Hi,
I'm a total newb at this forum. I have a 99 XK8 convertible that I bought new in '99. It has about 75K miles. I have always taken it to the dealer or a mechanic to fix things.
I don't put the top down too much, but today it was nice out, so I thought I'd put it down to drive home from the beach. I pushed the button, the windows went down but the top didn't, so I look at where it should disconnect from the front window area and there's liquid pouring out of the switches for the garage door opener. Luckily I have a towel, since I'm at the beach, to catch it before it all runs into the gear shifter.
In the 20 minutes it takes to get home, the fluid continues to drip out of the switches, and keeps dripping after the car is off. so now there's huge oil stain in the fabric above the window and the switches are all full of this oily stuff (but still work so I can get in the house).
I read a bunch of the posts about the hoses and rebuilding the somethings, but I haven't seen anything about what to do with the ancillary damage caused by the oil. It's on my passenger seat, on the gear console as well as the bits where the garage switches are. How much other stuff is going to need to be replaced due to this green shower?
I did have all the Convertible top hydraulic fluid replaced about 6 months or a year ago because the top stopped working, so it's fairly new and the oil doesn't smell like anything.
I'm often on the verge of dumping this car as it costs me about 2K a year to keep going, but it's pretty and it usually drives nicely, so maybe I should keep it.
Suggestions on what else I have to replace after this lovely "green shower"?
thanks!

 

Most likely it is just your hoses. You can DIY it.
Research Gus's posts. I am certian it is stickied along with his website.

As far as cleaning up the mess, hopefully some will chime in. Ours more of the green drip, so no serious remediation was needed.

 

The fluid need to be dried out of the roof console and upper ledge first to stop the drips.

Iospropyl alcoohol or a mild upholstery cleaner should clean it up from the fabric. If he material on the header is loose and/or you have brownish orange stains , the header foam has deteriorated and the header can be recovered with new fabric (DIY or an upholstery shop). Do your A-pillars at the same time.

Most likely you just need new hoses, but the area needs to be inspected to make sure you latch plunger mechansm seals are not the cause of the leak.

Gus provides a source for an improved hose on www.jagrepair.com.

If you are a bit handy and motivated, this is an oportunity to save around $1000 by doing the hose replacement yourself.

 

I guess I could add a picture. The garage door buttons have all started to separate from the roof now. Note I also have the leaky rearview mirror problem, and vanity mirror spring is broken so big rubberband holds it up.

 

This company wil rebuid your mirror for about $100: Sybesmas Electronics, Electronic Repair. Unlike the top fluid, which is relatively benign, the mirror fluid is caustic and should be attended to promptly.

Here is a video on repairing the visor:
If your roof console electronics are damaged used ones are available on ebay for a relatively modest cost. Usually, though, the oil does not damage it.

Isoproryl alcohol will clean your fabric, but it will get oily again until the console and header are dried out from the inside.

 

Thanks for all the pointers. Kind of looks like I need to be a lot handy to replace the hoses (and the fabric padding), not confident that if I take the seats out I will be able to put them back and not die later. Glad you guys are all so smart!
Thanks!