hello guys...i was told at the dealership that my 01 XK8 transmission fluid and filter never needs changing. is this true?

welcome neighbor!! The dealership will always 'officially' say the transmissions are sealed for life, but unofficially (and you'll see jag master techs, current and 'retired' on these forums) that will recommend giving it a change at anwhere between 50-75k intervals. I have done mine twice in 141k, and the first time it was black...the second time, not too bad at all.

There's a DIY procedure on the forums, check the FAQ thread at the top of this subforum, if you want to do it yourself. Even gives you a location to get the kit (all the oil you need, pan w/ integrated filter from ZF) for about $275. Get new bolts for the pan though through the dealer, I stripped 4 of mine, the new ones are larger torx heads, never have that problem ever again.

Anyway, greetings! Sorry to yap on like that.

There was a thread on this started 3-4 weeks ago that got lots of informative responses. You might use the search feature to try to find it.
The jist of it is that H20boy is correct. But lots more than just that.

I just changed my trans fluid today on my 98 XK8 with 85k miles on the clock. The stuff that came out looked like black jaegermeister. No offensive or burnt smell just black and a little thicker than I thought it should be and so black you couldn't see through it as it drained.

The drain plug on bottom of pan and the fill plug on side of Transmission are definitely 8mm hex and the torx that hold the pan are a number 27

There was the usual "Chia pet" of small metal filings on the four magnets inside the pan but nothing alarming about the amount or the size of the filings.

after cutting the filter open it was black as coal on the inside.

I used Castrol MaxxLife import fluid and ran the car up to temp per instructions then shut it off and let it drain again because the fluid that was coming out was just as black as the initial drain. Pulled the pan drain plug and let all that fluid come out as well and then re-filled and let it come back up to temp, closed it up, put her back on the ground and took a test drive. What a difference the fluid made. She seems to shift smoother and no more holding onto a gear on deceleration.

There is a lot of controversy on which fluid to use and if you should spend the extra cash for the specified fluid. The castrol folks replied to an e mail I sent asking if their fluid met the LT 71141 spec and they assured me it does. At the price point of the Castrol I will change it every 10-15 k miles and see how things go. It's up to you to decide what fluid you will bet the life of your trans on and then do your own cost benefit analysis

The fluid had never been changed before according to the original owners dealer service records. (I picked the car up a few weeks ago and am in love with the power and the lines and am getting used to the quirks that go with these cars)

Before changing the fluid the transmission would hunt between gears at around 45-50 mph and the rpm would swing about 500 either way as the trans hunted. (It would hunt at a higher rate with any increase in load/incline)

After the fluid change I traveled the same path that I knew the trans would hunt before the fluid change and it only hunted once and only changed rpm by 100-200 or so. A big improvement.

I made a few observations while doing the change.

I used an infra red thermometer as Rev Sam suggests but noticed that if I read the bottom of the pan the reading was lower than the fluid that was dripping out. To be sure I was getting an accurate reading of the fluid I held a paper towel under the drip stream and read the temp of the fluid as it built up on the towel. It consistently read 3-5 degrees warmer than the bottom of the pan.

As a compromise I averaged the two readings and when the average got to 42 degrees I capped the trans off, shut the car off, and called it done.

I also found a great transfer pump at Auto Zone that comes with two 3 foot sections of hose (12 bucks) and moves almost a half a quart per cycle of the hand pump. I lined all of my open bottles of new trans fluid up in a cardboard box with lids off and pumped each one dry then moved to the next one till the fluid began to drain. Then I started the car and added more fluid until it started to drain. Cycled through the gears per the procedure and then waited for it to come up to temp and capped it off while the car was in park.

I was able to work next to the car rather than under the car most of the time by using cable ties to secure the hose away from the exhaust and into the trans.

The gasket that was originally on the car was not rubber like the replacement one that came in the kit. It was very thin and almost clear with a green line down the center and had turned brittle over the years and came off cleanly but in chunks.

I wondered how to keep the rubber gasket in place while trying to re-attach the pan. I decided I would place all of the screws back into the pan and through the gasket before re-installing the pan and that seemed to hold the gasket in place very well. I put one screw all the way through the gasket at the front and rear of trans and left the others 3-4 threads in and then re-attached the pan and torqued per Rev Sam's video sequence. Taping the printed jpeg of the torque sequence was a nice Idea Rev came up with so I did the same

Total time was under two hours and well worth it.

Next weekend I do the upper tensioners and will try and take pics as I go and share them.

Each and every thing I do to the car makes me a little more intimate with the inner workings and makes me more comfortable for the next repair and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that this is going to be a reliable and fun car once a few things are addressed.

Without this forum I think I would never have had the courage to to buy a 14 year old British GT/Sports car for fear of being run into the poor house by the local Jag dealer.

Now it is more a matter of self satisfaction doing some of the work myself and teaching my two teenage sons about the inner workings of a car that makes this car "mine" rather than just a vehicle to have fun in.

Good luck changing the fluid. There are a great bunch of guys who have been on the forum a long time that are eager to help a fellow enthusiast enjoy their cars.

Barry

Another way to keep a gasket in place while offering it up is to tie a loop of sewing thread through a few of the holes. When a couple of bolts in the other holes are in place, then the thread can be snipped and pulled.

Where do you buy Castrol MaxxLife Import? I can't even find mention of it on the Castrol web site.

Advance auto parts and Auto Zone carry it and it's roughly $5.80-$6.29 per quart. I have put a few hundred miles on since the change and it's doing quite well. I plan on pulling the drain plug and re-filling next weekend to exchange a little more of the fluid since I didn't do a complete flush/converter change first time around.

Barry

Speaking of filling, am I correct in assuming that large hex bolt at the front left of the 5HP24 right next to the cat is the fill plug?

Wow that much? My jaguar mechanic @ All Jaguar did it for me last week for ~$265

The $275 kit price included 6 qts of ZF Lifeguard, my guess is your indy uses a different brand that he finds equivalent. At $12-13 individually, you can see how it adds up quickly.

The XK8/R has 3 possible gearboxes so everyone needs to determine what one each of you are talking about. Price comparison is apples/oranges for the different filters and fluids.

bob gauff

Hi Bob, I plan to change the fluid in my car soon, so how do I ascertain which gearbox I have, and therefore which fluid/ filter/ gasket to buy. Can I check using the vin? Its important for everyone to get the right gear, and for me especially 'cause I have to import everything [no quick exchanges possible in Mexico]. Thanks for any advice.

Your car has the ZF 5HP24.
I just did a filter and fluid change on a 4.0 XK8 yesterday.
I use the VW G-052-162-A2 fluid because I keep it in stock for the VWs and Jaguars.

You can use whatever fluid you want as there are many recommendations on the forum.

I will not use alternate fluids because if a fault develops, I don't need to stand in a courtroom and explain to a judge that 'the alternate fluid I chose was NOT the problem with the faulty gearbox.'

People can do anything they want to their own cars but a repair shop has some liability when it comes to replacement parts and procedures.

bob gauff

Greetings,

I was wondering how long a transmission fluid and filter change should take on an 2003' XK8? The guy at my garage said the book says 3 hours which is hard to believe.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Tom

jagmantom,

Nice question. Welcome to the lovely world of garage pricing. Regardless of how long we have/can take to do the transmission fluid ATF change, the garage that is charging you, can charge you the "book time."

As an example, we can all easily whip off the serpentine belt and change it in the matter of minutes, but the garage will charge whatever the "book time" says. Just because mechanics can be more efficient doesn't mean they have to pass that time saving onto you. On the other hand, if the garage hits problems, they are still bound by the book time.

A friendly Indy mechanic may be more lenient with you, depending on your relationship with them, and IMHO with a Jag, it's a relationship worth developing.