Yesterday, against my better judgment, I replied to a thread from a new XK8 owner, saying that after all of the repairs that I have done over the 3 years of ownership from "the green shower fix" to tensioner replacement to trans work etc...my XKR had settled down and stabilized without too much excitement over the past few months. I should have known better as this morning on a beautiful 80 degree day in Los Angeles, I had the top down, parked downtown to pick something up for a customer, and when I returned and started the car I had another round of green shower hydraulic fluid coming through the upper console mesh. I was not happy as I had had a number of trips back when the hoses were replaced and had leaks for a long time. We pulled the header and sure enough one of the hoses was seeping fluid near the fittings leading into the actuator. Back to replace the hoses again (although I won't pay for them or the labor). These were steel braided hoses that are supposedly good for 3000psi and I have the hydraulic pressure reduction kit installed as well. That will teach me to ever open my "mouth" again!

Oh well, I made the most of the time by having front pads replaced which were getting low, and am having the calipers painted red while the wheels are off. I'll post some photos day after tomorrow of the new calipers.

 

Isn't that just how it goes. Sorry to hear about your rainy day but maintenance always makes a good excuse for upgrades.

 

Wow. I thought those steel braided hoses were the end-all-be-all fix for that problem! Was it a defective crimp?

 

Were these hoses the ones from Chic in Md.? If so where was the leak? I am concerned that this might take place again. Are the people that installed the hoses replacing them? Do you have the old hoses?

 

The hoses mentioned were not from Chic in Md!

Thanks for your concern, Gus. The hoses are from a custom hose maker in Northridge. CA a block away from the mechanic who works on all of my cars. They were custom made braided steel, and he makes them for many makes and models and for dealers. He is a wholesale supplier. The seepage was from just below the fittings as they leave the actuator.
Thanks,
Ted

 

Gus,
The hoses came from a company named Orme Brothers in Northridge, CA. Their only business is making hoses like this but their attitude is not good as I recall, and it has taken them 4 days to remake the hoses for my mechanic, and I got pretty angry today. They claim they'll have them tomorrow, we'll see. In the meantime, I had front rotors and pads replaced, front and rear calipers painted, and had a rear wheel bearing that had fused into the hub replaced with replacement hub and new bearing. While the car is sitting waiting for hoses. It's been an expensive week.

 

bummer on the green shower but good on the other maintenance.

 

Yikes, rare to hear of a second shower TMK. Last week was too good to you, this is why!

 

Can you say "thanks" sarcastically?

 

Hang in there.