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I have repaired 3 A drums in the past 7 years. My wife's 98 XJ8 has over 60,000 miles since the repair. When I did it I didn't know about the Transgo upgrade at the time, so all I did was the upgraded A drum and replaced the friction disc's in the A, B, and I think the other drum discs was the C drum. I know some purists won't agree with what I did but I used Castrol Import transmission fluid. I changed the oil and filter 2 times in the first 1,000 miles. I know it is not the recommended fluid but I thought I would try it as a test to see how it worked and if it failed I had a spare transmission to replace it.
The car has shifted perfectly since the repair and I have had no issues with the transmission.
As for the A drum failure, below pic show where the A drum fails. The red line shows lip of the A drum that holds the retraining ring and it will breaks off. The blue arrow shows where the lip is dislodging from the A drum. The arrows show the same A drum and the edge of the lip is dislodged from the drum. Usally this dislodged piece will break off the A drum and the pieces will be in the bottom of the pan.
Link to my thread on Transgo upgrade with help from Johnken and Don B.
I believe RJ is right:- ZF did update both the 'A' drum and the pressure valve, but I'm not sure when. You may already have the updated parts fitted - ZF would most likely tell you based on the trans serial #.
ZF recommends replacing the valve body and not just the pressure valve. I've attached a TSB (courtesy of jagrepair.com) which concerns the broken 'A' drum. It offers an explanation of the issue and includes the updated ZF part numbers.
I believe that the Sonnax part requires the valve body to be reamed to fit?
FWIW, I used the TransGo valve. Easy to do while you have the pan off during a filter & fluid change.
Help!! Need to remove tranmissiom fill plug. Having problems.
If memory serves me correct I believe it is an 8mm allen. Usally not enough room for a standard allen wrench. I use an allen socket and get it off that way.
Last resort is the hammer and chisel method but you will probably need a new plug when you are done.
Yeah, it's tight for access there esp. when the exhaust hot. I had the car up on a ramp in a prof. garage when I did the job, and they had a nifty tool made up for getting to the ATF filler bolt - made up of a wrench and the allen key socket. Pics below.
Image you can do the same.... or something similar.
Good luck.
I have short hex bits that can be inserted into 'box-end' wrenches (as shown by DavidYau) but I also cut off a 5/16' or 8mm Allen wrench to shorten the end so it will clear the exhaust pipe.
I use it to tighten the timing belt tensioners on some VW TDI engiens as well. (it fits down behind the engine mount)
The transgo thing works and I highly recommend it.
This is just me. I haven't been on the site in a while but as some of y'all know, for reasons, I have been thru MANY trans fluid fillz and drains. Me, I'm convinced that filling doesn't have to be as painful as ZF, Jaguar, or manuals would have us believe or go thru.
At one point, and I believe one of those damn machines might still be this way, I cut a 10mm (I think it is) piece of allen key and jb welded it into the plug at just the right length (permanently leaving it there). Or, it may have been a spot of super glue and I removed it after. Can't remember. With that, it was easier to see, get my hand on if need be, get a ratcheting wrench on, or a socket. Just making it easier.
Do what I do at your own risk. I'm a dummy. I jack up the front of the car pretty darn high, drain the damn thing, measure what came out, then create a situation where the car will not start on key turn and crank it over a bunch of times (without starting) with the drain plug open. More will come out. Then, let it slowly drain and dribble. Then I refill to spec at the upper transmission cooler hose, plus a half quart, under the hood. Careful not to over tighten. Done this more times than I would like to say. I've never had a problem. That's just me.
I believe that if it's over full the trans will eject some of the fluid. I've never had this happen. But I believe that it will.
Last edited by JayJagJay; Aug 13, 2024 at 05:26 AM.
The transgo thing works and I highly recommend it.
This is just me. I haven't been on the site in a while but as some of y'all know, for reasons, I have been thru MANY trans fluid fillz and drains. Me, I'm convinced that filling doesn't have to be as painful as ZF, Jaguar, or manuals would have us believe or go thru.
At one point, and I believe one of those damn machines might still be this way, I cut a 10mm (I think it is) piece of allen key and jb welded it into the plug at just the right length (permanently leaving it there). Or, it may have been a spot of super glue and I removed it after. Can't remember. With that, it was easier to see, get my hand on if need be, get a ratcheting wrench on, or a socket. Just making it easier.
Do what I do at your own risk. I'm a dummy. I jack up the front of the car pretty darn high, drain the damn thing, measure what came out, then create a situation where the car will not start on key turn and crank it over a bunch of times (without starting) with the drain plug open. More will come out. Then, let it slowly drain and dribble. Then I refill to spec at the upper transmission cooler hose, plus a half quart, under the hood. Careful not to over tighten. Done this more times than I would like to say. I've never had a problem. That's just me.
I believe that if it's over full the trans will eject some of the fluid. I've never had this happen. But I believe that it will.
That sounds like a reasonable approach, if you don't have a lift. If you have a lift, it's easy to do it the standard way. When I did my most recent fluid replacement I also carefully measured all the fluid I got out and then measured the new fluid I added. The two matched almost perfectly.
I don't believe that overfilling slightly is going to cause a problem as there appears to be plenty of room for a higher fluid level, but I'm interested in your theory. If excess fluid were to be ejected, how and where would it be ejected from? It appears to be sealed system so unless one of the O-rings or lip seals starts leaking, I can't see how the fluid would be released.
The transgo thing works and I highly recommend it.
This is just me. I haven't been on the site in a while but as some of y'all know, for reasons, I have been thru MANY trans fluid fillz and drains. Me, I'm convinced that filling doesn't have to be as painful as ZF, Jaguar, or manuals would have us believe or go thru.
At one point, and I believe one of those damn machines might still be this way, I cut a 10mm (I think it is) piece of allen key and jb welded it into the plug at just the right length (permanently leaving it there). Or, it may have been a spot of super glue and I removed it after. Can't remember. With that, it was easier to see, get my hand on if need be, get a ratcheting wrench on, or a socket. Just making it easier.
Do what I do at your own risk. I'm a dummy. I jack up the front of the car pretty darn high, drain the damn thing, measure what came out, then create a situation where the car will not start on key turn and crank it over a bunch of times (without starting) with the drain plug open. More will come out. Then, let it slowly drain and dribble. Then I refill to spec at the upper transmission cooler hose, plus a half quart, under the hood. Careful not to over tighten. Done this more times than I would like to say. I've never had a problem. That's just me.
I believe that if it's over full the trans will eject some of the fluid. I've never had this happen. But I believe that it will.
That makes sense to me. I thought it was overkill for a fill. It'd have to be done like you do it or else it could be over-filled and I wouldn't know if it was low to begin with. If I can't find a lift or another way to get under the car when level then I can resort to this which is a better option than doing nothing. I appreciate your input.
I did order the TransGo along with an ATP filter and have 6 qts of Royal Purple Max. Might need more fluid if i do it your way? Anything I need to be aware of like parts falling out and holding up the show while I try to figure out what goes where.
That makes sense to me. I thought it was overkill for a fill. It'd have to be done like you do it or else it could be over-filled and I wouldn't know if it was low to begin with. If I can't find a lift or another way to get under the car when level then I can resort to this which is a better option than doing nothing. I appreciate your input.
I did order the TransGo along with an ATP filter and have 6 qts of Royal Purple Max. Might need more fluid if i do it your way? Anything I need to be aware of like parts falling out and holding up the show while I try to figure out what goes where.
6 quarts isn't enough. When you drop part of the VB to install the Transgo valve you'll lose even more. Your looking a 7 or 8 quarts total.
