HiI am new to this forum so hope I am posting this correctly. I have a 1997 XK8 convertible and the roof will not open. The rear windows lower and I can hear the pump run for a while but nothing else happens. Could anyone please give me some pointers to trouble shooting.
Thanks in advance.

 

Tuohy,
Welcome to the Forum and congrats on the 1997 Jag. You didn't mention the car history so is this a new problem you're having? Did the convertible hood raise/lower okay previously?





The hydraulic pump is in the trunk on the Right Hand Side (RHS) . Easy to reach by removing trunk linings - back of fuel tank first, then RHS liner. There's a petcock tap on the pump which needs to be fully open for the pump to push hydraulic fluid around. Is the fluid level ok in the tank? Could just need topping off. However if this is the first time for you, and the petcock was closed, there may be a reason the Previous Owner (PO) did it. The Jaguar XK8 was infamous for a "Green Shower" where the hydraulic latch above the front windscreen would leak fluid into the overhead light console and onto the driver.

There is a lot of info in this Forum for this particular problem, with lots of fixes, and as you can see from my picture, I just had my 1999 Jag decide to have a green wee behind my rear right tyre. That was fixed courtesy of all the help from forum members.

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress..

 

Hi,
I just aquired the car as my retirement project and the roof had a problem before I purchased it. After making this post I went out and tried playing with it again, this time I got it to open and close once but not again. It seemed very lazy at the unlatching part of the cycle, could it be lack of use ? The car is quite low mileage 52000 and the last owner for 18 years was said to have only used the roof a couple of times in all. Sadly he has dementure and cannot help with detailed history. On the failed attempts just now rear windows opened side windows dropped a centimeter or so and the car chimed.

Thanks John

 

For normal convertible top operation, insure that the petcock valve is fully closed.

 

Tuohy,

Congratulations on the retirement project car. I've found that a first Generation XK8 is a great hobby mechanic's car.

The convertible hood running slow could be for a number of reasons. When I first had my hood problems, I made the mistake of trying it repeatedly without the car engine running, and ran down the battery. This system runs on a 40A fuse, so needs power. Use it sparingly just on the battery. You'll be surprised too at the heat generated by the pump.

Second, check the fluid and the fluid level in the pump. Should be good hydraulic fluid. If it's old, smelly, contaminated, the oil could need to be changed out.

 

One of your problems may be that the latch mechanism needs lubricant. Open the latch manually using the key or a 8mm allen wrench turning clockwise. Lube the piston with light oil and cycle a few times.

 

Hmm, my new to me convertible is much more reliable then the OP's (thankfully). But when closing it does seem to help it close fully, and latch, if I pull on the handle just a little bit at the very end. I'm thinking a bit of lubrication on the latch might help, but I really should check the hydraulic pump as well. Thanks for bringing up the topic John. I've never had a convertible before, and thought this might just be normal, and why the handle was there.

 

Lubrication is not harmful, but it certainly does not solve a problem with the hydraulic convertible top operation. And the problems are not caused by infrequent use.
Regarding to the decribed issues i would check the fluid level of the storage tank first. if the level is below minimum, a visual leak inspection of the entire system should be made. To do this, the luggage compartment trim, the rear seat cushion and the rear interior side panels as well as the locking mechanism on the front roof frame have to be removed.

Once you have done this you will know your car a lot better than today.

Cheers, Fritz

 

I agree with all of the above.

1. Check the Petcock key is closed. If you are not sure which is the right direction the turn it in one direction as far as it will go. Try the roof. Still nothing happening. Try the opposite way. If I remember turning the key clock wise to close it.
2. Check the fluid level. It should be up at the top of the upper mark on the tank.
3. Check the system for leaks. Either around the rear tank or around the light above your head in the middle of your car.
4. Take a look at your fluid in the tank. There is a small brass nut on top of the tank you can remove to fill, drain or just top up your tank. Old hydraulic fluid can bung up your system. Wont do it any harm to change it. Buy of those small pumps off Ebay around £10-12 in UK money.
5. If you suspect its the latch at the front of the car manually 'unhook' it and try again.

You might find parts of this topic useful. Click me to read it

Good luck with your new toy. You have bought yourself a lovely machine one which no doubt you will be very proud of.

 

Tuohy,

Long shot - check out phatcat67's thread 28/3/19 where he had a problem with the latch.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ot-xk8-215550/

For phatcat67, the two hydraulic lines to the hood latch were reversed at the pump and switching them fixed his problem.

 

Welcome to the forums Tuohy,

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some information about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Hi All,
Thanks for all the kind posts, it feels very friendly here already. I have had another play with the roof and have got it to work by using the Allen key to assist the latch opening. I also noticed that when closing the front rail of the hood reaches the catch in the windscreen top rail before it has the catch has fully raised, so am assuming the latch is a little lazy. I dont know if I should just use it a bit and see if it frees up or should I strip the top rail and clean / lubricate the latch ?

John

 

Hi John, if you can, would you please confirm that you've checked the fluid level and the petcock is tight?

That will eliminate those for us.

Thanks,

John

 

Fluid level and petcock checked, all good. Once moving the roof seems to operate at a reasonable speed now just the latch unlatch issue.

John

 

Lubricating the latch should not do any harm but you can also try moving it. As you may have read from my story when I first tried latching after replacing my hydraulic hoses it did not feel right. So I attached clamps to pull the section upwards and now it feels more like it did before. Perhaps you could try that?

To save you going through everything again here is a link to my posting, you will have to scroll down to where I clamped and adjusted the rail. click me to read

Thanks for keeping us informed.

 

The tank has 2 indicators on the end of it they are embossed lines one is the minimum and the other is the maximum be sure the fluid level is at the top embossed line. Check the petcock turn clockwise to close and counter clockwise to open be sure it is closed.

Link to fill lines JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Do you know if any work has been done on the roof system?

Often when trying to troubleshoot the roof system the open / close switch is used often and the system can become confused this is when you need to do a reset. To do this you will need to open the petcock, open the latch manually, unlock the rams and open the roof with 2 fingers to be sure you do not force the roof open. If you are unable to open the roof recheck the two rams unlocked and try again. Once the roof is open close the front latch manually then close the petcock and then do a hard reset on the car. When you finish press and hold the roof close button and hold it until the roof is closed. If all goes well you will need to reset your windows.

Link to hard reset JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Link to window reset JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

Hi

Thanks for the advice, I have been under the weather with a chest infection and will report back as soon as I can play with my lovely new toy.

Thanks Again
John

 

Hi
I have returned to look at the roof again and tried to open the latch manually with the allen key, I failed to turn it far enough to lift the latch as there was a lot of resistance and did not want to break anything. I had the petcock open (turned fully anti clockwise. Can anyone tell me how difficult the allen key should be to turn and if I put a small amount of extra leverage onto it will I do any harm.

Thanks
John

 

For me, getting the Allen Key firmly into position onto the latch was the hardest part. Turning it will be stiff, but shouldn't be "arm busting" stuck. If you're concerned, a bit of lubricant won't do it any harm. Putting a wrench extender on the allen key, to give extra leverage, would be easier to control the force you're putting on.

Good luck.

 

Just to be sure - turning the allen key clockwise opens the latch, anti-clockwise to close the latch.