I recently had surgery so excuse me for being a little delayed and short in my response.

Douglas, having the latch as a manual operation is not a bad idea if you do not have a problem with making it manual. Disconnecting and plugging the two hoses that go to the latch would eliminate the problem if you are physically or financially unable to replace the hoses and do not have a problem with manually latching and unlatching the roof. However, most of us want the luxury of having it function the way it was designed. Now I need to say that I do not have a breakdown on the pump and the electrical function to say this will work without creating other problems.

Andrew, It is my understanding that the replacement hoses from Power-Packers are rated for higher pressures and deal better with the temperatures in the header at the switch. This is yet to be seen. When I replaced my hoses they were smaller in diameter and seem to be more ridged.

Montauke, Yes, you did see information relating to holding the button down causing part of the problem. This statement came from a Jaguar shop when I was trying to gather information. And you had the same question I had as to the electrical canceling the hyd operation. I am unable to answer that because I am still waiting for information from Power-Packers on the sequence of the total operation.
When my hose failed all I wanted to do was replace the hoses and fix the problem and give others the sequence of events to see how it was done. When I did mine I was in the dark and just took the project on. I only wish I looked at the entire system a little better when I had it apart.

Power-Packers has commented on the old hose and suggested that it is a problem in areas of high temperatures. I personally feel that temperature and hose movement is a combined problem in that area. I am waiting for the weather to change to do additional investigating. It appears that the same hose is failing and I ask myself why? The entire area of the failed hose is black and you all know how hot a black car gets. As for the failed hose it appears to be the same hose every time at the connection. The outer jacket fails allowing the inner hose to push out of the connector. I have asked myself why is that happening? I think that the movement or the hose is getting a surge of pressure. Without the information on the sequence of events that take place I am unable to answer the questions. Sorry, I am not going to take my car apart, I will continue to hammer Jaguar and Power-Packers till I get some information that we can use.

I did learn that the 2008 latch in not hydraulic it is mechanical! I guess they benefit from our misfortune.

I continue to read all the comments and suggestions relating to the roof operation to increase my knowledge of the system. Keep the dialog going, this is great stuff! As I get information I will post it on my page.

 

The question was asked why not change the latching to a manual one. Well I for one, love the fact that I can open and close the top standing at my door using the key. It is much easier to get out of the car with the top down. You have to get out of the car to remove the top cover anyway, so why have to get back into the car to raise the top? Maybe I'm just lazy!!

 

Good Point!

 

Hi Gus, hope you're doing well after your surgery. Welcome back... I hope checking the forum wasn't the first thing you did when you got home :-) Enjoy your speedy recovery!

BTW: I emailed the dealer to hold on to the failed parts for me.

 

Of course anyone would prefer to have totally automatic operation. But if the choices came down to (1) fully automatic with a good chance of a fluid leak happening once or more during ownership that can possibly cause a mess inside the car and costing $1,000+ to fix or (2) automatic top but manual latch with almost zero chance of a problem, then I would opt for the second choice.

Doug

 

When you hear the "beep" at the end of the top cycle, whether up or down, electrical power to the pump is stopped. That is the function of the microswitches in the latch and on the right side ram. They signal that either the top is fully opened or that the top is fully latched. Any faults with the microswitches will set body codes as well to help in diagnosis if more than a hydraulic leak is involved.

 

Good to know!

 

Joe,
You brought up a good point! Double check all the information given to you prior to taking on a project. As in my case Jaguar told me about holding the switch could cause the problem. I asked the manufacture to give me the sequence of the operation so I can verify it. Joe, I have a question, could the switch on the ram being out of adjustment cause a delay in the pump to continue to operate? And where is the switch located. I know that a switch is in that location but did not have a reason to check it.

 

Found this available repair kit while researching other parts.

Jagbits

maybe can help someone out?

 

I expect that kit should also work for 2004-2006 as well?

Doug

 

Hi Matt,

If that's the factory Jaguar HJB 8256 BA repair kit, it's a risky solution. I sold about ten of these, and immediately stopped last spring when I received the second report that the hose unions leaked where they wire spliced onto the exiting hoses.

I know they were backordered for a long time, and rumor has it that the kit was discontinued but I haven't been looking for new information on a bad idea. If the kit you pointed out is in fact the same one, I wouldn't trust it even if it was available. I also wouldn't pay the $70.00 markup over Jaguar list price.

If this kit is something new and improved, that would be another story...asking for the part number and comparing it to the original kit pictured below would give you the answer. This was a factory supplied Jaguar kit, and the accompanying bulletin suggested that the primary intention was to reduce labor time, i.e. warranty repair cost. The parts cost was the same as a complete pair of factory hoses. Apologies to Jagbits if he's way ahead of me.

 

The ram switch electrical connector is difficult to see without removing interior trim panels and speaker. It is at the bottom of the ram assembly on the right side. I could see how an out of adjustment switch either in the latch assembly or the ram could allow extended run time of the pump but if any switch was more than a small amount out of adjustment you would get codes and possibly disruption of top function. The adjustment of the switches, particularly the latch switches is critical and that is the reason neither the switches or the hydraulic actuator for the latch are offered seperatly. With the assembly sold as a unit, the adjustment can be done in the factory and then the whole plate is simply a bolt in affair with no adjustments required other than making sure it's installed square and actually engages the top when it's latched. My personal opinion is that if you had a switch failure in the latch the switch could be replaced seperately but you would have to source the switch from an outside vendor, perhaps Radio shack and then be sure to get it set up properly after replacement.

 

I wish I knew about the failing hose connector "block" (quoting the dealer which may actually be an actuator) before I took the XK8 to the dealership for repair. Then at least I could've asked the dealer to isolate the problem without first assuming the entire hose had to be replaced. The car is still at the dealer so I haven't yet confirmed that both fixes were required.

I went into the dealer with oil slowly leaking from beneath the latch through the mesh between the interior map lights. To fix that sympton, the dealer automatically determined the fix to be replacement of the entire hose line running from the latch to the rear of the car. It was during this job that the mechanic found the hose connecting block/actuator was leaking. Accordingly, I was told there were actually two leaks and fixing one would add pressure and expand the other leak. I'm thinking now, perhaps, only the block/actuator was leaking.

I'll learn more when I get the car back, but could a bad block/actuator break or fray the hose?

 

And here I thought it was just so popular, that nobody could keep it in stock! lol I would be interested to know how many people have had full line replacements, or just the splice kit.

How many did you have return with another failure?

 

That is a good question. How many of you installed the shorter repair kit and had problems with it?

 

Although I did not count the exact number that I sold, I reported the number of failures brought to my attention. The failures are immediately obvious, and are caused by the splice fittings' inability to seal against the deteriorated outer sleeve of the existing hose section. There are reams of posts about this problem in the Roadfly archives, posted by others who bought their kits through other sources.

 

I believe that leaking at the latch automatically triggers a hose replacement since the Jag dealers apparently do not readily stock the repair kit. A hose replacement entails replacing the complete run of hose from front to rear which, in turn, entails tearing apart much of the interior of the car to run the hose. Pretty dumb, no?

Doug

 

I've done 12 or so of the repair kits myself and haven't had any back with failures. It is critical that the existing hose be prepared properly before installing the repair kit fittings. If the cut isn't perfectly square or there are any loose threads at the cut it WILL LEAK when pressure is applied. There is a cutoff tool included with the repair kit to aid in getting the hose end prepared properly but it is only good for a couple of cuts before it is dull enough to leave behind loose threads. If you don't get the cut right the first time you will only have a couple more chances before you will need a new cutoff tool. Most of the failures of the repair kit I have seen come to the dealer were obviously not prepared properly whether it was done by the owner or another shop. There were either loose treads sticking out of the fittings or the outer housing was smashed and wrinkled meaning it isn't actually under the repair fitting where it needs to be.

 

I have a section of the original hose sent to me by the owner that installed failure #1. The outer sleeve is flaking off just like it does from the heat degradation right at the latch mechanism.

The owner who installed failure #2 reported the same problem, the outer sleeve degraded down past the splice area behund the fusebox.

Have you installed any of the repair kits recently, if yes have they been revised in any way? If no, do you know if they have been discontinued?

 

I was told by Jaguar that the short repair kits were discontinued.