I got my transmission serviced on my 03 Jaguar S-type at 64k miles this week. So far so good. I went to a local outfit and got the job done for about $240.00, which includes about 4 quarts of the Jaguar fluid. So far so good. I think I'll be okay. I plan on repeating this at 90k.

The mechanic said that the fluid was in pretty good condition although obviously new fluid will be better.

Being that I want to keep the car for at least 10 years from today, I think that this is a good course of action.

My opinion is that transmission fluids, like oils have improved over the years and can stand longer drain intervals than in the past. I obviously don't want to push it too much, but am confident about the plan forward.

So, the word to the wise is to get the fluid changed at 60k or so, although you will probably be good to 75k. Of course, this advise is free and should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Doesn't the trans hold over 10 quarts of fluid? That was the impression I have gotten.

George

 

George, you took the words out of my mouth... I know you would have to flush it to get the stuff not sitting in the pan or torque converter...But I would think a simple pan drop would get at least 6 or 7 out...

 

Flushing a transmission always carries a certain amount of inherent risk with it. When you dredge up old fluid and pull it through the valve bodies, you always run the risk of stirring up debris and causing it to clog areas that were clean before. I always stick with drain-and-fills on my vehicles. I believe it is much, much safer in the long run. Yeah, you do indeed leave more of the old fluid behind that way, but as long as you're getting more than 50% new fluid into your pan, most transmission experts will tell you that you're good to go....

 

I would have had them toss in a new electrical connector sleave!!!!!

 

What process did they use to service the trans? Prob would be worth the extra money to have the filter/pan replaced at the same time plus you'd prob get more fluid out too. Did they use the actual Jag fluid or something compatible? Seems like the fluid alone (if it were from the dealer) would have been close to what you paid.

 

The fluid alone is close to what I paid. I am not sure if this trans has a filter or just a screen. In any case, some new trans fluid is better than none at all. Since I will be doing this every 30k instead, I should be getting the junk out or at least keep it from getting much worse.

The car does take 10 quarts total, but I am sticking to drains and refills.

 

I think everyone missed the point of my question. I wasn't questioning the choice of methods. I was questioning the amount of fluid drained. I would think dropping the pan would drain more than 4 quarts. That's closer to a third of the capacity instead of the typical 50% from a pan drop.

 

Yeah I agree with that. I wonder how accurate the fill method was. I know you have to basically put fluid in the trans until it overflows at a certain temp (no dipstick), but was the fluid that came out captured and measured and replaced?

Btw notice any difference in performance?

George

 

Back in the "dark ages" when I worked as a tech a trans service (drop pan and change filter) the refill was 1 gallon or 4 quarts.These were TH350 and TH400 transmissions. They seemed larger dimensionally than our Jags.
A rebuilt would hold substantially more with torque converter included.

 

When I had the pan dropped and the filter done on the 4.0 2000 it needed 5 quarts of mercon V