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Can anyone remember? There used to be posts about a gentleman who would fly anywhere in continental USA to fix / replace burst hoses for a flat fee. Dont know if he's still around but as a point of reference wasn't he around $1,000?
Maybe 66rbs would get more bang for the buck installing a pressure regulator. Once again - if they're still available...
John, I vaguely remember that guy, but if I'm not mistaken his deal turned out to be sort of shady and he was banned here. Not 100% sure on.that; apologies if I'm wrong.
66RBS, I'm running an '03 with original hoses, pressure reduction in place, and plan to continue with them unless ... you know. I think having a shop install new hoses would set you back something like $2k, give or take.
If you can see the pump in the trunk, it’s easy to spot if you have the original bad hoses. Basically the black pipes’ sheath will be falling off. If you’re doing the overhead latch, you might as well do all 6 hoses. Parts aren’t expensive but it’s labour intensive as almost the entire interior has to be removed. So DIY will save a lot of cash.
If you are worried about the green shower , it's very easy to convert the roof latch to manual operation. In essence you merely disconnect the hydraulic lines to the latch and operate it with the allen wrench. The windows and top still operate with the button. This is what I did with my 2004 until I get around to carefully inspecting the hoses. I did not want to risk the "green shower"
It works so well ( for me at least ) that I am in no rush to replace the latch hoses. Here is a link to the procedure:
If you are worried about the green shower , it's very easy to convert the roof latch to manual operation. In essence you merely disconnect the hydraulic lines to the latch and operate it with the allen wrench. The windows and top still operate with the button. This is what I did with my 2004 until I get around to carefully inspecting the hoses. I did not want to risk the "green shower"
Barry,
Good information. The hydraulic lines must operate only the latch? Pardon my ignorance but I haven't found my XK8 yet. I assumed they operated the top mechanism as well. In your modification you describe removing the lines from the pump then lowering the top thus my conclusion.
In the RHS of the trunk/boot there’s 6 lines from the pump - for 2 hydraulic rams (LHS and RHS in pairs) plus 2 to the latch. In my picture below, the latch lines are on the LHS.
In the pic, note the flakey black plastic sheath coming off the old hydraulic pipes.
Looks a lot more scarey then it is. Hydraulics are generally very simple systems. Just very messy when they go wrong
Good information. The hydraulic lines must operate only the latch? Pardon my ignorance but I haven't found my XK8 yet. I assumed they operated the top mechanism as well. In your modification you describe removing the lines from the pump then lowering the top thus my conclusion.
I can't help thinking that if you are going to go to the trouble of disconnecting the roof latch, you may as well inspect the hoses to it first to see if they look in good condition or not, then take a view on what to do from there.
New hoses aren't expensive if you have the time and inclination to do the work to change them yourself.
It's super easy to inspect the hoses in the boot. But that is not where they break. They break where they connect to the latch in the overhead console above the gear lever....hence the "green shower". The lines to the rams for the top rarely fail. It's a pain to inspect the hoses at the latch and a bigger pain to replace the latch hoses; so ( for me at least ) the easiest plan was to convert the latch to manual thereby removing all possibility of green showers and someday , during a winter storage, I will replace the latch hoses
In the RHS of the trunk/boot there’s 6 lines from the pump - for 2 hydraulic rams (LHS and RHS in pairs) plus 2 to the latch. In my picture below, the latch lines are on the LHS.
In the pic, note the flakey black plastic sheath coming off the old hydraulic pipes.
Looks a lot more scarey then it is. Hydraulics are generally very simple systems. Just very messy when they go wrong
if the top hoses have not been replaced how much would a shop charge for the repair?
i am considering it as maintenance even if it currently doesn’t leak. Or should I not even bother and deal with it IF it happens
I checked into this. Around here, parts and labor would run appx. 2500.00.
I have mine on manual latch/unlatch.
You can buy the correct parts you need to cover where the pump hose is some some where in Seattle. I can't remember the name of the company but when I called, the guy was real nice and knew exactly what I needed it for when I gave him the part number. Apparently very popular.
I am going to change them out myself some day but that will be a winter project (and when I retire).
Hope your 2003 turns out to be "it". As far as the green shower is concerned, the consensus seems to be that it is not a matter of 'If" only a matter of "when". I guess that I was one of the lucky ones as my shower happened at the pump in the trunk and not at the latch over the window. If I were you, i would at least take a close look at the hoses in the trunk and if the black sheath on the hose is crumbling, it is time to replace the hoses.
My green shower started within a week of getting my 2004 and I did do the job myself. It is not a hard job, just lots of hours. Franks write up - https://www.jaguarforum.com/showthre...=1#post1094300 - provides all the info needed to do the job. If you do not want to do the job yourself, maybe by showing the write up to a local mechanic, you might find someone willing to tackle the job.
Don't leave it undone! It makes one heck of a mess even in the trunk. I can't imagine what it would do on the dash and inside.
Green shower probability
