I just bought a 2001 XJ8 in fair condition, the clear coat is peeling on the trunk, and someone broke the leaper off the hood, but it has a transmission problem, and I truly deeply detest the 5HP24 transmission.

The car has 125K miles on the odometer.

The engine in this car was replaced at 83K miles by Jaguar, and it seems to be excellent what little I've driven it.

The transmission ZF 5HP24 was "rebuilt" at 113K Miles, however they replaced the drums and clutches, but did nothing to the valve body, even at a cost of $3300 (I know, that price is absurdly high to have not touched the valve body)

The car (according to the last owner) drove very well for 10K miles, before the transmission began exhibiting shifting problems.

I bought the car for $400, due to the last owner becoming completely disgusted, so I can afford to invest some money in making the car a dependable third car.

So... I can invest $500-$700 + labor and materials to buy a rebuilt warrantied Valve body for the 5HP24 from some place like RevMax, and only be 70% certain that the valve body is the only problem because I suspect that the trans was not rebuilt properly.

Or... I'm tempted toward buying a used XJR Mercedes Transmission for $700-$800 if it is a relatively straight-forward swap. I'm assuming I would have to buy a TCU, and maybe some sections of wiring harness but I'm confident that most any part I would need could be sourced easily.

I'm a long time BMW fanatic, I still have three BMWs, and I've passed on several X5 SAVs, and any 7-Series with the same ZF transmission, because I have yet to see one that will make it 150K miles without requiring the sacrifice of significant dollars.

So, I registered here to ask other X308 owners and fans, if this kind of swap from ZF to MB trans is even possible, or should I just forget it and have the ZF Autotragic valve body replaced?

 

Welcome to the forum. I doubt the swap is feasible, or many shops would have done so. The ECU would probably not interface with the R TCU, but I wonder if a swap to aXJR ECU/TCU might work.

As to the ZF valve body, there a services to rebuild it at a much lower cost than replace with new.

When you have time, please visit the new member area and introduce yourself.

New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

 

I may dig around through some online sources and see if the TCU is a different part number between the XJR and XJ8. I'm sure the ECU will be different, but if the TCU is the same, the swap would seem to be a no-brainer.

I, like you, suspect that if it was that simple, more victims of the ZF would be looking for the MB transmissions, and the prices would be higher on the MB because of scarcity.

And Intro is done. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Oh, and the Valve Body I've looked at is a remanufactured/rebuilt and upgraded with Sonnax valves, and bore sleeves where needed.