LOL! Too many pictures. I prefer videos!

 

Sam,

Thanks for the thought you put into this. Your ideas, and Gus's pointing out that failures occur under the crimp, followed by my (belated) realizing that sealing against the skin of the hose would be useless if the inner part of the hose, the part that is supposed to confine the fluid, had already failed ... all this has combined to show me I'm on the wrong track.

If all failures occur under the crimp, if none would be prevented by keeping the hose from swelling by a clamp or cocoon of some sort, then what I had in mind is a non-starter.

Hey, I didn't say it was a good idea; just an idea.

 

I will narrow it down for you Hose Evaluation

 

OK, I started this and here's what I've decided:

1) I've read through all the posts as well as several of the other threads and I am more confused than ever.
2) I don't have enough confidence in either "system" to install it on my car. I tend to think the resistor is too simplistic, but I worry about messing up my pump trying to install the relief valve.
3) I have several indications that my hoses have been replaced. I've asked Nalley Jaguar, who sold and serviced the car from new, to send me their records. If the hoses have been replaced, I figure I have three to five years. By then I will be tired of this car and will be ready to sell it.
4) If it breaks, it breaks. I can afford the $2500 or so to have it fixed. After all, I only paid $26K for the car.
5) I will continue to watch for a more perfect solution. Meanwhile I will use the top sparingly.

 

If it makes any difference, I just looked at the date codes on my hoses. They are all dated 2nd quarter 2002, meaning that they are the original hoses for my car. So they've gone nearly 9 years without bursting. I looked at the connections at the latch and they seem perfect. They could burst at any moment, or maybe they'll last another 9 years.

 

My 2001 (a sunbelt car, no less) had the original hoses when I swapped them out last year. They had neither burst nor leaked, but the black outer sheathing was peeling in some places, so I did it as preventative maintenance.

These cars are meant to be enjoyed...use the top all you want.

 

EXACTLY!!! That's my attitude. It a hose pops, then so be it. I'll replace the hose and move on. In a way, I almost kinda sorta wish a hose would pop just so I could make a video of the replacement procedure.


OK... not really.

 

Did you have any trouble buying the colliflower hose kit? I have emailed Chick at Colliflower several times asking for info on ordering and have not received a reply. I called and someone told he was there (not on vacation) and they would ask him to check his email. Still no response. I`m wondering what I have to do to buy this hose soon.........

 

My 03 XKR got the rupture on the close latch hose, it wasn't a shower but a nice event as it soaked into the headliner and ran into fabric accents around the windshield. Definitely an ugly site and a heavy bill at the dealer..which I was dumb enough to do.
Have since put in the Rev's voltage reducer and have no fear of getting blasted with the life blood of my top and the aesthetic assault on the car.
I have yet to own a convertible that didn't have issues...and the issues of the jag is minor compared to the chase down that can occur on other makes.
My Saab's 5th bow actuator/micro switch didn't make a mess, but made the Jag dealer seem like an angel.

 

I have owned convertibles my whole driving life (I am 61). This is the first one with "issues". It is also the first one that was not manual. The Miata was the easiest top to use. Never a problem. Up or down in seconds.

If Jaguar had a good "manual" option for this car I would seek it out. Does not exist.

Jack

 

My BMW Z3 had a very simple manual top. But I even had issues with it. Sometimes it would get stuck halfway between open and closed. It wasn't a big deal, especially in comparison to a green shower, but it was definitely irritating.

 

I'll bet that someone who is very mechanically inclined should be able to come up with something. At the very least, most of the battle would be solved if the front latch could be taken out of the loop.


Doug

 

That's true. It should be possible to just cap off the ports that go to the front hoses and manually release the latch. A lot of cars have automatic tops with a manual release. My Saab 9-3 convertible is like that. A nicer handle would be helpful, though. I've used that little allen wrench in the trunk, and it's not the easiest thing to use.

 

Yeah. But I think most of the problem would be the latching mechanism. Getting some sort of manual system to work. If you were designing with a clean sheet of paper - very doable. But all of that hydraulic junk in our headers would make the job hard I believe.

Looks like Jaguar's problem was making the top latch automatically. "Rich guys" cars do it automatically. Lots of powered tops have the user manually latch the top. If Jag went this way I don't think we would be having this conversation.

Jack

 

Maybe not hopeless. If we let the latch hydraulic circuit push fluid through some sort of dummy load instead of through the latch mechanism ... and then we closed (or opened) the latch manually while that was going on ... the system should(?) sense the closed or open condition, interpret it as having finished its job, and move on to the next part of the cycle.

Half-baked idea ...

 

From my understanding of the existing system, the real problem with taking the latch out of the loop and making it manual would be the timing of the signals sent by the various microswitches. If the latch microswitches don't send the right signal at the right time, the whole system crashes.

So we need some mechanical experts as well as electrical experts in order to convert the latch from automatic/hydraulic to mechanical/manual. Along with that what would be even slicker would be if someone could also come up with an attractive lever that is part of the latch instead of having to use the allen key.

Doug

 

I need Marvin number to repair my convertible top

 

Marvin is at 404 759 6600. He lives in the Atlanta area, but I'm not sure you want to pay him to fly to Colorado with all his equipment.

 

I thought he fixed it already?

 

Me too - and he quotes "Marvin's" number in his own earlier post??