Hi, I have just bought I 1998 XJR and due to its age I thought I should change the filter and oil in the gearbox even though jaguar say the oil is for life! I realise refreshing the oil can extend the life of the box.


However I don't have a garage with an inspection pit and myself have breathing difficulties and don't really want to crawl underneath the car to do this without easy access to the box.


If I had a garage with an inspection pit I could do the job myself however I need the job done so I called two jag specialist not cost a fortune jag main dealer! One told me the oil will never need changing as jaguar say the oil is for life and another quoted me £400 $662 USD to change the oil and filter and he also told me he would also change the gearbox sump.


Why does he want to change the gearbox sump when there in nothing wrong with it? I would just change the seal on the sump. not the whole sump itself.


Surely it would take less than an hour to carry out this job once you had the car up high on a car ramp where it is easy to get at the box.


I don't understand why this jag specialist quoted me £400 + vat for a job that would maybe take hour or so tops with labour, oil and filter, sump gasket. I would expect it to be around £170 max. I suppose labour would be around £36 per hour as its not main jag dealer prices. parts would be around £80 although I'm guessing about parts as I haven't checked the prices online as yet!


I wasn't born yesterday. Some people think if you drive a jag you must have money to burn.


Have any of you had the box oil changed a garage. how much did it cost?

 

I had mine changed when I got it around 65k. Took it to my local Mercedes dealer as I got the same line from Jaguar Harrisburg I didn't argue with Jaguar since it is a Merc. tranny and the "Jag" fluid is 4x the cost of the same Merc. fluid. The cost was around 220. pan dropped filter changed and new seal included. The tech that did it also was an XJR owner. Not sure if he's still there or not but I'm about 30k away from that change so will probably take it back in the spring for a change.

 

Your XJR has a Mercedes transmission, and even Chrysler has used it in the past. There are only six bolts on the pan and any competent mechanic can change the filter and gasket in less than an hour. But make sure whoever does it has a dipstick to check the level and uses ATF 134 fluid.

 

Thanks for the replies. I thought this xj had a merc box but wasn't sure. To refill the box with oil is there a special procedure that has to be done in stages with the engine hot?


What is the procedure for refilling this box. Sorry im a little ocd when it comes to the care of my vehicles. I like to understand every working part and how to service it and as this car is knew to me I don't know too much about it but im sure I shall come to know everything as time passes.

 

That's what I've heard although I've often wondered why you couldn't simply measure how much you drained out and then simply refill the trans with the same amount. That's what I usually do on any car.

Regarding replacing the sump itself: in the back of my mind there's something telling me that there *IS* a legitimate reason for replacing it so I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the idea.

However, my memory isn't all that great so take what I say with a grain of salt . Others will chime in.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug, the sump is just a heavy steel pan. I can't see any possible reason to replace it.
Yappa, the fill tube is narrow, so I think it might be a nuisance to add fluid through a funnel. I used my mity-vac in pump mode with a 3/16 tube. The dipstick does not come with the car, I ordered one on ebay. The fluid level is checked at 80* C.

 

The ZF6HP26 gearbox on the later XJ8, XK8 and S-Type does require a new plastic sump as the filter is integral with the pan. Maybe this is what the guy was thinking??????

Some have stated that the Ford metal pan can be used as a replacement for the ZF gearbox but the early XJR/XKR is just the MERCEDES 722.6.

bob gauff

 

Hi I have S-type 2.7ltr diesel 05 plate sport, amazing car done over 130k use to change gears up and down almost silently until recently when and coming to a stop it jerks as it returns from high gear, few days later it won't get into low gear when i slow down and want to move again it revs high and move slowly with gear box fault coming up on the dash. i parked turn it off and back on the fault light was gone and it drives fine and again few hours later. I ve once wanted the gear box serviced as strastone never service it each time i take the car for service i guess its because on the "seal for life" gearbox whatever. a jaguar specialist in birmingham quoted a little over £300 to change the sump and oil in the gearbox. he said he need to get some kit to replace the plastic seal the car came with and as i haven't done anything like this i will like any advice i can get before i book the car in. I don't want to ruin my gearbox I'm afraid to drive it until this is sorted pls help

 

Hi Ray, there is a forum for the S-type which will allow you to communicate with other owners of your vehicle:

S-Type / S type R Supercharged V8 - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

But I think the answer to your question will be that you do need the expensive filter/pan combination as you likely have the 6HP26 transmission.

 

thanks a lot RJ i ll head over there right away, i took the car in today and had it diagnosed and it came with three codes: transmission incorrect ratio, gear 1 incorrect ratio reverse incorrect ratio and gear 5 incorrect ratio. i look that up on code online and the possible cause is low transmission fluid so the car is in with the specialist to have the sump, filter and fluid change hopefully it comes out driving like new.

 

I got my S-type back today, it has just had a new sump plate, new filter and new trans oil, I must say it drives fantastic now you can't tell when it move from one gear to another. Excellent Job so far and if you are in Birmingham UK and have similar problem I d recommend Northfield Garage Jaguar Specialist at Bristol road Northfield ask for Rob the owner and feel free to mention my name Raymond. They did a good job. I am going to test it throughout the week from today Im sure its sorted. By the way i am not in anyway related to the garage and they are not aware of this recommendation.