i bought my 98 vanden plas with 130k. water pump . timing chains, numerous upgrades documented. i took her to a jag specialist to have some preventative maint performed that i couldnt do in my driveway. he drained and filled the trans with mobil1 atf , drained and filled rear diff with mobil1 fluid and Gm additive, did a rear left wheel bearing , and put on 4 new ties (white stripe which i think made it look really classic). so i got the car back and drove it for a day, only to have the trans start acting up. when maneuvering , it would not engage drive or reverse without giving some gas resulting in a clunk. then finally that night i moved the car in the driveway and the trans felt like it was bunding up. anyhow, i flatbedded the car back to the shop , he dropped the trans pan and found a bunch of debris. so now i have found a new trans for $400 with 76k miles on it, a new torque converter with 10 miles on it , and it is all due to be done next week. i had preyed i wouldnt fall under the "trans woes" section , but apparently i have. this time i went with the esso 71141 fluid from bavariaautosports for $15 / liter. as much as i cant believe it was the fluid that brough on my problem , im not takng a chance with this one. here are some pics of the sad morning

 

Sorry to hear of this.

The A drum can fail without warning - so that may have been your problem.


We use OEM trans fluid ...same goes for any differential that calls for special fluid -- no exceptions. No exceptions. No exceptions.

 

thanks, yes i exhausted my research on this forum about trans fluid and came to the conclusion that mobil1 was successfully used and compliant to the specs so i tried it. nobody can say if this was the actual catalyst of my failure, but it seems a bit timely. anyhow, i found the correct fluid for a good price and thats whats going in the replacement unit. even if i was warren buffet, i wouldnt pay what the dealer charges for a liter , its just principal. just glad that i found another source with reasonable cost. hopefully she is back on the road by end of next week.... i miss her so

 

I go back and forth on this whole transmission servicing issue.

Most of the Japanese cars have a simple drain plug -- so the servicing is very simple. I still use the specified OE Nissan or Toyota fluid in them -- same when we had a few Honda vehicles. On these you only get 4 quarts out -- so it is a refresh of the fluid. We normally do it at around 60 - 70k -- the fluid always looks fine. We never touch the american cars in the fleet that do not have a drain plug - and most we have had do not have a drain. I can't tell you how many used to have leaks after servicing - so we stopped. We have not had one fail in almost 20 years -- Maybe 40 different cars! All went way over -- 100k -- many past 200k.

So I'm always concerned about opening them up -- I have a MB wagon with 90k and the same transmission as the XJR -- I have the MB fluid, and will probably do it in the spring. I have not touched my R with 55k on it -- but I do check it for any leaks in the normal places and had the fluid level checked 2 years ago.

I also never change the differential fluids unless they are specified as many of the LS 4x4 vehicles are -- The earlier Jags did have a leaking problem and most of the problem with the rears was caused by low fluid. I have not checked the oil spec recently for the Jaguar rears.

 

Even though it's on the back of a recovery truck, it looks 'head of state' transportation...

The early morning moisture makes it appear to have a vinyl roof. I like that.

 

Sorry to hear this mishappen . Hopefully it will be running same as just came out of factory . Besides that you should replace white walls they look weird

 

although i can always take critisism, i must add that it was I who put the whitewalls on. i always liked the look of them on the e-types and xj6 series 2/3. that was the image i was invoking... i happened to think it tied in quite well with the overall look of the vehicle,