buggered transmission on otherwise great '85 XJ6

well I hope they do a good job for Jack since I was the one who sent him there in the first place, among other places I referred to him in this area. We will find out. He did check other places; one was offering a used transmission for $350.00 (plus TAX of course!) but would not install it or verify the condition, another would charge $750.00 for the install labor only, and the third made it the easiest by doing the entire job for $1,200. the decision was obvious for Jack, since we both agreed that $3,000. for a transmission rebuild with a 90-day warranty is just plain ridiculous considering the whole car sells for around the same price. I did call the mechanic and told him "you betta do a great job for Jack, don't make me look bad!". Mechanic's reply? "we appreciate the referral, and don't worry, we've been rebuilding Borg Warners for a long time". So I guess we just have to trust somebody and surely Jack will let me know.

Well, my point is that as far as transmissions go, you really need to make sure the shop knows what they're doing as these are more difficult than average to rebuild. Pretty much any transmission shop can rebuild General Motors transmissions but that's not the case with these Borg Warner Model 66s.

the shop that will be rebuilding Jack's transmission, repairs, rebuilds, and restores Jaguar, they've been around for a while, they just restored a 1950's XK-140 from basket case to showroom condition, including rebuilding the engine. I saw the car and though the paint job is not "concours d' elegance", the mechanicals looked nicely restored and the engine sounded great. BTW: they did not paint the car, that was another shop.

I guess the bottom line is, it just comes down to how good the guy is that does the rebuild for you.

My Transmission guy (owner of a Mr transmission franchise) rebuilt the one in my 86 Sovereign about six years ago for $800 Canadian. When I decided to upgrade the Sovereign it was removed from it and installed in my 85 XJ6 VDP, which then became my every day driver. Put another 189,000 Klms on it then and it is still going smooth and strong.

Don't use that car at all right now because for a while I became addicted to driving my V-12's.

Bob.

I had a guy rebuild a Borg Warner Model 66 in my Series III XJ6 real cheap once too. About $1,000.00 with me removing it and installing it myself.

It lasted about a year or so.........

After that, I had it done right for $2,900.00 and it's still holding together.

Jack found a shop in Orlando who will rebuild his for $1,200.00 with a 12 month warranty, can't beat that! No wonder he dissapeared from the forum! hahhaaa!!!

I ran across a site "www.motorcarsltd.com" that is advertising good, used transmissions that have been "tested" for under $800.00. They are cleaning out their "old" stock. It would be worth a look and maybe a call.
Good Luck!

Fred

If the trans fluid was allowed to drop too low that certainly could casue a failure, Bill !

Yes....You'll need to find a trans shop with some seasoned old timers as this trans dates back to the late-50s, early-60s, and is a kissin' cousin to the old Ford Cruise-o-matic.

Bill is right about the drum (and any other "hard parts") which can turn a routine overhaul (a "soft parts" overhaul: clutch plates, seals, gaskets, etc) into a huge problem. I'd venture if that if your isn't too far gone you might get by with a soft parts overhaul and likely for much less than $3000.

This trans (or sub-variants) was used in Volvos, BMWs, Rovers, Studebakers....a whole slew of car builders had their turn. Its pretty unsophisticated and was never the smoothest or most responsive trans out there. The problem with Jag using it in the XJ6s is that it was right on the cusp of being "underspecified" relative to the weight and power of the car. (On the flip side, my recently sold Ser III had 147k miles and the BW66 was still soldiering on admirably)

Some guys install a GM transmission....a useful upgrade but one requiring an adapter kit-- $800-$1000 last time I checked, plus the transmission itself. I'm guessing $2000+, all in. I would give this some strong consideration.

The XJ40 trans Bill mentioned IS very good. Its made by "ZF". The cost of the conversion would put me out of the market, though !

Doug Dwyer
Longview Washington USA
1995 XJR

What do you mean by "we went too long without checking the Automatic transmission fluid?" Your transmission failure most likely had nothing to do with that. These transmissions (Borg Warner Model 66) are not very good transmission to begin with. They can be rebuit for under $3,000.00 but most of the time, they are never the same. One reason is that there's a $1,400.00 part (drum) that looks okay when the rebuilder has it apart but really should be replaced. These transmissions are also VERY TRICKY to rebuild especially when it comes to reassembling the valve body. If you plan on having it rebuilt, be sure that the shop you choose has EXPERIENCE with these transmissions. I'm pretty sure a similar Borg Warner transmission to this one is used in older Saabs so if the shop has experience with those, that's a good thing.

Another option you may want to consider is buying an XJ40 transmission that has the conversion kit to make it fit in your Series III XJ6. The last time I checked, the transmission and the kit cost around $4,500.00. The transmissions that Jaguar used in the XJ40 are far superior to the Borg Warner Model 66 transmission in your Series III XJ6.