I have a 2001 XK8, silver with black interior. 89,000 miles, and am about to do my first hydraulic roof leak repair. Dealer did it last time for $1800, and it was good for under 30,000 miles... I will do it myself this time!

 

Hendersonville! That's just up the road from me! Well actually, it's about 90 minutes or so. Are you familiar with Gus' strengthened hoses? Don't buy the factory hoses, they will just burst again in a few years. Gus sells a hose kit that can withstand much higher pressures. Go to the XK8 forum and look in the FAQs there is info on them there. I think it is only around $300 or so.

Would you like any help changing out the hoses? I have this penchant for making videos of the repairs I do, and a hose job would be the epitome of my DIY videos. Fortunately I don't need to change mine, but I'd be glad to help you and make a video of it. Send me a PM if you're interested.

 

Oh yeah... welcome to the forum!

 

Whoa Sam, Unless you've got an AVOS setup in your XK you're probably about 4 hrs east of Hendersonville. U must be thinking of Henderson which is north of where you live. On another note to pkispert I've also got to change the latch hoses on my car. I've got the SS braided hoses which I sourced from Colliflower,Inc. My hoses aren't leaking at the moment but did want to get them changed before the green monster shows up. Hey, Sam if you really want to make that trip let us know!

 

Oh yeah... I was thinking of Henderson. This state is so confusing. Greenville isn't in Green county. Beaufort isn't in Beaufort county. Albemarle is nowhere near the Albemarle sound, and we have two towns named Tarheel (OK, one is Tarheel and the other is Tar Heel).

 

Hi there, Welcome aboard, great to have you here with us at JF.
Nice intro

Sorry to hear about your hose issues but its been covered here many times and there's some great info as Sam said...

Sams a great guy and really knows his stuff.....Itd be cool if maybe you and moutaincat could get together and arrange a meet somewhereclose to Sam, or even go to him?
I'm sure you'd save $$$ dollars, Sam could do another video ( he's done a few !! ) and you guys could have a mini Jag meet?

Just a thought................

Some great guys here, top techs, good info and more than a few laughs here n there, so jump in and enjoy......

manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the site.......enjoy your time here

 

Don't you just love this state! High taxes and crap for roads. Do you really know where the term "Tar Heel" came from?

 

Welcome to the forum,

Good luck with the hoses.
Does anyone really know where tar heel comes from?

 

Hey Sam, Thanks for the suggestion. I am not familiar with Gus's hoses, but will keep looking at the thread to find it. When the dealer replaced them the first time they said it was not a common failure, and probably was because the little old lady that bought the car originally did not put the top down often enough.. They told me to run the top up and down a couple time a month, year round... Well that didn't work. I really like the idea of either braded or strengthened hoses. Its taking the interior apart and putting it back that scares me. I have seen several references to using an allen wrench to open the latch. Where do I access that? Phil Oh, I love the idea of video taping the job, but I think we are a little far apart.

 

The owner's manual has instructions on how to latch the top if the pump doesn't latch it. Basically, you pull the cover off of the right side of the trunk, turn the little T-handle on the pump to release the hydraulic pressure, remove the little allen wrench that's attached to the pump, and insert it in the hole in the headliner above the rear view mirror. Then you can latch or unlatch the top. It's really only necessary in emergencies.

 

Oh... and this thing that the dealer told you about it being an uncommon event. WHATEVER! It's probably the most common failure point on these cars. In the XK8 section you'll read about two preventive measures. One is a hydraulic relief valve that vents the excess pressure back to the pump. The other is a resistor that is installed in the power wire to the pump that reduces the power output of the pump motor, which also reduces the hydraulic pressure. Read all of the info about both methods, then decide which route you want to take. But install one or the other. Either should greatly extend the life of your hoses.

 

Glad to have you with us on the forums, welcome!