Autobox - V8 X308
Discussion
Hi, hopefully looking at a couple of dealer XJ 3.2 V8 Jaguars tomorrow (today!!), both autos, both non Sport models.. one badged as Executive, the other as XJ8.
Both have full service historys, and have 100,000 & 107,000 miles respectively.
My question is, are the gearboxes time bombs.. if I don't flush & have the oil changed immediately??
Reading on t'interweb can be quite scary, with the long list of potential issues.
This is something I did on my old E39 BMW, for the same 'scare story' reason. That too was supposedly a 'sealed for life' automatic gearbox.
Both cars appear.. very nice indeed. ;-)
Thanks
Both have full service historys, and have 100,000 & 107,000 miles respectively.
My question is, are the gearboxes time bombs.. if I don't flush & have the oil changed immediately??
Reading on t'interweb can be quite scary, with the long list of potential issues.
This is something I did on my old E39 BMW, for the same 'scare story' reason. That too was supposedly a 'sealed for life' automatic gearbox.
Both cars appear.. very nice indeed. ;-)
Thanks
Auto is the only option - Jaguar never manufactured a manual on the X308.
Gearboxes usually fail because of lubrication breakdown, sometimes at fairly low mileages. There's often cars on ebay advertised for sale with gearbox faults at anything from 70k upwards. I believe from the JEC magazine the foreward clutch pack which is the weakness was modified from a crimped assembley to a welded one at sometime during the X308 production run to make it more durable.
It's generally recommended that the oil and filter is changed around 50k and then at 25k intervals to prevent any problems. It's possible but tricky to DIY - there is no dipstick or filler tube and the final fill has to be done quickly with the engine running before the transmision temperature starts to rise. You'll also need to source some specalist Esso/Mobil gear oil which used to be eye wateringly expensive but has come down in price now.
Gearchanges on a sound box will be smooth and quiet. The box should be instanty responsive to part throttle kickdown, engage drive smoothly and quickly and show a different shift patern in Sports mode. There may be a faint transmission hum in intermediate gears. Any harshness in shifts or delay in engaging drive or sticking in lower gears indicates the gearbox certainly needs an oil change but can equally be a symptom of impending failure.
Gearboxes usually fail because of lubrication breakdown, sometimes at fairly low mileages. There's often cars on ebay advertised for sale with gearbox faults at anything from 70k upwards. I believe from the JEC magazine the foreward clutch pack which is the weakness was modified from a crimped assembley to a welded one at sometime during the X308 production run to make it more durable.
It's generally recommended that the oil and filter is changed around 50k and then at 25k intervals to prevent any problems. It's possible but tricky to DIY - there is no dipstick or filler tube and the final fill has to be done quickly with the engine running before the transmision temperature starts to rise. You'll also need to source some specalist Esso/Mobil gear oil which used to be eye wateringly expensive but has come down in price now.
Gearchanges on a sound box will be smooth and quiet. The box should be instanty responsive to part throttle kickdown, engage drive smoothly and quickly and show a different shift patern in Sports mode. There may be a faint transmission hum in intermediate gears. Any harshness in shifts or delay in engaging drive or sticking in lower gears indicates the gearbox certainly needs an oil change but can equally be a symptom of impending failure.
The issue on the 5HP24 is the A clutch drum suffering metal fatigue, and the symptom of the problem is that the transmission defaults to 5 and R. This is because the A clutch is not used for 5 or R, so the transmission defaults to using the B clutch to make the car limp home.
My transmission was rebuilt at 106K. The oil was dirty and yet the plates inside were absolutely perfect. They were fit for another 100K. The A drum had failed. Aside from that there were no issues.
My transmission was rebuilt at 106K. The oil was dirty and yet the plates inside were absolutely perfect. They were fit for another 100K. The A drum had failed. Aside from that there were no issues.
Thanks chaps
I haven't got a car yet... I'm a fussy bugger, and if I can I want to get the right colour body & A1 leather/carpets inside.
Example: I saw an XJ8 which looked really nice on Gumtree.. so off I went for a 3 hour drive (round trip), only to get there.. & yes externally it was lovely, but inside was...a big let down. Carpets had no mats, so it was filthy with years of ingrained filth!
Drivers seat, particularly the right side bolster..was a mess. The leather had worn out so much that it was falling apart. Both front seats leather had extensive cracking, drivers seat the worst. I don't think the leather had ever been cleaned & fed!
It was also a smokers car sometime in the past. The cig lighter had been used, & the ash trays had ash residue still inside...along with associated stale smell.
This was a little irritating as the photos did not show these areas particularly well, for obvious reasons. Needless to say, I did NOT buy! So back to searching on PH's, Autotrader & Gumtree!
Why are all the decent cars north of the border, Scotland seems to have its fair share of quality XJ6 & XJ8's... :-/
I haven't got a car yet... I'm a fussy bugger, and if I can I want to get the right colour body & A1 leather/carpets inside.
Example: I saw an XJ8 which looked really nice on Gumtree.. so off I went for a 3 hour drive (round trip), only to get there.. & yes externally it was lovely, but inside was...a big let down. Carpets had no mats, so it was filthy with years of ingrained filth!
Drivers seat, particularly the right side bolster..was a mess. The leather had worn out so much that it was falling apart. Both front seats leather had extensive cracking, drivers seat the worst. I don't think the leather had ever been cleaned & fed!
It was also a smokers car sometime in the past. The cig lighter had been used, & the ash trays had ash residue still inside...along with associated stale smell.
This was a little irritating as the photos did not show these areas particularly well, for obvious reasons. Needless to say, I did NOT buy! So back to searching on PH's, Autotrader & Gumtree!
Why are all the decent cars north of the border, Scotland seems to have its fair share of quality XJ6 & XJ8's... :-/
Edited by Waynester on Wednesday 8th May 02:56
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