I've been trying to clean old spilled soda (from a previous owner, 7+ years ago) out of the jgate without removing it from the car with only temporary luck - each spray of degreaser into the Jgate lasts only a short few weeks with the jgate working smoothly and then it returns to feeling like it's loaded with thick goop and can barely move.

Where is the shift rod pivoting from? Anyone have photos? Maybe I can shoot some lithium grease or similar down there if I knew what I'm actually aiming at. From the top I can only see the round disc (which is immaculate clean at this point) and the Jgate removal threads don't have photos that show the point of pivoting where the rod connects at its base.

 

JTIS has a procedure on taking apart the shift lever to clean and regrease it, in powertrain-> auto trans external controls non-SC -> disassembly. It looks like you need to pull the center console so you can remove the selector assembly and access the pivot itself, there's an access plate you remove before getting to the pivot but it's unclear which side of the selector that's on. Might not be able to clean it thoroughly without taking the assembly out of the car.

 

And some more, link goes to #24: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2/#post1558448

 

nilanium, that is exactly what I was looking for, thank you - does anyone have a photo of one in the car?

If I remove the tunnel-cover (thing containing the armrest, Jgate-trim & sled-wood) can I access it from the side enough to clean out the gunk and grease it up? I've removed this when I first got the car to reattach the cigar-lighter wire (plug was disconnected?!) and it is a bit of a job but seems a lot easier and less error-prone than having to remove the JGate with its brittle electrical connector and shift linkage.

 

Here's a photo of what the unit will look like if you remove the top of J Gate, which is easy to do and won't effect anything if you correctly follow the instructions in the Backlight thread Eric gave you the link to.

What you should do is clean inside the area where the lever pivots and spray with WD40 before oiling with suitable long lasting grease.

Good Luck and I hope this has helped.

S.

 

Stu, that's perfect - thank you!

It looks like I could remove only the tunnel (leaving the JGate intact) and spray stuff in there from the passenger side holes/cutouts in the metal bracket.

 

Here's a photo of what it looks like in the car, bear in mind there will be various plugs and stuff to negotiate.

Bear in mind this was before I cleaned everything under there.

 

I've got my center console in pieces at the moment, just want to add another resource to this thread if others read it - thank you JimLombardi for posting this in a 2012 thread:

 

I've cleaned and greased everything in the JGate and the problem still persists - but I can see what's going on now - Shifting from P to R there is a huge amount of stress on the shift-cable linkage, looks like the rod before the plastic sheath is bending from the pressure until it moves the first cm, then it slides fine from there into R-N-D, continue to the 4-3-2 side of the JGate and it gets very smooth.

Also, N to D still rarely makes the D indicator light up (and without it the car limits itself to 1st gear), need to shift into 4, sometimes 3, and then to D to make the D-indicator illuminate. There is another thread (https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...blem-78781/#14) about the 3-prong contacts in the shifter control switch being worn down and needing to bend them to apply more pressure - but that lookes like an XJR-specific configuration and in my VDP/XJ8 it seems there is no part #27 in the above diagram. Anyone know where the electronic-sensors are that make the gear-selection illuminate in the non-S/C x308?

At this point P never illuminates, but that does not seem to cause any issue.

There is also no real pressure pulling the lever into the final indent of the P position, so moving it a few mm over (triggering the shift-lock alarm) it will remain there and not bounce back until physically pushing it back.

Unless someone suggests otherwise, my next guess is to adjust the cable linkage to make it a bit tighter and maybe it will pull itself back into the park indent and seat in D better??

 

Adjusting the cable fixed the issue of D not lighting up but all the other issues remain:
- (primary issue) excessive force required to move from P to R
- (not a concern) P never lights up red - maybe the bulb is burnt out? Both white backlight bulbs died a few years ago, but all the other positions illuminate red when engaged.

Amazing how precise the adjustment needs to be, the difference between working properly and not engaging one of the gears is about the distance of 2 threads on the fitting (maybe 2mm)