www.jec.org.uk

Hi people, first contact with posting a topic, yes bad news I think. My XK8, 87,139 miles P reg, has a problem . Moving from a standstill was not as smooth as normal, then "gearbox fault" was displayed, mode "amber". Drove to Gat Jag. They suggest both G/box and Electronic Transmission Module must be replaced £4,946. Any one any ideas/thoughts , had a simular problem and was just "electronic brain" ?? Cheers , Peter.

Hi Peter, I suppose you have done something about your problem by now, but if not then try an independent auto transmission specialist, I had a fully recon box fitted in my 97 XK for 1950 which is obviously much cheaper than main dealer price.

Hi Cheetah9, Yes I have sussed it. Thanks for reply. Gat Jag revisited problem and assisted in trouble-shooting, £150, not Elec-brain just G-box ! Oh that's alright then !! Seriously, they were helpful in saying, think about it, don't make a snap decision! Tried D.Marks very helpful,(bit far north). Tried Sussex Autos £2330. Tried Jaglovers web site, " Do yourself a favour, Express Gearbox Company Ltd,Portsmouth" £1400 plus vat, transport (Gatwick /Portsmouth) £150 plus vat , and get this, 36 month , 36,000 miles warranty !! Service transmission every 12 months ,12,000 miles. Have already done over 1,000 miles, so far no problem ( other than slight leak on exhaust which was disturbed, which they sorted ) Trouble was, I had already committed myself to getting all chains and tensioners and guides replaced ,before the Box went u/s, £925 for that at Main Dealer , Gat Jag (read, Guy Salmon ,now !) No obvious problems ,not even cracking (even though they had been "cooked") last replaced 45,000 miles ago. But I think it is all much quieter now. £3000 lighter, tale of woe over, back to driving !! Peter My car had done 87,161 suggest you start saving buddies !!

"Hi" Peter or should that just be "commiserations"? Still, look on the bright side! You should have at least 100,000 miles of troublefree, smile inducing motoring ahead of you. The cost of checking the tensioners (particularly the bottom ones) makes me wonder if there's a piece of inspection kit that could be adapted from another purpose. After all, in the medical field, miniature cameras and lights are inserted into all sorts of nasty places for a look-see. What price some well sterilised secondhand equipment capable of checking Jaguar internals without extensive dismantling? Mike.

Mike. I've actually got a fibrescope which I use at work to check for cracks and corrosion within aircraft structures. It's a great bit of kit, but rather expensive, as it takes still and video, and dumps them onto a compact flash card.

The thing is you still have to remove most of the engine covers to get access to the chains etc, due to car engines not being designed to be inspected the same way aircraft engines are. By the time you've done all that you may as well just get a torch and an inspection mirror

You've described exactly the sort of kit that I had in mind and I appreciate fully the issues you raise. It's just that I can't imagine it's beyond the wit of man (or woman, before someone corrects me!) to overcome them. Or perhaps I'm enjoying a particularly optimistic mood these past couple of days.

Hi Mike , sorry about delay. I am also an acft engineer. As shafers ,says it probably isn't worth the effort. Inspect the "left bank" through the oil fill orifice ? What about the other side ? Once the cam covers are off, even if the tensioners are fine, what about the cracking on the "chain guides" ! Mine had not fallen apart,but 88,000 miles, ten years of operation. I would not, in my case ,recommend going beyond 100,000. My chains were last replaced 45,000 miles ago. 50,000 to 100,000 between changes, I would consider ! Bottom tensioners , 100,000 miles plus ,no problem ! Basically, once you have done this job, good for 100,000 mlies ?! Engine was only designed to last 100,000 miles having only oil & filter changes, that is my view. Read "the auto channel - jaguars first v8 engine " . Gone off topic a bit , sorry (gearbox)_ Regards, Peter

Hi Peter,
Running large fleets has meant I've had a close working relationship with the vehicle industry over many years and I've had many skirmishes with its manufacturers. However, without any specific inside knowledge, I'd be confident that Jaguar had a higher target for the V8's design life than 100k miles. Certainly, the initial design contained a few unwelcome weaknesses but as is ever the case, normal vehicle drivers and driving conditions have a knack of exposing such weaknesses despite engines passing all manner of high mileage durability testing. Whatever their carefully nurtured reputations,over the years, Jaguar, MB, BMW and VW/Audi have all suffered similar problems although that's no comfort if it's your engine that fails. I've always harboured a personal hypothesis that a mechanically sympathetic but hard driving test driver can never hope to reproduce the stresses that the slower driving, lower mileage, Joe Public imposes on his car. In recent years, mechanical durability has improved. Today, even the smallest commonly available engines have design lives of 100k miles, compared with at least one popular engine of 30 years ago in my fleet which consistently struggled to exceed 15k miles without head removal or worse! Getting back to the point, if (fingers crossed) Jaguar has solved both the tensioner and Nikasil issues, it's logical that engine life will be limited by the next weakness and that may well be the timing chains themselves. What's the betting? Mike.

Hi all. I have a problem with the g/box on my 1997 XK8 ( 87K miles). I can drive for miles without a problem but when I accelerate( to overtake) it feels like the engine is misfiring on about 3 cylinders or the engine limiter has cut in, a bit like running over rumble strips on the road. If I switch to sports mode it almost clears the fault. There are no warning codes on the display and it may be a coincidence but it has only started after the plastic water pump failed and was changed. I am not sure if I am imagining things but the gear changes now don't feel as smooth as the used to be but as I said, I could just be looking for more faults. Any ideas?

As with Peter Dyer, my car is booked in for the 90K service and the chains / tensioners changing so I could do without a bill for a new auto box!

I thought Peters quote for the chains / tensioners at £925 was very reasonable. I have been quoted "at least" £1200 from the garage who services my car and I would have said they were very good on both cost and service.

Ricahrd.

Hi Richard, If your chains and tensioners have, never , been replaced, your car has done well. Hopefully good for another 100,000. Water pumps ! Mine played up,once. Engine going towards overheat in "sport mode" , cause! pump impellor starting to slip on shaft, only in "sport mode " until it failed that is ! No lasting damage to heads,as that was @ 30,000 miles ago. Did you obtain genuine Jag pump , better quality now and about £60. Not sure but ,would a sticking throttle body give a simular running defect ? Would your local dealer connect trouble_ shooting lap top while car is running on main highway to capture fault as it happens. Racing Green ,helped someone once, would have spent thousands at a main dealer , throwing components at fault. David Marks , of course is Very helpful,and not too far north of you (Nottingham) .Regards Peter. best of luck

Peter, it's funny how when you look back after something has gone wrong you can spot the warning signs but not when it is happening.

I thought that the fan was running more often and for longer when I turned the engine off but I just put it down the hot weather. It was only after the pump had been changed ( yes, new metal genuine Jaguar) that I realised the fan only cam on when I had been having " an enjoyable drive" home from work, if you see what I mean.

I think I have either been very unlucky or I have bought two bad cars but I still would buy another.

Re the chains etc. My local specialist cannot understand why I want to spend all that money on changing them when they are OK. He is quite adamant that they are not the problem we all think they are. He holds that if they are quiet when you start the engine from cold ( overnight) they are OK. He also holds the view that they will get noisy a long time before they go.

I must add that they are a reputable Jaguar specialist and have been in business for years, they work on everything from LeMans 24 hour cars through to X and S types but they love the straight six engines.

Richard.

Re the chains etc. My local specialist cannot understand why I want to spend all that money on changing them when they are OK. He is quite adamant that they are not the problem we all think they are. He holds that if they are quiet when you start the engine from cold ( overnight) they are OK. He also holds the view that they will get noisy a long time before they go.


I beg to differ. I was at a specialist this morning and took the opportunity to see what an engine looks like with it's chain snapped. Very sobering and NOT a pretty sight.

A friend had his Primary/Secondasry chains replaced the other week, on a 96 XK8. Car ran great, not a noise or rattle. Oil changed every 5,000 miles, and a very low Blow By test result.

Off came the tensioners and they were very badly split. Had they been the sprung 2nd generation, then the extra pressure would almost certainly have caused them to fail.

A few hundred on preventative replacement or a few thousand on a new engine. No Contest.

I've just had the torque converter replaced on my 2003 reg'd XK8 at a cost of £693. This represents 60% of the full cost. Jaguar Cars Ltd agreed to meet the balance as a goodwill jesture. My extended warranty expired on 21 July 2007. On 23 July 2007 the car put up an amber gearbox fault which was diagnosed as fault code P0741 (t/c lock up faulty). This fault has been reported in Jaguar TSB X307-17. The car has covered just over 29,000 miles.

I thought I'd post this snippet on the BB simply to make members aware that when I first approached my main dealer supplier of the vehicle their response was simply to say that Jaguar took a very strong line on extended warranties, ie, Warranty expired - Not their problem!. I was stunned, particularly as it was a known fault with the ZF gearbox and the low mileage on my car. Not willing to take no for an answer I made everyone in the dealership aware of my displeasure. "leave it with us sir, we'll see what we can do...", came the response.

Can't help but think who is working for who in this. Dealer gets the work - Jaguar and customer pay - so why was dealer protecting Jaguar with "official line" bullshit?

Tonight pulling away rather quickly from the lights the gearbox fault amber light came on. I had just ordered, a day ago, a code reader, now it seems I will get a chance to use it.
Anyway, no rough running, car pulled okay, reverse okay but I thought that there was no auto upshift at all, the car apppeared to be stuck in first gear.
Any thoughts before I open my christmas present early?

Many thanks

Forgot to say 99MY XKR box has done 40k