Transmission fluid changed. Noticeable difference.
 

Had been noticing a buzzing sound on the first three gears so I decided to go ahead and have the sealed for death transmission worked on. My mechanic got it done today and said my XK8 got a clean bill of health. No metal in the fluid but what he showed me was crazy. The factory fluid was disgusting. Burnt looking. All I can say is wow at the smoothness now! And no more buzz! New filter, gasket, fluid so I should have another 90,000 miles!!
I strongly suggest if you can do it, get it done!! 350.00 well spent and peace of mind!!
I'm sure this has been previously posted by someone else in the past but I wanted to share my experience!

Did you go with the zf fluid? I had the chirp in my car, so I changed the fluid with new zf fluid and the chirp went away completely, but it is about 20,000 miles later and I am beginning to hear a return of the same exact chirp, I kind of wish I had gone with a different fluid now.

Good question. He did call me and ask if I minded a new synthetic but it was uber expensive. I figured it was a one time deal so get the best. I'll find out tomorrow. He did say he used to use the ZF but not any more.

Chirp?
 

I've been meaning to ask you all about that. I only get it (chirp) on upshift to 4th (in full automatic or in J-Gate, regardless of sport mode on/off). Is this the same chirp you have?

Every once in a while, after a decent acceleration where she drops to 5th gear, the upshift back to 6th can be startlingly abrupt. I'm not sure I've ever dropped a clutch bad enough to bang a car into gear like that. If others have had this symptom, did it also go away with fresh oil?

I'm also interested in what brand/spec fluid you used. (Isn't everyone? :icon_naughty: )

Thanks - Jim M

no more clogged filter, so the pump can flow the rate it needs now to all the compnents, good job

Mine never chirped. It literally had a 3 second buzzing right before it up shifted to the next gear as if it was forcing something through metal. And I didn't realize how it struggled to the next gear since I thought it was normal for my car. But now, it's like silk. I can't even feel it shift.
I personally think this transmission work should be the new "tensioner" project for our cars. I can see how it's quietly killing our cars.

The chirp sounds sort of like the noise your sneakers would make if you did a quick break on a wooden gym floor, it was happening with me at random shift points whenever I would accelerate quickly. It went away completely as soon as I changed the fluid but 20,000 miles later it looks like it has returned.

I recently bought a 1999 XK8 and it had a gearbox fault ( bump/slip ), an auto box specialist stated the A + B drums were broken and was going to charge £2k plus to repair. Local indy changed the oil in the box with genuine Jaguar oil for £220, I have my car in storage now for the winter so do not know if the oil change has been a success or not ( drove it straight from garage to storage ). My indy only changed 6L of oil in my box, which I belive is standard practice, but the box+torque convertor holds 10L of oil. So some peeps change another quantity of oil after 2-3k miles and again if needed until the oil is clean ( back to red ). This can be quite costly and only worth it if you are certain the A+B drums are in order. From what I have read poor oil quality in the auto box leads to valve failure which in turn pumps up the internal pressure and results in the drums disintegrating. There are so many threads on this subject and I have hedged my bets and bought a secondhand box with 38k miles on it just in case my original one still bumps.