New member, new XJ owner, new auto gearbox issue!

[Stewart H]

Having just taken ownership of a fabulous old XJ 350 in May this year and loving the driving experience all summer, it all came to a shuddering halt two months ago when the dreaded gearbox fault light came on, and car would not go any further than 1st gear and I had to nurse it home at 20mph. The same day I took the car to a Jaguar specialist who gave me the news that box failure was terminal. Having nursed it home again, there it has sat motionless ever since, as I do not know what to do next - the garage did say they would look for a good second hand box, but as of today, no news yet. It breaks my heart to see it sitting there, as I love the car and want to get it back on the road as soon as possible, however my budget is very limited sadly. ( ie I don't have £2300 to spend on buying a new box, far less fitting it too!)  So just today a friend suggested joining a forum, to see if anyone knew of a reliable source for a new gearbox. I have looked at the dreaded eBay, but whilst the boxes are cheap, you just don't know what you are buying - and I am guessing that the labour cost to fit it would be the worst part ( although I don't have a real idea of what that would be either.) Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Jaguar Owners Club]

Hi Stewart.....welcome to the Club

I would see what information you can gather on the actual fault.
If they drop the Oil pan on the gearbox then any failure of hardware should be obvious by remains of bearing, clutch bands/plates and also the colour of the fluid and filter.

It may just be a solenoid at fault as opposed to a whole new transmission?

[Stewart H]

7 hours ago, Jaguar Owners Club said:

Hi Stewart.....welcome to the Club

I would see what information you can gather on the actual fault.
If they drop the oil pan on the gearbox then any failure of hardware should be obvious by remains of bearing, clutch bands/plates and also the colour of the fluid and filter.

It may just be a solenoid at fault as opposed to a whole new transmission?

Thank you so much Trevor - and your reply is very much appreciated! You mention colour of the fluid - if there is an issue with it  - and just to say that the previous owner changed the fluid just at the beginning of this year - what colour should it be if there IS an issue? And would changing it again have an impact as to resolving the problem? Also, how would my local mechanic - not a Jaguar specialist - check solenoid to ascertain if that could be issue? So sorry to ask even more questions! Best regards, Stewart

[Jaguar Owners Club]

The colour should be a bright, clear colour as opposed to contaminated opaque colour.

Also, if the fluid is contaminated it would also smell burnt 

The solenoids would come up in fault codes if any issues when scanned

[Stewart H]

Sorry for late reply Trevor - work got in the way! Thanks - that is great information for my local mechanic and certainly worth looking into before getting into the expense of a full swop over. Thanks again, your help is very much appreciated. Stewart