I went out and topped the fluid this morning and had the wife operate the top through 4 cycles. Works much better and still no visible leaks so I'm thinking the rams have very slow leak.

Pressure reducer kit on order shortly so maybe we can avoid the green shower.

 

Good for you and I hope for the best on no major leaks.

 

Well guys, it was 80 degrees with a Carolina Blue (go Tarheels!) sky yesterday so I took the XK to work. Before I left I put the top down and noticed the top was moving particularly slow but chalked it up to a couple of months storage with the top up. Got to work, no problem, came back home for lunch and noticed a frisbee sized "wet" spot right in front of the passenger side rear tire. Upon further investigation, the whole floor pan and rear suspension elements back there were coated.

I'm guessing my slow leak developed into a full blown blowout.

I'm getting ready to go out and check the reservoir to make sure but I can't imagine this is anything else other than a hose rupture or a connection failure or a ram.

My question is - Is this a repair I can do on my own or is it time for professional help?

I have a little mechanical ability: replaced a water pump on my '66 Mustang, redid the brake system (whole system lines and all) on a '70 F-100, batteries and tires and such are right up my alley. But I wouldn't even consider tackling a timing chain tensioner like I've seen some of you guys do.

 

If you can do a brake system , you can do this, IMHO (coming from someone whio did his tensioners ). Review the procedure in JTIS to get a feel for it first. You will have to remove the rear seats, the RH interior rear quarter trim, rear speaker (if you have one), and a couple of headliner fasteners. If the hose is bad, you will also have to run a new hose, but you can use the old hose to pull the new one through the trunk firewall.

Plan ahead, take your time, use care, and you will be fine. Snap a few digital photos along the way to take the burden off your memory for reassembly.

 

would it be possible to flush the latch lines at the pump by dicconnecting and using gravity, suction or pressure. this sounds much simpler.

 

What year is your car? If the fluid is green that means it is synthetic and it should be ok. If you elect to replace it you will need to open the hoses at the latch and drain it in the trunk.

 

how do you avoid getting an air lock in the latch lines. since fluid to the latch does not flow in a circuit, wont trapped air be there forever?

 

It is said that the system is self purging and I am not sure how that is but who am I to argue the point. If you want to purge it then you need to get into the header and disconnect the hoses and fill the hoses with fluid back to the pump. The way the system is configured the latch only allows a push operation and that applies to open and close. I have a lot of other information on my page if you need it.

 

thanks. is your page accessed by clicking on www.jagrepair.com

the forum is great. it helped me(and saved $$$$)re tail light module failure, rear view mirror leak(towel caught the overnight leak),pre-emptive top pressure reduction resistor and headlight washer(disable rather than buy new jet). jag dealership is 4 hrs away. as a last note i got pentosin top fluid at volkswagen for $22 vs ?$70 at jaguar!

 

Yes it is.