One of my map lights went out and when I removed the overhead console there was a light misting of green fluid caught in there. There's never been any drips coming through and the fluid looked old but, ever conscious of the "green shower" phenomenon, I decided to investigate. Clearly someone has been in here before in the past - the usual indicators of loose and missing screws/bolts, worn heads and clear signs of the screws not being in their original positions. Presumably they have been in to make adjustments or replacements but I'd much appreciate guidance in a couple of areas.

What do you think might have been done? The hoses look in excellent shape and there is no evidence of any leaks from them. They are marked as "Power Packer 8" ON3 min burst 600BAR-2107B " - would this indicate OEM for a 1999MY car?

There don't appear to be any leaks from the hose junctions with the Power Latch cylinder but there is a lot of PTFE(?) tape evident. Would this have been the original install or does that indicate that someone has had the latch out at some point?

The only fluid I can see is on the body of the latch so I'm guessing this indicates that a seal has gone. The roof mechanism is used a lot but the fluid I can see isn't excessive so I'm not massively worried at the moment but assume I should be either replacing or repairing the latch cylinder. I've seen Top Hydraulics US based service but does anyone recommend a UK alternative? Can I do this myself, even?

And would I be making a false economy in not changing at least the top latch hoses at the same time? I'll do it myself so would only have the cost of the hoses themselves.

Here's the evidence of tape on the hose junctions with the latch cylinder.




Here you can see a very misting of oil on the underside of the latch cylinder (well, you can can if you look really hard).

 

Lots of places for leaks. The latch cylinder o-rings, the fittings (the tape is plumbers tape - helps seal the threads), the o-rings in the hose ends at the fittings, and the hoses themselves. You will be able to tell more by removing the top piece of trim. There are two screws in the center, a plastic rivet on each end holding the weather strip in place, and a screw at each end under the weatherstrip along the windshield header. The screws are covered by a mastic tape, so you will have to literally poke around a bit.

 

While the taped part of the fitting may be misting a little hydraulic fluid in your case. The area that is usually of most concern is the other end of the fittings where the tube enters. If the tube enters at an angle of even the slightest degree, that is a sign that the tube was cut too short and is making a bad entry into the fitting. This is the most common cause of the green showers that scare off many potential owners of our cars.

 

Thanks for the replies. I've now taken everything apart and the hoses show no sign of any leaks or misting either at the fittings or along the hoses themselves - they are in remarkably good condition and when I detached at the other end and flushed them through, all I get is nice clean green fluid (I replaced the fluid about 12 months ago) and no evidence of the inside of the hoses disolving.

On the other hand, there is a lot of misting and some leakage from the cylinder and along the chromed shaft. I'm just going to get the cylinder rebuilt for now and put off the cost of new hoses. Maybe a false economy but it's not a big job to get the assembly out again if they fail in future and I'd rather save myself a couple of hundred pounds (and the pain of routing them through the cabin) in the short term.

 

I have noticed that the lines on all my cars have been replaced (by me) about 10 or 15 years ago and I get some green fluid in the overhead console on some of my convertibles when the cylinder starts weeping.

Not as bad or critical as a hose burst, but the latch cylinder seems to last YEARS longer than the hoses.
They do fail and I send them to TOP HYDRAULICS.

The prices have increased DOUBLE over the years but still cheaper than the $500+ cost of the original OEM cylinder NEW.

All my convertibles now have hoses and latches replaced.

 

I've taken your guidance and the latch cylinder will be on its way today to TOP HYDRAULICS. Shipping means that I'll be paying more than if I got it rebuilt over here but the recommendations on this forum would suggest that it's worth the extra for the piece of mind. A new latch is about $1,500 so a few extra dollars for shipping is a drop in the ocean!

 

New old stock parts like this aren't necessarily the parts to be using, particularly with critical rubber bits. Old o-rings aren't as pliable as new ones, so a 20 year old "new" part can have the same problems with leaking.

 

@markdpeter - before you ship it to the US you might try Pleiades near Peterborough - they do rebuilds and servicing of Citroen hydraulic components, cylinders, pressure spheres etc.