Mick,

Something might have gotten lost in translation here but no, the pump will not come on other than when you are pressing the top button ... exactly the same as a stock system.

As to whether or not to do the mod, I'm afraid I can't help. It's another tool for fighting the green shower wars, but you're probably in the best position to decide if it's a good pick for your particular car. (Jeez, I sound like a lawyer.)

 

Started my top modification today, but hit a snag......The bolts I ordered from Larry of Malone Spec inc , don't seem to fit my pump's fittings. Wondering if anyone else had this problem? I assumed all the pumps were the same. They look like they are the right size, but the threads must be different. I'm quite sure they don't fit, as I put the hoses back on and they went on easily. Larry was aware of the bolts I needed, as he remembered talking to Dennis. I'm going to stop at a hydraulic store tomorrow, to see if they can help me. Was wondering if anyone else had this problem?

 

The fittings are metric!

 

Mick,

Puzzling. The spec for the needed metric fitting is given in the "manual latch" link in my signature line below. Larry has provided a number of these components to forum members, so we know he knows the right parts.

Is there any chance your car has replacement hoses installed (some of these do not use the original metric fittings)?

 

Just checked the latch hoses. Mine have no markings, other than the letter F, in a circle. However the rear ram hoses have lots of writing ;NYLARFLO,1-Q-99,363, which I think are the original hoses. Thinking Dennis may be right about the latch hoses and fittings being up-graded, perhaps because of a past leak. Would someone care to check their latch hoses to see if they are the same as their ram hoses. Thanks!

 

If the letter “F” is on the bottom hose it is metric.

 

Can you post pictures of the latch hose fittings at the pump end, with the fittings opened?

(The stock fitting will have a thread pitch of 1.5 mm per turn ... 6 mm for 4 threads)

 

If picture is not good enough I,ll try again, as I,m new to this new tech. stuff

 

Just by eyeball, that stuff all looks stock to me.

Do the components Larry sent you look like those shown at the "manual latch" link in my signature line below?

 

Manual latching works for me (sometimes getting the quarter windows to raise can be tricky, not exactly sure what makes them raise yet).

But raising the top is very slow and jerky, sometimes the top will lower and not be able to raise. Hear some not so nice sounds too.

Any idea of why this could be? Air in the system? Any way to bleed it?

 

Jago,

The reliable trigger for getting the windows to close seems to be having the "roof" rocker switch depressed as the latch is manually closed ... which does require using two hands. Double-check please the steps in the "manual latch" link in my signature line below.

The jerkiness in raising the top ... check the usual suspects, these being the fluid level, having the petcock fully closed, and any fluid leaks at pump or rams.

The only way I can see this being related to the manual latch mod is if the latch hose ports are not capped properly, and lack a good seal. (The latch circuit is pressurized as the top is being raised, so a leak there could effect the movement of the top. Check for any signs of fluid leaks at the latch hose port caps. When I was doing the "R & D" on this mod I found that if I did not have a good seal there the movement of the top could be jerky as you described.)

 

It was just the fluid level, so basically I just need to switch to manual mode, take out the pump and top it off? I believe it's CHF 11s, it's pretty green, but it COULD be 7.1, my Jag is a 2000 model.

 

You do not need to remove the pump and I would recommend that you do not remove it. You could cause damage to the pumps electrical controls and or the lift hoses. This link shows you how to refill it.
Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

I did not have tools that would allow me to loosen the bolt, much less clearance on my 2000 XK8 than the one pictured in that link, also I did not have the syringe tool and I wanted my top working by this weekend

 

I removed the plug from a 3 tier unit with an adjustable wrench and used a basting syringe with a straw to fill the unit my first time.

If you elect to remove it I suggest you use caution when doing it.

 

I did it and it was fine, top is working well now. Still need to wait 5 seconds and re-press the top down button to get rear windows to close, but seems to be working consistently

 

There is a new, easier procedure for raising the convertible top on a car set up for manual latch operation. Long story short, it eliminates the step of listening for a reversal in hydraulic pump direction from "extend" to "contract" latch.

The latest procedures are always found here (same link as in my signature line below).

 

Nice write-ups

 

Funny I never had to use the two hands procedure. I can unlock the latch using the hex key (I made a decent one by mating a hex key to a shift knob I bought on E-Bay) and just press the lower/raise button and the top does the rest. Same story on lowering. Once the top makes contact with the latch I let go of the button and secure the top by turning the hex key. I wonder if a little lubrication on the latch would help others with having to use two hands?

 

That's interesting. My experience has been that I do need the two-hands deal -- pressing the roof switch while closing the latch -- when raising the top (but not lowering it). This is so not because it makes closing the latch any easier (it doesn't, since the hydraulics are disconnected) but because otherwise I can't seem to reliably avoid ending up with a "top not latched" message after completing the operation.

Have I got this right? ... Raising the top, you wait for the top to contact the latch, then release the roof rocker, then close the latch. Do you have to press the roof rocker again to avoid a "not latched" message?

I wonder if there could be any MY differences in the logic elements.


Edit: Could you post a picture of your improved hex key?