Hi fellow XK8 convertible owners,

I dread the "green shower" happening to me, and am gathering information so as to prevent that from happening. I'm in touch with Gus as to installing the pressure relief valve, and need your valuable input regarding replacing all 6 hood-related hydralic hoses for my MY97 XK8 convertible. AFAI can determine from researching in this forum, and I'm pretty sure all 6 hoses on mine are original (meaning 18+ years old), should I just replace them or wait until they start to leak? I'm enclosing a picture of my Powerpacker 600BAR hose, and am open-minded to listen to your recommendations as to how/what to proceed.

P.S. I acquired this beauty 30 months ago and have operated the top 200+ times since without trouble or leaks. How long will my luck last?

Thank you for your reply.

 

I will not replace the hydraulic hoses on my wife's 2006 XK8 until the green shower strikes. But since I helped Wayne (cjd777) replace the rear hydraulic hoses on his 2000 XK8 earlier this year, I know that we can do the job effectively and efficiently when the time comes. I just don't look forward to paying the price even though the aftermarket hoses are infinitely better than the inferior factory hoses....

 

The '97's have a better quality hose...very few '97s experience hose failure. The poorer quality hose was from '98 onward.

 

+1 Gus. But there is still the risk of the latch seal and cylinders leaking.

Sending the latch to Top Hydraulics to have it rebuilt might be a reasonable move, but I would wait and see on the cylinders.

If the car is not exposed to the sun for extended periods that should help.

 

My parking spot is undercovered, so I'm waiting for Gus' response as to the next appopriate step...

 

Listen to WhiteXKR - the 97's had higher quality hoses. There was a recent thread that showed hose failure counts by year of XK8/R. Very few 97's were affected.

 

Look at your hose and see if it has a stamp on it saying 600BAR that is equal to 8702PSI that hose is good if your hose has 303 or 363 they are the ones failing.

Not sure what to tell you, will your hose fail not sure. We have two types of hoses the ones that have failed and the ones that are going to fail. In my evaluation of the system I have not seen any 600BAR hoses fail yet that I know of however, the rams on the lifts and latches seem to blow the seals.

Link to Evaluation JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

97,

To me, your decision would turn on how badly you want to avoid the shower. If you're an "I'll deal with it if it happens" kind of guy, I'd stay put. If you want to avoid it at all costs, changing out the hoses is probably best.

If you do elect to stay with your current hoses, invest US $6.00 (are there still Hong Kong dollars?) in a set of hose port caps for the pump ... see "manual latch" link below. That way if you do get the shower, you can mop up, cap the ports and continue to have a working top while deciding what to do next.

(That all hoses will fail eventually is a pretty safe prediction. We could say the same about anything mechanical. What's of interest is the odds of it happening while you own the car. This nobody can say for sure.)

 

Good idea to place a photo. I have heard in the past the first year XK8 drop tops did not have the same leak problem as the latter years.
Your hoses seem to be like fuel line type reinforced. The hoses I took out of my '99 XK8 are thinner and a hard plastic type composition.
Your hose type look to leave room for expansion with the hi and low pressures the top pump puts out.
My pistons were leaking. ( my quarter panels will never rust) so I did the complete Top Hydraulic system. Piston overhaul, replaced all hose thin, I am told Kevlar hoses. Very pleased with the system.. Rich

 

My '97 has the 600 bar hoses. I've not had a problem. I installed the voltage reduction kit as well.

 

Gus: You may have overlooked the picture I posted which clearly showed the 600BAR marking on the hose.

I will leave the hydralic hoses alone for the time being, and watch out for signs of leakage from the top latch and lifts.

And thank you all fellow members for putting my mind at ease about getting the green shower. Cheers!

Next project: long overdue ZF 5HP24 fluid and filter change

 

Hi Dennis,

I'll definitely order the port caps per your suggestion to prepare for a green shower eventuality.

And yes, there are still Hong Kong Dollars, and it is freely exchangeable with all free world currencies without any restrictions. This is a fine testament that the "One Country, Two Systems" constituional structure is working within The People's Republic of China for which Hong Kong has been reunited with since July 1st, 1997.

Any forum member visiting Hong Kong is welcome and I would gladly show them the sights in my XK8 Convertible with the top down. Cheers.

 

No I did not over look your hose markings I wanted to make my point clear to all.

Gus
www.jagrepair.com

 

When you do the fluid and filter on the transmission it will only take a couple of hours max. to replace the main pressure valve in the forward valve body. It's available from ZF dealers or an aftermarket design from TransGo. This will help prevent pressure spikes that damage the A drum.

http://jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepa...%20ZF5HP24.pdf

ZF 5HP24 TRANSMISSION PRESSURE REGULATOR VALVE KIT TRANSGO 5HP-24-PR FITS BMW A5S440Z JAGUAR AUDI ROVER - The American Powertrain Warehouse

 

Not sure if this is the correct spot to post this but ......
Just had my 2002 XK8 hose break at the latch and ended up buying the Hose Fittings to stop the fluid from going to the latch so I could safely put the top down without sending more fluid to the latch. However after talking to Malone Specialty Inc, they now have a minimum order of 25.00 dollars so I now have an extra 4 sets available to anyone that needs them. The cost of the set (2 nuts and 2 blanking plugs) was 5.20 plus shipping. If I can help anyone, please let me know. Butch at 3030-343-2704

 

Does anyone have an old set of hoses that I can borrow rent buy so I can take in to my hose maker. That way when I replace the old ones out with the bad in with the good.

Many thanks

Ship

 

You may want to start a new thread. Many members may not bother looking at a thread about 97 hoses.

 

You seem to be going to a lot of trouble when you could just get them from https://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/36-jaguar. You will get quality hoses that fit perfectly and are properly marked for ease of installation. I highly recommend them.