+1
Mike, The under tray is hopefully around the R&R guys shop and not along the road somewhere, I cannot think of a scenario where the coil cover would have come off for this job so you may wish to bark up a different tree about that.
As for checking the green tag; Really? For what end would anyone want your trans?? They aren't exactly coveted.
Given the price and extra considerations you got you ought to be happy and not look a gift horse in the mouth.
As for slapping the guy, I'd not expect him to turn the other cheek.
I said it before and will say it again; I'm glad that you are not my customer.

 

Ok, so maybe I get a little hot under the collar once in a while, but I've come to not trust anyone in FL -- the only reason I would question what's in my car is because the R&R guy tried to talk me into a used transmission with 85K miles on it for $50 less than the rebuild. I know it sounds funny, but I just want to make sure he didn't pull a fast one on me and get a used transmission for a lot less and charge me for the rebuild. That's all. And I'm probably wrong and won't really give a crap if I find out I am.

As for the parts -- the coil cover was there when he got my car, so it disappeared on his lot. In my book that makes it his problem, not mine. As for the under tray, it didn't come off when I drove the car home, so it's either at his shop or someone threw it out. Either way, it's his responsibility.

I don't think it's unreasonable to for a customer to expect to get his car back with all the parts that were on it when it was dropped.

 

I spoke with the R&R guy today about this situation. I was very polite to him, as he was to me. BTW My emails to him only stated that I was upset but other than that were very civil and to the point, he told me that he took no offense to them.

Anyway, he was apologetic, also agreed with me that the coil cover should not have been removed and didn't question my assertion that it was there when he got the car from me. He immediately, and very politely and professionally agreed to replace it.

As for the under tray -- he remembers it being on the car when they removed the transmission and was quite unhappy that it wasn't on the car now -- again, he never questioned me about it falling off after I got the car, and immediately took responsibility and said he'd either find it or get me a new one.

Finally, as for the used, broken parts, he said he has them but forgot to give them to me when I picked up the car.

Ok, so maybe I was a bit too upset, and I did apologize to him for my "attitude" in the emails and he stated that he didn't take it that way at all and that he would've been upset if it were his car. He's a very professional, polite kid who should go far in the business world.

I'll report back in a couple days when I think everything will be resolved.

 

It looks at though "cooler heads prevail" adage was put to good use Nice job. We have all been there( ashamed I did not vent properly here on this forum on a past event )

Keep us posted and it looks like it is going to be righted!

Chris.

 

You should check the serial number to check if you don't have a second hand unit that will live exact over the warranty period (by chance).
In this part of the world,when I had a rebuilt on my transmission 4 years ago to my Skoda (a low cost WV) I received a tray full of old parts (bearings, spacers, bearings, and many other 99 small parts), without asking for it. Also they refund you the empty oil cans and air filter, wiper blades,pads, etc, to eliminate the suspicions that your parts were not changed. But in America, to have a missing plug cover, without having a problem there and missing parts when you asked for it, that is a mystery. You invented the law industry, guys...

 

It used to be common practice to get the old, broken parts back without asking. I don't know when that stopped.

I got an email today from the R&R guy, he ordered a new under tray and coil cover, should have the tray today and the cover by the end of the week. He said to call and let him know when it would be convenient for me to stop by to have them installed. I thanked him and said I'd like to wait until both parts are there.

 

Today I picked up the parts from the R&R guy (but I forgot to get the old A-drum parts!). I got what appears to be a new plastic undertray and a baggie of old, used fasteners. I also got a new coil cover and black bolts that were too big!

I'm more than ok with the plastic undertray -- I used a couple of the fasteners, and several cable ties and got it put on nice and tight. I had it held on that way before, and I checked on it regularly to make sure it was holding, and never had a problem.

As for the coil cover bolts -- I called the R&R guy back and told him about them and he said he got them directly from Jaguar and was surprised to hear that they were the wrong ones. Jaguar charged him something like $7 for each bolt! I went to NAPA and a fastener place and can't find the right ones. I will check around tomorrow. Any suggestions?

All in all, this thread has come to a logical conclusion -- I got a great deal on a rebuild, and it truly seems to be a good rebuild. It shifts smooth and has a 1 yr/12k mile warranty. I'm please with the results, not alll that happy about the missing parts, but would recommend the R&R guy if for no other reason that his mature attitude in the face of an upset customer (me). I apologized again to him today and thanked him for all he did for me. I offered to pay for the undertray and the coil cover, but he refused to take even a partial payment -- that's a smart businessman, in my opinion.

Thanks for all the help everyone gave me here, too. Without this forum, who knows what would've transpired! Now I hope to have time to get back to the little things that I was working one.

Mike

 

Look at this Ebay listing for the 1998 to 2003 Ignition Coil Cover - it mentions the bolts for the cover - the latest cover offered by Jaguar - says "thread length of the bolts for this cover are 20mm long, if you are replacing the original cover it may have used shorter bolts.

Jaguar XJ8 XK8 4 0 Liter Ignition Coil Camshaft Cover AJ84151 | eBay

The JEPC (Jaguar Electronic Parts Catalog) shows 2 different size bolts for these covers - M5 x 20mm bolt (part number JFU10520B) for use with Cover (AJ84151) the newer style cover; and - M5 x 12mm bolt (part number JFS10512C) for use with Cover (NCA2570CA) the older style cover.

I am not sure if you now have the newer or older style cover and the correct bolts for whichever cover they gave you.

Hope this help to bring some light on your problem.

Jim Lombardi

 

Jim,

Yes, I saw that ebay ad, but thanks anyway!

I am a "bolt dolt," I have no idea what anything about bolts means! I can tell you this, the bolts that Jaguar sold to the mechanic are too big (diameter) to fit in the holes! I don't know if they're too long because I can't screw them in.

I took out a bolt from the other side and took a photo of it and then used it with the new cover and it works. I need new bolts just like the old bolts.

 

Hey Mike,

When I was doing up my 69 Mach 1 and more recently my Fox bodied Mustang, I went to Menards and picked up a bunch of SS bolts(they have a huge selection) for the valve covers, intake manifold etc that would be visible, in fact I used hex heads for the look. They are reasonably priced and wont rust! Unless of course you are looking for authenticity.


Chris

 

I went to the Jaguar dealership and told him my dilemma and he gave me generic SS bolts and washers for free! I might go back and ask him to order the correct bolts, but for now it's ok.

 

I'm thinking that this thread has reached it's logical conclusion, so if anyone (mod/admin) wants to add RESOLVED to the title, that might be nice.

The main message that can be gleaned from this thread is that a complete transmission failure is possible in a 2003 XJ8 and a rebuild can be had for around $1,700.00, at least in South Florida!

I'm glad I decided to spend the money to get this car fixed, it is definitely worth it.