Hello everyone, i have a 1999 xk8 that had no transmission issues ahead of this, the occasional rough shift but that was like once a month. I went to do the Transgo upgrade just so i didn't have to worry about it. I believe I did everything right. But now the car doesn't drive properly. Installed the valve, tightened the X bolts then A bolts than filled the transmission cold, then let it heat up then filled at operating temperature and now it wont move without throttle. And it sputters once its moving. If anyone can help id greatly appreciate it.

 

You need to revisit your work, if that's what led to the problem. Are you sure you have enough trans fluid in there?

 

I thought so, i filled it up cold until it dripped out, warmed it uo to about 48°c pan temp, turned it off, filled it up while it was warm till it dripped out and then sealed the plug. Its inside my garage right now so i didn't go for a test drive but it went into gear fine and creeped in both gears just fine last night, now it wont creep at all and needs throttle to move at all.

 

Did you do the final fill with the engine running?

 

no i let the pan get to the correct temperature and than turned the car off

 

Ah.
For the final fill, you must cycle slowly through the gears back to neutral or park, then do the final fill, both with the engine running.
Your fluid level will be way under otherwise.

 

ohhh, ok so just to make sure i get right. I fill it now while its cold,plug the hole, than heat it up, once its up to temperature run through some gears, than leave it on, open the plug and fill till it drips out?

 

Yes. You can leave the fill plug out after the cold fill - fluid won't gush out when you start the engine.

Make sure that you do refit it after the hot fill before you turn the engine off.
From memory, you should get at least another litre or so into the transmission.

Start adding fluid as soon as the temp. hits about 30 degrees C immediately so you you don't hit the temp upper limit.

 

Ok sounds good, thank you so much im going to do it right now, ill update in about an hour

 

Yup that was it, burned myself pretty bad, once the transmission is on the plug is alot harder to get in with 2 fingers. Was a few very very slight grinds like quarter of a second grinds at first but they seemed to go away once the fluid got around, hopefully i didn't do too much damage. It took quite a while to get the plug in, it was barely dripping by the time i got it threaded in. Is that ok?

 

One thing to be aware of is that the metal fluid pan dissipates heat, so its temperature may be lower than the actual fluid temperature. If you are using an infrared thermometer, point it at the fluid dripping out of the fill hole for a more accurate reading.

For others who may find your thread in the future, I am attaching documents from ZF and Jaguar with information about the fluid fill process.

Also, did you use one of the known correct fluids, or one of the third-party "universal" fluids? The universal fluids such as Valvoline Maxlife and Castrol Transmax claim to be "suitable for" the 5HP24, but they can be shown to be forumulated with compromises that are best avoided. Here are the fluids we know to be correct in the 5HP24:

ZF Lifeguard 5
ESSO LT 71141
Mobil LT 71141
Febi Bilstein Automatikgetriebeöl (ATF) nr. 29738
Pentosin ATF 1
Ravenol ATF 4/5 HP

Cheers,

Don

 

Well done. I'm afraid a burnt hand or two is par for the course.

If there's still a little coming out then the level should be fine (noting Don's comment above). If this is the first time the fluid has been changed, consider repeating the drain & fill after a couple of hundred miles (also the filter if you didn't include it this time around) That will further dilute the old fluid in the torque converter, which doesn't get caught by this process.

 

yes unfortunately it looks like ill have to be revisiting this pretty much immediately. There is a slight grind just before a gear change when the transmission is cold. It goes away once the transmission heats up, but this didnt happen before the work i did. Would this be a fluid issue? Or something by the valve i replaced? I feel like sense the car does shift into all gears that it wouldn't be up top. i used the Valvoline fluid but i bought a variant that specifically says its compatible for LT71141. I also forgot to run it through the gears during the fill. It was on but it stayed in park for the full process. And also would reaching full temp be bad? It pretty much idled for half an hour while i fought to get the plug in. Sorry for all the questions.

 

If it's a new issue then it's likely an outcome of the job.

I'd strongly recommend that you get the Valvoline fluid out, and replace it with a fluid in Don's list above. LT71141 isn't madly expensive these days, and (call me an old fuddy-duddy) I'm suspicious of 'Universal' transmission fluids that claim compatibility with lots of differing fluid specs.

A couple of questions:

Was there any sign of metal particles in the transmission pan?

Was there any sign of wear on the old valve?

This superb how-to of BobRoy's may help as a sanity check:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2/#post1648275

edit: My understanding of shifting slowly through the gears is to ensure that the various fluid galleries are all filled as part of the process. You would likely be a little low on fluid level if you missed out this step.
Also, if the fluid temp exceeds 50 degrees, then the fill will be below minimum. Shame there's no dipstick...

 

The choice of fluid is probably not your immediate issue, but unfortunately, Valvoline's claims that its Maxlife Multi-Vehicle ATF is compatible for LT71141 applications can be easily proven to be false. The easiest way to prove this is to look at the Material Safety Data Sheets for Maxlife and ZF Lifeguard 5. The kinematic viscosity at 40°C of Vavoline Maxlife is 28 cSt (mm2/s). This makes it a low-viscosity ATF. The kinematic viscosity at 40°C of Lifeguard 5/LT71141 is 37 cSt (mm2/s). It is a medium-viscosity ATF. Maxlife is about 24% thinner than Lifeguard 5. Since energy transfer in the torque converter is directly related to fluid viscosity, you can imagine the reduction in torque converter performance, not to mention the changes in internal pressures inside the transmission, different friction/slippage characteristics, and other adverse effects. And we have no way of knowing if Maxlife's other additives for anti-corrosion, anti-foaming, seal protection, thermal viscosity modification, etc. are appropriate for the 5HP24.

Another way to prove that Valvoline's claims about Maxlife Multi-Vehicle ATF are false is that they claim it is suitable for Mercon V, Mercon LV and Mercon SP applications. Ford begs to differ, stating that LV must never be used in V applications, and vice-versa, and that SP is to only be used in Ford's licensed versions of the ZF 6HP26. For Valvoline's fluid to work in gearboxes designed for all three very different fluids, serious compromises would have to be made, and Maxliffe could not possibly be optimal for any of those applications.

I strongly recommend that when you can, that you replace the Valvoline with one of the fluids known to be correct. The transmission is the second-most expensive component in the vehicle, so using an incorrect fluid is asking for expensive trouble.

You are probably still under-filled. Running the shifter through the gears ensures the valve body passages are full of fluid. Allowing the transmission to get too hot results in the fluid expanding excessively and too much dripping out the fill plug. If you'll carefully follow the procedure in the documents I posted earlier, pointing your thermometer at the dripping fluid and not the pan, you will at least rule out a low fluid level issue.

Cheers,

Don

 

Nope zero metal particles, and the old valve looks good, thats why im annoyed i've messed up a healthy transmission, heres a picture.

Alrighty then, ill go for attempt number 3. Sorry for all the rookie errors im 19 and this is my first Jag. Got it for 1500$ as a project with only 76k on it. Absolutely fell in love with it and the brand. its great to see the support these cars have from such nice people. Im super thankful for all the help. I'll update if third time was the charm.

 

Man... I thought I was doing good with a $2500 rust-free XKR project at 100K.

 

Well its no looker right now lol, got it cheap because it was overheating, turned out to just be a bad thermostat. Got lucky there and no rust sense its lived in Flordia all its life. Replaced the ripped seats with a matching interior color from a 2001 xk8 in the junkyard. Now its getting prepped for paint sense its in desperate need of it. Love my baby though!

 

I always start putting the plug back in when the temp is 30 C. That way by the time the threads catch it isn't too hot.

 

I wish you could still get the 5HP dipstick that someone used to make.