How much should I look to pay to have my trans fluid changed out in my 97 XK8?

 

I get $375 for 5 Litres factory Esso fluid, filter w/ o ring seal, pan gasket, labor. That gets you half of the capacity renewed, there is no drain for the converter. If you find somebody to flush it (10 litres plus), you should still renew the filter and clean the magnets and the pan. Exactly how all that gets accomplished without costing a fortune is beyond me, unless you are willing to accept the supposition that alternative lubricants are acceptable. None are specified as such by Jaguar or ZF.

 

A lot, sell a kidney and then look under the sofa for some more.

Seriously, dealer will do it correctly, get the right amount, use the correct fluid & filter, but unfortunately, will cost you quite a bit, I will estimate $1200 on the low end. It will, fortunately, give you another 75k miles of confidence, your choice is to determine if it is worth the expense.

An independent shop will cost less, if you provide the fluid and filter from the dealer, will help you in that regard; whether or not they bring it to temp, and get the correct amount it in the pan... you may never know.

 

Present company excluded:

" whether or not they bring it to temp, and get the correct amount it in the pan... you may never know."

Please note for anyone reading this in the future, we are discussing a 1997 XK8 which is fitted with a 5HP 24 ZF transmission. XKR and 2003 and later XK8 are similar in requirements but vary in procedure and cost. 1998-2003 XJ8 is identical to the information given here for 1997-2002 XK8.

 

JTO, did I cross-contaminate procedures between the 6HP26? If so, yikes! (and will clean it up)

 

I was quoting the specific price requested for brg's car, so I wanted to make clear that my details were for 5HP24 only. Six speed ZF and MB trans will be different.

 

So just dropping the pan and replacing what fluid comes out and the filter is useless??? At 73k should I just leave it alone. This car is not a heavy driver, maybe 7-10k a year.

 

this thing can't be put on some machine that pushes all the fluid out of the system, T-converter and all?

 

No, I think dropping the pan and replacing the filter and half the fluid is beneficial or I wouldn't do it. Of course it would be the best of all worlds to flush all the old fluid out first, then go inside, then refill. That probably costs enough to be prohibitive. I fully drain the trans and converter in situations when they are out of the car, but that's a bit of extra work for routine maintenance.

I don't have enough miles on any cars I have performed trans services on (I think about 35K is the most), but I have yet to see one fail that has been serviced. All of the failed transmissions I have replaced have been sealed for life, which was 80-120K.

 

Well I am at 73k. I should just go for a pan drop, filter change and replace fluid lost and hope for a longer shelf life!@!??!

 

Ok, let's try it this way. Same story, different day:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...t=transmission

Please read the who;e thread, it's not that long.

 

Good read on the linked post JTO. It'll be one of those 'factoids' on an XK8 sticky page, once its created.

 

I'm not sure where you live, but our local Jaguar experts at Leith Jaguar in Cary, NC have purchased the appropriate Shell fluid in bulk. I just had the debate with their senior technician, Ron, about whether or not to change my fluid on my 97 XK with 81,000 miles. Ron could complete the service for around $400 or so, but he recommended not changing it. He said that most transmission failures are a involve a weakened spring. Changing fluid doesn't help the spring.

I kind of want to have my fluid changed anyway, but I probably will not. What do you all think?

Tony Cottrell
Winston Salem, NC

97 XK8
05 XJ8 L

 

I am just riding mine out. Replace when it dies.

 

Mine was serviced at 82,000 miles. Another 10,000 miles later and she shifts like new.

 

I was under the impression there was only one fluid recommended by ZF for the 5HP24 gearbox fitted to your 97 XK and that was ESSO LT71141

 

According to Leith Jaguar, the Shell fluid they have is approved by ZF. I can get the number for you if you like, but it is only available in bulk.

Tony
97 XK8
05 XJ8L