Can anyone tell me how reliable and dependable a 1998 XJ8 L should be with proper maintenance. The car has 91K on it now. Runs great, except the tranny makes a little shifting noise when its cold between shifts. Should I expect a lot of problems from here on, or are they good for well over 100K miles?

 

I'm a newbie 1998 jag owner myself (about a month, 98 xjr). Mine has almost 130K and still runs super fine. Hopefully you'll ease into the 100K club.

 

I have a '98 XJ8 and am totally in love with it - except for maintenance costs! Yhere is nothing cheap about maintaining one of these Big Cats, and let's start with your transmission...

The '98 XJ8 has a J-Gate, Model #2F5HP24, 5-speed, automatic transmission. It doesn't have a dip stick for good reason - the transmission is what Jaguar (or Ford) calls a "lubricated for life". Unless you're an authorized Jaguar mechanic, the transmission is best left alone. Now, I also feel your concern with regards to the tranny whinning, and again for good reason. My Big Cat's tranny was doing the same thing at 76,000 mi., so I thought a transmission power flush would take care of the problem. Took the cat to a local Midus shop, and $179.00 later, it appeared to take care of the whinning. At 84,000 mi. my tranny started to buck between gears, and it finally went into "limp home" mode (5-gear only). Our local Jaguar dealership diagnosed that Midus had put the wrong fluid, at the incorrect level in the tranny. The cost of a replacement transmission - $6,400.00! I fought it with Midus, and they re-built the tranny at a cost to them of almost $3,000. The transmissionfluid is a mineral oil-based product that cost about $100.00/qt. X 10 qts. + labor. Moral: Don't trust anyone with your cat's healthexcept authorized Jaguar mechanics.

As for the reliability of the '98 XJ8, I'd have to say that over all it's pretty good, provided you maintain a strick PM program and, keep up with any little propblem (electrical ormechanical) that happens to pop up. In my experience, ignoring one little problem will lead you to another, and another, and another...you get the picture. For the most part however, these cats are as solid as a bullet, and they have no equal when it comes to ride, performance, luxury and style. My wife wants me to dump the cat - yeah right, when she preys the keys from my cold, dead hands!

Best wishes, and happy holidays!


Ron
Tucson, AZ.