First - The symptoms indicate that the front clutch if worn out from leakage around the piston seal. Depending on where you live and how many miles are on the car, it might be worth your time to go to a competitent shop that is trained and equiped to work on ZF transmissions. Or you can call the ZF Customer Service line for Diagnosis.

While you are deciding to take that step, you might want to reset the controller by performing a Power down cycle to the controller.The best way to perform the reset is to remove both cables from the battery. Attach a Jumper Cable between the 2 cables for 8 hours. ( Please stay away from the battery while performing this reset ). Once the time has expired, remove the jumper cable and reattach the cables to the battery. Please be careful, the attachment of the second cable will produce a spark. ( Explosion is Possible )

I assume no resopnsibility for personal injury or damage to equipment.

 

Yeah, that'll fix it. Go buy a lottery ticket while you're waiting.

 

In lieu of being derogatory, Mr. Jag Tech Ohio, what would you suggest this guy do. I tried to inform him that his trans is toast , and gave him something to do to prove it to himself.

What would you suggest?

Before fixing this problem, I would read the controller codes, ohm out the sensors and solenoids to insure that it wasn't a valve body or cable problem, then, after being convinced that the unit was gone, I would spend the $2,800 for a ZF rebuilt unit, from ZF. I would probably replace the unit myself, others could follow this plan by using a competent indy.I would make sure the heat exchanger in the radiator was pristine clean. I would also fill that transmission with pure ESSO LT71141 or LifeGuardFluid6. Not cheaper fluids that will cause my warranty to be void.

I would coordinate this through

AutoSports Unlimited
(616) 748-5712

Ask for Kirt Keller ( actually spelled Koeller )

Kirt has helped out many with ZF Boxes

But, I would first ask myself this question. Is this piece of crap Jaguar worth $ 3,800 wholesale. Considering the fact that my 2000 XJ8 with 31,000 miles is only worth $ 7850 wholesale ) If not, i would donate the car to Purple Heart, take the tax writeoff, and buy BMW.

Just my opinion, no lotterty ticket necessary. Please remember my first question at teh beginning of this mail.

Happy New Year

 

Kudos for your reading comprehension, your synopsis of previous posts by professionals reads as though you have some degree of expertise. And nice tailpipes, too.

Last "piece of crap" 2000 VDP I bought with a bad transmission netted me about $3K, after I installed and serviced a good used transmission, replaced the complete interior, and updated the secondary timing chain tensioners. Thebumper to bumperone year warranty I gave with the car has now expired, and the customer is still smiling. Best of all, he's not stuck driving everybody else's BMDubbleyoo.

Thanks for the salutations, and best wishes for a Happy New Year to you. Batteries not included.

 

x308 is too old now in my opinion, too many problems all around to fix. Most have sat way to long in storage by the elderly that never drove them..thus seeing all these 98-02 XJs with like 30k miles, suckers sat for a long time!Sadly the depreciation is way too high on these as well. Fact is, check it out, nobody will buy them anymore. Parts arerather expensive (especially if dealer is your only option)and you must find someone able to work on it.

The Only thing i'd do different is to not have bought the 98 and just waited and got an x350 2005+ for stress relief on the engine probs of x308.

I say support your USA makers and buy an American car eh! haha...yeah!

 

Thankfully there are exceptions to your generalizations, the last of which I sold 8 weeks ago. Informed buyers are willing to pay a fair price when they know all the problems have been corrected and the car is guaranteed. Shopping for pig-in-a-poke eBay cars or trade-insis another story.

BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, Toyota etc. are American cars now. That's why the U.S Senators who have plants in their states were the ones who vehemently opposed the GM/Chrysler/Ford bailout plan. Funny howabstract the concept ofpatriotismcan bewhen confronted by the temptations of greed and political power.

Back to the point of5turbo's situation: once his transmission failure has been confirmed, a $2800. rebuilt+shipping+fluid+installation+trans cooler flush is an awful lot to invest in a 2000 XJ8. His car is likely in the 80K-120K mileage range, that repair ticket would roughly equate to half of the car's value...maybe more, if the mileage is on the higher end and the overall condition of the car is not.

I install low mileage used ZFtransmissions, fully serviced, for $2500. out the door with a one year guaranty on XJ8 models.A repair option like that is a more realistic solution. If he can find a local rebuilder who will bring the job infor a similar price and guaranty, that's the ticket. You can get to a lower bottom line by purchasing a junkyard box and crossing your fingers, but that could be a short term fix and not the way to go if you're keeping the car.

Apparently, manyowners are still paying formajor repairs on X308 models (and XK's)as opposed to scrapping them. I posted a classified ad hereat least a month ago,offering to purchase broken cars, and didn't receive a single relevant reply.

 

Wellcorruption is nothing new, the US government has been corrupt since it started. MAN has been corrupt since beginning of communication. We just had an oil tychoon for 8yrs, gas just happen to shoot up to $4+/gal right before he got out of office, go figure!! Where is all their family money? Oh yeah... oil! hah

As for the American automakers, what do you expect? Of course those countries will bring their markets closer to the US people as fast as possible, they make a killing off of us ten-fold. If they bring them here, cheaper to make, cheaper to sell, no imports right. I meant original US automakers, the ones that needed the help.

Those are not generalizations, they are pure fact sadly. Most have sat, depreciation is one of highest of all, and Dealerships are so overpriced. X308 parts cost more too it seems than x350. My mechanic did my timing system for $624, whole deal. Dealership list price here in STL, MO was $3,200 hah!And be real here, anyone can be a good salesmen andlead customers about condition and length of use.

I have a 2004 XJ8 now as well, have had for almost 4 months now. It's given me zero troubles, it's silent, shifts smooth as silk, and has a lot better ride and feel in MY opinion.

Owners buying old have no choice but to repair those 'major repairs' you speak of (below 03), so I don't get what you're trying to say. You just said these older models are still worth buying after major repairs? Timing system was a bust, The transmissions are not realible,the throttle bodies were recalled and some mismatched with new hardware (like mine) and are so what is there to look forward to? how can you justify fixing one of these old models when new models are the same price?

My question is, Why the heck would you put another used transmission in the thing for more than half the cost of the car, when the retail ones it came with junk out at like 50k miles? If you're to pay that much, you should be guaranteed for LIFE that it won't go out again. We've all read about multiple replacement trannys that go out after a year just on this forum alone.

Are you saying to go to the Jaguar dealership andpay $10k+ for a 7-10yr old car thatodds arewill have to have major engine repairs, The jag dealership hereare selling my car and 1999s ORIGINAL with like 60k milesfor $15k!!! That's ridiculous. Those 'ebay specials' you speak of are mostly dealerships just hitting the web to get more hits, AND, most of themcome with warranty and are still covered by Factory Jag Warranty! So I still dont get it? Why would anyone buy a problematic98-02 over a 04-06 for the same price after all the repairs?

These old cars have little to no retail value, and depreciation is one of the highest of ALL automakers! heck you're certified to work on them right?You don't agree?

The real question is, How many people my age are you going to be selling those to? The 20-25yr old generation? I think zero. The people you sell must be older and have money to invest in them to get them repaired. Can't really just buy, jump in and take off no worries.

 

Well, I love my X308, and I got a great deal on it. I like the X308 better than the X350. My VDP has the limo tint and the long wheelbase and it looks kinda like a limo. To me, the X350 looks like a big X-Type - in other words - like a Ford. I had a SIII Jag for 14 years, and I can't count how many times I got remarks like 'what do you drive while it's in the shop', or 'I love the looks, but I can't afford to pay the maintenance'. I never had a better car. I sort of enjoy the remarks of envy. I have a Nikasil engine, and it's lighter, has less friction and kicks butt. My tranny is fine after 80K, although I do plan a filter job soon. My series 2 tensioners are fine. Everything works, the leather and wood are gorgeous. I'm happy that there are a lot of morons out there that don't care for their cars or don't appreciate a thoroughbred. Let 'em drive Hundais.

 

a gear slam is almost always a torque convertor circuit failure either in the convertor itself or the trans. the only thing you can do to do cheaply is make sure you have the correct fluid level, as low fluid will do this, but guess what, if you dont have any transmission fluid leaks you can pretty much assume you have the correct level if its been fine before, afterall it doesnt evaporate. And once the trans slamms like this it goes into limp home,4th gear start and thats why it feels like no power, you have to torque multipications from lower gears. Many times I get complaints that the car doesnt even move in "D" so on starting I just slip over to the left side into 2nd and once it slams just give it gas and drive it into the shop instead of pushing it......So like JT said get a different trans and convertor and flush the cooler of old fluid so youre not contaminating the new trans..........damn testosterone thread

 

Great thread!!! lol

 

Hah well I wasn't trying to offend anyonein the least. I was debating the prices of the older x308 needing work to the newer revised x350. I was just stating that I have both models. I enjoy the x350 much more, it seems to be pretty rock solid to this day compared to the oldermint conditionx308.That's all. Sorry Jagtechohio if you took offense? GuessI enjoy debating too much

 

I would get the fluid level checked, then start by checking the electrical connectors and harnesseson the trans and at the TCM module for good connection. The TCM controls converter slip and engine torque to soften shifts. Unless you have codes showing that you can read, this is about all you can do before going to the shop.