.

pardon i . I forgot the normally aspirated version had tother box