No green shower though! I put the top up after leaving it down overnight (garaged of course) and it got to the point where it flopped down, but then the motor in the back started whining and it never secured itself fully down or latched. Got a 'Top not latched' or something error on the screen as well. Side quarter windows never rolled up- I imagine that next step was not reached in the system as the latch did not engage yet first. Can't really drive it securely now, and didn't see anything in a search on here. Any tips?

 

while no green shower - check to see if one of the hoses to the cylinders failed (will have hydraulic fluid leaking around right rear tire or in the trunk under the hydraulic pump. I believe if it failed at the cylinders, the leakage will show under the car in the area of the seat. Mine failed at the pump connection (hose blew out of connector)

 

there are procedures to manually latch and lock - the only thing is then getting the rear windows up - which I disconnected power to the window, then made a suicide cable and connected directly between the battery and the window regulator.

 

+1 on that - mine failed at the pump also. First thing to check is the fluid level in the pump - if it's low you have a hydraulic problem.

 

here are some additional items from the DIY's in the XK8/XKR forum:

Convertible Top Latch Hydraulic Leaks
. Have you received a green shower? Does your top groan and fail to open and/or close. Fixes, parts, pics and advice a-plenty here in this thread.
. (Option 1)

• Hydraulic Line Evaluation and 'custom' pressure reducing valve
• Alternative relief valve option thanks to Steveinfrance

. (Option 2)

• Hydraulic pump voltage reduction using a resistor (the long, debated version)
• Condensed, and organized version authored by Dennis07
• Install Video of the Resistor, by Reverend Sam

Here is the link for some excellent information from Gus:
http://www.jagrepair.com/jaguarxk8xkr1997_2006.htm

 

Checked the fluid level?

Checked the manual operation valve? Fully clockwise.

Never heard of a real pump failure.

 

If you do have a hose failure, some of the folks here have ordered replacement hoses through Top Hydraulics, I used Cabriolet Hydraulics in Bradenton Fl.

 

You guys are great. It appears to be a leak at the pump. "Oh lookie! A puddle behind the right-rear wheel..." After locating the pump for the first time (I'm tall, haven't bent down that far to look up into the fender above the rack there yet), both hoses facing into the boot are secure. The top hose is for sure dry, the bottom one might be slightly damp, hard to tell. But definite green hydraulic fluid spilled about a bit, and the reservoir is no more than 20% full now- down to the bottom screws at this angle mounted. The valve was closed all the way clockwise, though I turned it counter briefly, did not hear any loss of pressure, closed it back.

What's next? Replacing these hoses from the pump to the cylinder(s)? Do I need to take the pump out next? That jagrepair.com page is excellent, though I can't tell what exactly my next move is. Both hoses are still secured on the pump and didn't blow out, so perhaps the current pressure is OK?

 

I would recommend removing the pump for a better inspection - there are 4 connections on the outer side (toward fender well) of the pump (for the 2 cylinders) and 2 connections to the inner (trunk side) of the pump - for the latch. Takes maybe 15 minutes to remove the pump off of the rack.

 

What's the materials and cost difference between Top Hydraulics' product and Cabriolet Hydraulics' product?

 

The original hoses are rated at 3000psi with operating pressures around 1600psi

CabrioletHydraulics are the stainless steel braided ptfe rated at 450degrees and a burst rating of 12000psi. For a set of all 6 hoses $580 or $550 with core. I only needed the 4 cylinder hoses as the latch hoses had been replaced - so the 4 are $350 with core. The hoses also have a 3year warranty.

Top Hydraulics uses a kevlar reinfoced hose with a 23000PSI burst rating and a set of 6 is $600

I have seen several in the forum recommend Top Hydraulics. I contacted a local vendor but they wanted $1000. A local convertible repair shop recommended Cabriolet Hydraulics for the hoses - so I guess I went with the less impact to wallet route since I want to do some other work

 

I used TopHydraulics hoses- they seem well made and as the previous post said are rated at 23k burst pressure. They are also slightly less in external diameter than the Jaguar product(although I believe the internal dimension is the same) so are a little easier to fit. They were , however, incorrectly marked when received but a call to TopHydraulics resulted in a call back from a tech. to sort it out within 15mins - excellent service.

 

Having already had the green shower (a couple owners back), I probably only need the four cylinder hoses then. But good grief, why are they so expensive? I figured well under a hundred bucks... y'know... for hoses... are these aircraft grade or something? I'll try and remove the pump this weekend for a better look-see.

 

Alright, got it unbolted this evening. Sure glad there aren't two bolts in the back! Good design. There's nothing too obvious that's broken- everything's just a bit slippery from when it blew a week ago. Let me know what you think.

 

Should I top up the reservoir with more hydraulic fluid, try operations, and see where it's leaking next? If so, what kind of fluid is recommended? I see the bolt where to add.

FWIW, I'd really love to have this fixed by the weekend... taking a solo day trip and really hope to take the Jag. Please advise asap!

 

The fluid is Pentosin CHF-11S. 1 Liter is plenty. NAPA should have it. Those hoses with the peeling black casing are in pretty rough shape...they are certainly suspect.

You really need to inspect behind the rear interior trim to fully imvestigate the problem.

 

Chris, use Pentosin CHF-11S - I was only able to find it at 1 NAPA location within a 15mile radius of me. As for testing, sure that will confirm leak location, but (and this is just me) looking at the hoses and the outer coating falling off, from my perspective I would just say replace the hoses. If you only replace 1 today, what's to say you won't have to replace one later on down the road. If you do test, just put something underneath to keep fluid from getting onto battery or electronics in the trunk.

 

Ok thanks, guys. Will do. I'll call NAPA in a moment and see who has it on my way home from work.

Yeah I was going to put the pump assy. in a bucket and test it out after reconnecting power. I wondered about the coating flaking off as well. Note the two on the front are not- I believe these go to the top (?) that were replaced when it had its green shower a few years ago. The other four are likely OE. Will definitely replace all four instead of any one culprit if that's what I find.

What rear interior trim specifically do I need to inspect? And what do I need to pull to get at the cylinders for the other end of these four hoses?

 

To get a good view and access to the cylinders you need to remove the rear seats, the interior rear quarter trim (top and side speaker panels), the curved stabilizer bars in front of the speakers and the speakers themselves.

 

Top is currently up- I haven't tried to put it down. Should it be in the down position to get at all this or is up OK?

My NAPA down the street has the Pentosin CHF-11S, picking up in a moment.