I've read the instructions and threads about the drain/fill many times, so I felt pretty prepared when it came time yesterday.

I get the car up on jack stands, and drain the pan. I get about 2.5 L of fluid out before it slows to a drip. I'm very confused at this point since I should be getting closer to 4 L at least (maybe i didn't let it sit long enough?). I close the drain plug and start filling with LG6. I get about 1.5 L before it starts to drip out of the side. I close it up, start car and run it through gears. I go back to top up the trans but the minute i pull the fill plug and put one pumps worth in it starts to drip out. (Reason to top the fluid while car is running is to make sure the fluid is circulating and the bottom of the pan will hold more fluid?)

In the end I even lowered the stands on the drivers side to see if I could at least get 2 L back in, but it still ran out with the fill plug out.

I put the car down and drove around the block and immediately noticed an improvement in shifting.

I checked the level of the pan and other parts of the frame and it looked ok (i might have started to hallucinate since i got scared that i couldnt get any more fluid in). I'm going to check again today.

Can someone help me out and tell me whats going on?

 

Something is not right.

You should be able to drain more than 2.5 liters.

If you are doing the final fill with car idling and filling at the correct temperature, with car level front to back and side to side, and it drips out of the fill plug hole then it is full.


The following is from:

Checking & Filling the Fluid in the ZF 6 speed ZF6HP26 Transmission



Monitoring
If you have a Diagnostic Scanner available it is recommended to plug in and monitor the engine Revs and Transmission Oil Temperature. Recommended Revs 750 while in Park. Recommended Temperature 40°C at final check. If no Scanner is available do not run longer than 15 minutes during filling time. If temperature rises over 50°C allow the transmission to cool before final check.

Filling Continued…
Once the fluid starts to run out replace the filler plug loosely and then with selector in Park start the vehicle’s engine. When engine revs at idle or 750rpm (You may need to turn on Head Lights or Air Conditioning to raise RPM) remove the filler plug and continue filling until fluid starts to run out.

Once its running out for the second time you can replace the filler plug and with your foot hard on the brake pedal select Drive and Reverse at least 2 times make sure you allow the gears to engage. Now the transmission temp should be about 40°C and you can now remove the filler plug and preform the final oil level check. If you need to add more oil do so or allow and excess oil to drain if over full.

Oil Overflow
When full there should be a small stream of oil if it stops streaming at correct temperature add a bit more. If you remove the Pump Nozzle and its pouring out its over full allow it enough time to drain.

Conclusion
With the correct Temperature, Engine RPM and Oil Overflow Stream you can now replace the filler plug and tighten to the recommended torque setting

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ce-kit-190980/

Take a look at this thread where the op left the transmission "undone" for a long period.

 

My confusion is with only 2.5 L being drained. Its very possible I didn't measure the level accurately enough, but it still should've at least drained completely right?

I would be shocked to learn that it was that low on fluid, but its possible I guess?

I'll raise the car up and check level again today (time permitting - gotta love the 5pm work email last night asking for something, making me miss the grand slam by kike!)

To level, I was using the frame/trans pan. Should I be looking at something else?

 

I think the frame/trans pan is good.

 

On my 06 SV8 I changed the pan/oil screen before replacing the fluid. The torque converter holds a good amount of fluid. Best to do 2 or 3 fluid changes after a few driven miles to assure all fluid is replaced. It's a PIA, but worth the effort.

 

Better to do a complete flush using the cooler lines.

Not that difficult and less expensive as you do not use so much fluid.

 

SO, it sounds like you did not remove the pan and filter...just opened the plug and drained some out? In that case I am not surprised you didn't get a whole lot of fluid out. The filter retains a lot of fluid that does not drain unless the pan and filter are removed.

On the top up...the car must be level and the tranny must be warmed up, not just cycled. Checking on these cars is a pain, as I seem to always get burned by the hot exhaust. But that is the condition it must be checked.

 

+1 on the above however 40 degrees C is the temp you need to be at.

I used an infra red hand held remote monitor.

I had my wife run the engine, on and off, while I did the complete flush out of the cooler line connection, a quart at a time.

Then did the final fill at 40 C.