Hi everyone,

As my car is at the mechanics, I visited it and had my first inspection from under.
I thought about having the oil and filter changed but as my mechanics aren't doing Automatic gearbox stuff, I would have to bring it somewhere else ...and that's once again, going to be a pain to find somewhere to have it done... I would have dare to do it myself, as it really doesn't appear to be difficult (just dirty) but can't lift the car at home...
And I saw that the gearbox filter carter appears to be in a very good shape, which surprised me as it's plastic. Not even a chip.

So, is the shape of the thing normal whatever the age, or does it shows it's been done not so long ago?
Advices welcome.
Thanks.

 

ZF recommends every 80,000 miles, 120000 kilometers, or 8 years at latest. Any tranny shop will do. Your transmission is common in may cars, Audi, BMW, Hyundai etc so no worries there.. The recommend a drain and fill vs complete flush and replacement of the mechatronic sleeve. there are several threads and you tube videos on it.

 

I know it's easy, that's why I would have done it myself if I had the lift . there's several guides on youtube and websites..
But the independant mechanics don't want to care about automatic gearbox (in europe 85% of cars are manuals) as they claim in case of later trouble, the customer would say it's their fault and would bother them...
called 3 other independants mechanics, same answer "that car is too specific'...
so i'll have to bring the car to a gearbox specialist at 45miles and pay the "specialist" fees...
that's why I wanted to know if , from the look of it (which is pristine to my eyes) the experts here, could tell if it has allready been changed or not.

 

Part of owning a specialist car is paying the specialist fees

Even a mild gearbox failure may cost you a lot more than a service so, if you don't have evidence from the previous owner that it's been done, assume it hasn't. It's up to you if you do it or not, but I'd suggest doing it when the manufacturer recommends it.

 

For some reason, those plastic gearbox sumps always seem to look very good whether the car has done 20k or 80k miles.

Do you have any paperwork or service documentation with the car so you can check? You can ask a Jaguar main dealer to check on their computer system whether the fluid and filter were ever changed at a Jaguar dealer as it will have been registered. If the car has done less than 120k km then I would assume that it has never been done. I believe that the original sump, and any sump fitted by a Jaguar dealer, will have a Jaguar logo on it somewhere. If the sump has a different logo then it has been changed and the fluid will also have been replaced. If the sump has a Jaguar logo then a Jaguar dealer check might help although it is not conclusive as an independent garage might well have fitted genuine Jaguar parts.

 

Oh thanks for the logo tips @RichardS :-)
I'll check for it.

The problem with the change is not only the price (over here in the highest taxed country in the world It'll cost me around 600euros /640$ at an indie specialist)but also I'll have to bring the car and have someone to pick me up there and get back the day after and have once again someone to bring me back there...

Frankly after seeing the tutos on the net I would have never ever thought having such a common gearbox serviced would be so complicated...Main brands dealers don't "bother" with it, indies are extremely rare knowadays and overcrowded with jobs, they don't do too specific stuff...
I also have the same problem with the A/C...I'll still have to bring it to another specialist...for 2 days ...
wish I could enjoy my car more often than the mechanics...

 

Ah....I remember the old days of 'Sealed for life'. Then we found out that 'Sealed for life' was about 100,000 miles. So yes on the transmission service.

 

I guess "sealed for life of the car maker's warranty of the vehicle" or some such.

Yes, wants servicing (even Jaguar's TOPIX site says so).

 

Tiepolo the simple way is to ask a "mechano" to drain the tranny. Approx. 4 liters. Then refill the tranny with fresh fluid until it overflows. Start engine and run in N to warm the tranny fluid. THEN pump in another liter until the overflow reoccurs. Close up the tranny filler port.
Three visits and 95% of the fluid will have been changed.
I just had my little garage do it at 80,000kms. I paid him 2 hours of labor. I have my own fluid.

 

Easier, but still fairly involved. Also a bit cheaper even with a few extra liters of fluid.
I've never really seen any trans filter even close to being actually 'dirty' anyway. The filters don't take anything out of the actual fluid, but merely are there to keep any stray chunks or grit from getting where they shouldn't.

 

FYI: Plastic transmission covers have filters that are not removeable, but the aluminum covers do have a removeable filter.

 

Any ZF certified shop can do these jobs pretty quick. So, look for "ZF" instead of "Jaguar". In the US, BMW dealers don't work on broken ZF's at all -- ZF has a factory that accepts all BMW returns and rebuilds them, to be shipped back to dealers to be refit in place of a problematic one. I've heard the ZF certified shops are far more common in the Eurozone that in the US. So check them out.

The thing that justifies some specialist focus (beyond the usual drain and fill job) are the five rubber interfaces between the mechatronics (the thing with all the solenoids and valves) and the main section (the thing with the rotating parts). I've had a few ZF's apart, since I also own BMW's. At 100K miles, the rubbers can dry out and shrink, and in the case of the large square one, crack. Happened on two of mine when I did the 100K fluid/filter change. The rubbers are about $50 extra, and the mechatronics is 7 bolts and another 1/2 hr to drop and refit with the new rubbers.

 

There are posts about DIY servicing and videos - it's a common box.

 

thanks @JagV8 .
I know a few but don't have a place /tools where I could lift the car to do it.

anyway as @panthera999 pointed, I guess I'll have it serviced anyway. The car has 114.000miles and it might be time for it to be fully serviced and not only oil changed.
I'll wait until being back to Paris and have a specialist doing it in december.

 

Definitely will be some ZF qualified transmission outfits near paris. No need for a Jag outfit

 

Thanks to you I discovered ZF is supposed to have its own network of "partners" who are certified ZF mechanics...
I found they had a service center 40km from Paris ..>So i checked...the place is now definitely closed...
So i went to their website and this is the map I found for their Partners...Clicked on one of the 2 "close" (40km) to Paris..closed too...
Sometime I'm left speechless ...

 

https://garagedufrenne.fr/

Coentreprise fondée par Bosch, Knorr-Bremse et ZF, les trois principaux équipementiers du secteur de l’automobile et des véhicules industriels, Alltrucks propose des services complets de maintenance et de réparation des véhicules industriels lourds et légers, des véhicules moteurs et des semi-remorques de toutes marques. Basée à Munich, la société étoffe en permanence sa gamme de services par l’intermédiaire de nouveaux projets de collaboration et l’intégration de nouveaux partenaires de services aux flottes dans toute l’Europe.

 

OR..............
A joint venture founded by Bosch, Knorr-Bremse and ZF, the three main OEMs in the automotive and industrial vehicle sector, Alltrucks offers comprehensive maintenance and repair services for heavy and light industrial vehicles, motor vehicles and semi-trailers. trailers of all brands. Headquartered in Munich, the company is constantly expanding its range of services through new collaboration projects and the integration of new fleet service partners across Europe.

 

Oui

 

From my knowledge and experience of ZF Transmissions that are used in Range Rovers is that they tend to fail at 80,000 miles if not serviced. My advice would be a fluid and filter change at 50,000 miles or less. I had mine done at 35,000 miles which was 11 years and I expect it to be good for another 50,000 miles.
I've also had experience with a Porsche Macan transfer case which was getting troublsome, and a known failure point. 2 fluid changes brought it back to normal operation.
Sealed for life is the worst possible advice for a complex system.