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Thanks, wiped everything clean and dry, took it out for a spin and put her back up on the hoist. See what the weekend brings. maybe get lucky and gasket or seal just dried up?
Thanks, wiped everything clean and dry, took it out for a spin and put her back up on the hoist. See what the weekend brings. maybe get lucky and gasket or seal just dried up?
For the seal - you can just take a peek. Usually collects at the bottom and drips off the back end of the pan.
For the mount. You'll see oil sheen on bottom of mount and on the inner surfaces of the trans cross member.
These mounts only last about 100K miles on the SC cars. My car is at 99.6K miles and the mount clearly gave up the ghost when I put it side by side w/ the replacement.
Almost nothing! Just a bit of smear. I judge that as a good sign.
Because of the good experience, today I ordered the same set of Filter and Oil again for the other Jag in the Garage.
Not sure if the Oil on that one has ever been changed before, but according to CarFax records it has not, and has now served its purpose 138k mls.
Last edited by xkr_dougie; 03-25-2020 at 12:01 PM.
Almost nothing! Just a bit of smear. I judge that as a good sign.
Very good sign indeed.
The magnets will naturally have a black soot on them.
That's absolutely normal and expected.
As long as you dont see shiny or large specs. Carry on!
PS - If you need a pan/filter. PM me - I'll sell it to you at a steal. It's been sitting idle and I don't expect to use it for the foreseeable future.
Rather see it go to a fellow forum member.
I'm presuming you replaced with Lifeguard6? I did the same with my 04 XJR @ 99K miles. I know the fluid/filter was previously serviced and the PO used LG6.
The fluid when came out looked decent. Not black. Only reason that prompted me to change the pan/fluid was a leaking mechatronic seal. (It was OEM) I replaced with upgraded w/ black o rings!
That fluid looks like it was overheated. I replaced the fluid on my Audi at 162 K miles, it was the one from the factory and it did not look that dark. It is true it was the LG8 fluid that came from the factory and Audi's trans run most of the times under 60*C.
My questions are how hot do the transmissions run on Jaguars and are there any models running the green LG8 fluid? Audi started using the green fluid in 2008 and later there was a TSB for changing the fluid to the green stuff together with a software upgrade on all earlier models that used LG6 or even LG6 Plus( the blue stuff). Anything like that on Jags?
That fluid looks like it was overheated. I replaced the fluid on my Audi at 162 K miles, it was the one from the factory and it did not look that dark. It is true it was the LG8 fluid that came from the factory and Audi's trans run most of the times under 60*C.
My questions are how hot do the transmissions run on Jaguars and are there any models running the green LG8 fluid? Audi started using the green fluid in 2008 and later there was a TSB for changing the fluid to the green stuff together with a software upgrade on all earlier models that used LG6 or even LG6 Plus( the blue stuff). Anything like that on Jags?
As far as I know - nope.
Only two fluids known for the 6HP26 trans is LG6 and Mercon SP (same spec, but red)
Lots of debate on other fluids, which I care not to get into but these are the only two fluid types I have used in any 6HP26 trans in a Jaguar.
Only two fluids known for the 6HP26 trans is LG6 and Mercon SP (same spec, but red)
There are three correct fluids that I know of for the 6HP26, four if you count Jaguar Fluid 8432, which is just re-labeled ZF Lifeguard 6. Also correct are genuine Ford Motorcraft Mercon SP and Shell Spirax S4 ATF MSP (which Shell actually also calls Ford SP Fluid on its product sheet). However, the last time I searched, the Shell fluid was not available in North America, and one of our members had difficulty finding it in Europe, so it may have been discontinued by Shell.
I am not aware of any Jaguar 6HP26 for which Lifeguard 8 is specified. The only Jags that require LG8 are the ones with the ZF 8HP gearboxes (F-Type, XE).
You can see ZF's current fluid recommendations in the document at this link:
...this is the stuff which was sent to me from UK together with the oil filter pan.
If it's true what's written on, it meets Lifeguard 6 and Jaguar 8432 Spec. .... wasn't expensive and I trust the guys from British Parts UK
But I'm a guy who changes oil more often than standard anyway.
Last edited by xkr_dougie; 03-26-2020 at 10:30 AM.
...this is the stuff which was sent to me from UK together with the oil filter pan.
If it's true what's written on, it meets Lifeguard 6 and Jaguar 8432 Spec. .... wasn't expensive and I trust the guys from British Parts UK
But I'm a guy who changes oil more often than standard anyway.
Not to turn this into yet another discussion of which fluids are safe and appropriate for use in the Jaguar ZF 6HP26, but many third-party fluid makers claim their products "meet or exceed" Shell specification M1375.4 and many parts suppliers trust these fluid makers' claims. However, except for the three fluids I mentioned earlier, all others have been proven to differ chemically from the known correct fluids.
According to the Granville technical data sheet for their ATF 1375.4 fluid, the typical viscosity at 100C is 7.02 (mm2/sec). The viscosity of Lifeguard 6 at 100C is only 5.6 mm2/sec (which is very low, as transmission fluids go). This suggests not only that the Granville fluid is not chemically equivalent to Lifeguard 6, but that it lacks the very low viscosity required by the 6HP transmissions, which could lead to elevated pressures and temperatures inside the gearbox. So use the Granville at your own risk. It doesn't matter how often the fluid is changed if the fluid has incorrect properties. Here's a snip from the Granville Technical Specs:
In this sheet (apparently the same oil) it has 5.6 mm2/s
The viscosities of the MPM ATF M-1375.4 shown on that sheet look identical to those for Lifeguard 6. Unfortunately, it appears that those numbers were inserted by the marketing folks rather than the chemists, because the Material Safety Data Sheet tells a different story. The viscosity at 100C is not given, but the viscosity at 40C is specified as 31 mm2/sec, significantly higher than that of Lifeguard 6 at 26.8 mm2/sec. Also, the base oils and additives of the MPM fluid are different from Lifeguard 6. You can compare the data sheets at these links:
Lifeguard 6 and Shell Spirax S4 ATF MSP are made by Royal Dutch Shell in Belgium. Ford Motorcraft Mercon SP is made by Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas. As far as we have been able to determine through hours and hours of research, these three fluids, along with Jaguar-branded LG6, are the only fluids known to be absolutely correct for use in the ZF 6HP26.
...My questions are how hot do the transmissions run on Jaguars...
This question came up a few times. I'm also curious. Anyone know the answer? I assume it will eventually operate at engine temperature for long or aggressive drives.
Thank you so much for posting the excellent and well documented procedure for flushing the transmission. I no longer have a Jaguar, but now have a 2009 Aston Martin DB9 that has the ZF 6HP26 transmission as well. The car has 34K miles on it, but the ATF is of course 11 years old. I plan to flush it in a few months, and if I don't use the ZF fluis, I'll use Mercon SP. By the way, I see the plastic transmission adapters you show in the 1st picture are now about $14 each. I'll probably get a pair, use them for my flush, then pass them on to someone else. Unfortunately, there aren't very many AM owners who do their own maintenance. so I might end up offering them on this Forum!! - ha.
Thanks again for the post I've been looking to find for about 3 weeks.
Thank you for your kind words! The DB9 is one of the most beautiful cars in the world!
With the help of some fellow forum members, we have proven that Motorcraft Mercon SP is chemically identical to ZF Lifeguard 6 aside from the dye color, so there's no reason to spend the extra money on LG6.
Please report back to us and let us know how your fluid flush goes. And if you buy the cheap adapters I'll be happy to purchase them from you when you're finished, just to add them to my arsenal.
Thanks for the note, and comments. I've ordered the flush adapters. When I'm done with them, I'll offer them to a guy who has posted about 50 procedures for maintenance of DB9's (he hasn''t changed his ATF fluid yet. If he doesn't want them, I'll send them to you at no cost - as a thank you for this post. Here is a link to the adapters for $14. https://www.racetronix.biz/p/adapter...lack/adf-6hp26 Shipping to southeast PA was about $7.
Thank you also for confirming that Mercon SP is identical, as long as you are 'color blind'! - ha. I plan to install it when I flush. I'll buy 14 qts just to be sure I have enough.
If the fittings are 8AN I would like to use something like these on my Audi since I have 8AN lines on my car. Not sure if they fit because it is very tight on the Audi and I would have to make a securing plate for them too. Probably will order a set to try.
I looked up their catalog and the fitting seems to be 6AN. It is listed as 3/8". So disappointed.
Last edited by Pitzury; 06-19-2020 at 12:02 AM.
Reason: Found the size of the fitting.
03-12-2020, 05:14 PM
