Hello,

Went to the Jag dealer today for a simple oil change and they noticed that my Transmission pan is leaking. They claim that the seal is not good anymore and therefore I need to buy a new transmission pan and seal + 4 litters of Trans fluid at $75 a pop.

I do not want my transmission to get ruined because of this leak and I also do not want to fork out $400 in labor + 1k in parts.

Does anyone know where I can buy the fluid, Trans pan & tube seal cheaper than the factory is offering?
Would like to get OEM parts.

Thank you for your help

 

You can get everything you need right here: The CTSC - ZF Parts

Their fluid is the genuine ZF fluid and it's about $17 per liter. They sell a whole kit which consists of the pan, gasket, and fluid for $242

 

I'm assuming you have the ZF transmission. If you don't, then ignore my last post. And you're going to need more than 4 liters of transmission fluid, unless they reuse the old fluid. You'll need 6 liters at an absolute minimum. But I used 7 quarts when I changed mine. I used Ford Mercon SP, which comes in quart bottles. A quart is a wee bit less than a liter.

Click on the link to my Youtube channel below. I made a video of my pan/fluid change. Maybe it's something you want to tackle as a do-it-yourself job.

 

don't wait too long, if its loosing some fluid, de'tranny won'ta like-it.

 

Sam,

How can I find out if I have the 'ZF" Transmission?

 

If your car is '03 model year or later it's a ZF tranny, which is a better unit than previous years.

 

Be careful, if you have on 03 or later, the plastic pan can be leaking but the sealing sleeve for the Motronics unit can also leak and make it look like a leaking pan. The pan has to be removed to change the sealing sleeve so you would need both parts anyway. I just had them both replaced, it was $75 labor for the sleeve and $150 labor for the pan and fluid. I bought everything from CTSC. It is highly recommended to replace the sealing sleeve when changing the pan to keep from having to do it all again if the sleeve leaks, usually around 60K miles.

 

Earlier XK8s came with a ZF gearbox as well...just an earlier version (5HP24 as opposed to 5HP26).

 

@SkidMark,

I don not agree with you at all.

the early XKR's do have a Mercedes transmission.
The Merc Tranny's are about the best and trouble free transmissions you can get on the market.

The ZF's aren't. they are prone to more problems, not to forget bolts snapping when you try to take the pan off.

 

I agree..lovely gearbox from merc

 

Just to clarify, the 4.0 XKR's had a mercedes 5WA580 5 speed tranny. It too is a sealed type with lifetime fluid. I haven't heard any bad things about it so it must either be really rare or performs well. The 2003- 4.2 XKRs got the ZF 6 speed 6HP26 to get the revolutionary high efficiency planetary gearset and the extra speed to save fuel. I have heard few problems with these either except for the whoop noise they made when the fluid had the wrong modifier that let the E-clutch stick on upshifts. This may have been fixed with the current ZF fluid based on my experience.

 

Miami XKR, to sum it up, if you have an 03 or later, buy this kit for $242: Oil change kit for 6HP26/28/32

Add to that this sealing sleeve for $15: Mechatronic sealing sleeve

...and 24 of these screws for $1.86 each: Oil Pan Screw - Plastic Oil Pan

The reason for getting the screws is that the original screws used a very small Torx bit head. The head strips out very easily (watch my video to see what I mean) The replacement screws use larger a larger Torx bit, and while they won't prevent you from stripping the existing screws, since some of them will need to be replaced anyway, you might as well replace all of them with a screw that won't strip out the next time the transmission has to be opened up.

Here's a video I made while changing my pan and fluid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL4ZhDlZAF4

 

Just for information, the 6hp26 uses a Lepelletier epicyclic gear set which is simpler than previous systems, saving complication and energy. It is the most advanced automatic I knwo of in that era. This tranny can also lock up theTC in every forward gear, even at rest, giving essentially a 12 speed gearbox. Nobody else has that. This is a good part of why my XJ8 gets up to 35 mpg on the road and the XKR gets an average 23mpg--pretty amazing to me anyway.

 

I might mention that my Jag shop is able to save these pan screws by tapping each head with a chisel prior to removal. They have never broken one and it saves a few bucks. I was giving them extra screws and they were giving them all back to me, I got tired of stockpiling them!

 

Sam,
I have an 06 4.2

 

Then everything I mentioned above applies. You can get the kit, the sealing sleeve, and the screws for less than $300 and have your local independent shop do the work, or you can try to do it yourself. Watch my video and decide if it's something you want to tackle. At the time I did it I remember thinking that I just wish I had paid someone to do it for me, but in hindsight I'm glad I did it myself. I learned a lot, and in the end I was SURE that the transmission was filled to the proper level. It's been working perfectly since I changed the pan and fluid.

 

Sam,

You have been a great help!
I have one more question.
In your video I noticed how the new pan does not have a flush seal as the old one (recedings). Has this been a problem for you?

 

The gasket on the new pan hasn't been a problem. I have no leaks. My pan is an aftermarket pan, though. The one from CTSC would be a genuine ZF pan, so it's sure to fit properly.

 

Sam,

Ok great, just ordered it and it came out to $327 with shipping. A whole lot better than $900+ that Jaguar was trying to charge me!
I had a friend of mine that owns a shop that will install it for $120, compared to Jaguar $400+

Thank you Sam for saving me over $800! :-)

 

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