JAGUAR XK8 - XK8 Transmission

Q
I have recently experienced a number of incidents with my 1997 XK8's transmission; the car has covered 145,000km via normal daily driving.
Initially, while moving slowly in a queue, a click was heard and the car stopped dead as if I had selected 'P'. After moving the gear selector back and forth it worked well and the rest of the trip was uneventful. This has now happened four times within ten days, all while standing still or creeping slowly, just like putting the selector in P.
Mention of 100,000 miles or less on the life expectancy of these 'boxes concerns me. What should I check? Can I drive it further or will it fail completely? It's a long drive to go to a Jaguar specialist!

A
The car really needs to be checked with the right ZF diagnostic equipment, and for Jaguars more than ten years old your local transmission specialist will be a much better option than taking it to a main dealer. Contrary to the service schedule these gearboxes do need to be serviced on a regular basis and, especially now, draining the fluid and dropping the pan will tell you much about its overall condition. Your transmission may have worn bands, or simply a sticky valve block, it’s impossible to say without looking inside.