Folks, this is my first attempt at pics in the post. If it gets messy, I will do my best to clean it up.

IT GOT MESSY. PLEASE SEE MY ADDED POST WITH PIX ATTACHED.
Here is a pic of my overhead assembly removed and laid out next to the driver’s door.



Here is a closer look at the previous repair, still in place.



Here is the previous repair removed (shot from other side for better lighting).



Please note the “Americanized” elbow fitting. If you look closely, you can see burst points in each repair, one about ½ inch from the fitting and one right at the fitting.
For a quick fix and getting the top to work again, I plan to go to a well- respected, local hyd repair shop and have them duplicate the entire repair pieces using their best hose and fittings.
Does anyone see a problem with this initial fix, if this is my only leaking area?

 

I was unable to view your pictures, but that may be because my desktop is running XP.

 

MY initial attempt to place pix in the text did not seem to work. I hope these come thru as attachments.

 

Pictures are good. It will be interesting to see how your repair works out. My only concern would be that the old hose is still exposed to the heat from the sun. I know many of the early repairs were made from the fuse box area of the A pillar, but I don't recall if they were successful.

 

Not to change the subject, but do you know if your car has the 3rd gen cam chain tensioners?

 

No. Please send me a PM if I should be concerned.

 

Lookin good, keep at it Sam.

Presumably you've done some research on here about the well documented issues with these convertible tops and recommended repair techniques?

+1 on checking out the tensioners.....again very well documented here Sam.

Any issues please just ask away, folk will be only too happy to help, add links etc etc.

Good luck

 

You time and money would be better spent replacing the entire hoses with one of the two heavy duty replacements available now from two different sources: see JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

The original hose material is not up to the job and particularly if it has failed the plastic is further deteriorated and a patch will not hold for long.

And yes, you should be concerned about your secondary tensioners, especially with the mileage you have. It is discussed widely on this forum.

 

Wasn't there some talk on here about the pressure being higher than necessary and that being part of the problem with the hoses rupturing. I seem to remember somebody experimenting with the pressure needed for operation vs the factory system operating pressure. I thought somebody had installed a pressure reducer/regulator.

 

It really isn't THAT difficult to replace the hoses... just time consuming. Take a day (Saturday?) and replace them, its well worth the piece of mind.

 

Details here Jaguar Kit | LSI Controls, Inc.

 

Sam,

1st off, the tensioners: On a scale of 1 to 10, if the convertible top issue is a 5, the tensioners are about a 500. A failure -- there won't necessarily be a warning -- could lead to a bill approaching the value of your car. Not to be an alarmist, but this should be checked asap.

The hoses: I agree with the idea of using one of the two proven hose sets now available off-the-shelf. You will probably need to refit with the original metric spec elbows. Either hose vendor should be able to fix you up there.

Your top can be configured to work with manual latch operation so you can continue to raise and lower it with the console switch while you're waiting on getting the latch hoses replaced. Costs about $6.00. There's a link in my sig. line below.

There is also a link there which gives a description of the effects on pressure pulses (both peak pressure and also rate of pressure rise) of using voltage reduction in the pump circuit. User experiences reported here tell us that neither this method nor a relief valve provide a fail-safe against future hose failures.

Good luck.

 

Looking at your photos it looks like one hose did not hold up to the heat and pressure and the other hose that has a metal pipe that may be a problem because the latch must have freedom to move and that the old hoses are still in use on and that is on both connections. The hose that fails the most is the one close to the plunger. As for the repair transition between the old and the new it is an interesting application but Jaguar attempted one and it failed miserably. The pressure when closing the latch is at 1600psi without the PRV. Many have attempted to make repairs and the hyd and shops I contacted and dealt with did not have the equipment or the desire to deal with the metric hose and connections. You need to keep in mind that the factory hoses that were installed were under sized to start with and have been stressed from the pump the latch. I wish you luck if you are going to do this but my suggestion is for you to install a PRV and a full set of new hoses from the pump to your latch or you will be down this road again. This forum has a host of threads covering the same topic the same problems and the results are the same install a PRV and change the hoses.

 

Here's a pic of the new Hyd Connectors that were fabricated by B&J Hydraulics in Marietta, GA. I have them installed, fit seems fine, however I'm going to wait for my family mechanic to review the progress, check tightness, etc., before continuing. Anyway, pic attached. The old blown out sections are provided also for comparison.

 

I got my hoses from jaguartoprepair.com. They were great to deal with and the couplings are MEGA strong compaired to the factory. And the hoses fail at the couplings.

 

I've got to tell you, all this about the hoses failing at the window due to heat is a bit misleading. My hoses failed at the pump, crumbling outer black coating. And as I removed the hoses up to the windows, they were deteriorating the entire length. I'm sure it was the lick of the draw that they failed at the pump so I was spared the green shower on my instead of the amp. I'd really change the entire hose.

 

I'm impressed. Mind if I ask about the cost of the repair sections?

I have a little different view then Philhef's on the role of heat here. Just off the top of my head ... something like 80 to 90% of the failures have occurred at the latch, and it DOES get hot in there. (It could also be related to bending that the hoses are subjected to at the latch.)

Anyway, just as a point of comparison, my hoses are original, nearly as old as yours, and still good. So with your repair you may be OK with what's left of your originals. Truth is, nobody knows for how long. Good luck with it.

 

You're right about the latch area but most of those are due to hose failure, less from latch failure. The latch issues are easily prevented with a pressure relief system installed. I've talked to several other convertible owners with at had hose issues and its usually the couplings. And all of them had the same issue with the removed hoses, the black exterior was crumbling. From what I understand, the old couplings fail due to the deteriorated black coating failing under the crimp. I guess it's possible to remove the black and install the new repair to the exposed white tubing and hope it holds.
I really think all the factory hoses are a ticking time bomb. I'm glad I bit the dust and replaced the whole hose!

 

You're right, I should have been more clear in what I wrote.

I think the most common failure has been in the fittings at the latch end of the hoses ... I didn't mean to say in the latch itself. Next most common ... I don't know, maybe the latch itself, maybe some other fitting in a latch or ram hose.

The pressure relief valve has not proven to be a fail-safe against hose failures used with original or earlier replacement hoses. Nor has voltage reduction.

With the new, beefier hoses, I don't think there have been any reported failures ... with or without any pressure reduction installed. Anyone know if that's right?

 

To date I have not seen any failures of the aftermarket hoses. As for information on the failures and the reason for the PRV please go to my page I have all that I found documented.

Link on the Hose Failures JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource