Hi all, I've done a fair bit of research in reading about the inevitable "green shower" on this forum... great stuff! I have a 1998 XK8 with fairly low mileage 58K, where the convertible is still working (no major signs, leaks visible at this time). The car is only driven approx 3K miles per year, of which I have the top down a handful of times each season (which is why I believe I've been spared). My question - my assumption is I will need to face the inevitable and am likely better off being proactive vs. waiting for the shower to occur. This is not the type of job I'd like to tackle on my own, as a result what am I looking at (cost/job wise) if update altogether to avoid the green shower? I've seen a few numbers thrown around the range of $4K... which seems steep. I've also read that there are XK8 "specialist" who do this work (eg. Marvin Johnson's name is often seen in threads).... just curious on how hard it is to find folks you can trust to do this work at a fair price. Are there other options I should be considering (short of going manual, which is not my preference). I've seen the threads on bypass option (which is really cool), but with the age of my car, I don't think that's my best bet (if I understand bypass options, it only prolongs the possibility of a green shower, it doesn't necessarily fix it from ever happening). Apologies for the long post - any advise/feedback is appreciated.

 

Jaguar WARRANTY TIME is 4 hours to replace the top latch hydraulic lines. (the two lines only)
A 'rule-of-thumb' we used at the dealer for 'customer-pay' was WARRANTY TIME TIMES TIME AND A HALF.
4 x 1.5 = 6
About 6 hours would be a good starting point for a shop to charge for labor.
Add more time for more cylinders and lines.

 

Just to chime in, I had my convertible top hydraulics replaced by Marvin about 4 years ago. I didn't want to have to go through the tedious bits and learn as you go. It did cost me about $4K, but it was worth it to me. I already had the pressure reduction kit but I was starting to get the drip at the header rail. No problems now and I even got a wind deflector. If the top doesn't work, you might as well have a coupe.

 

If you rarely drop the top, you may be fortunate enough to avoid the green shower. I would wait....

 

Parts alone will run around $2,000 depending on if you send your parts to be refurbished or if you source refurbished parts and send yours back as rebuild-able cores. Assuming you have your pump rebuilt. Your schedule will determine which is best - can you afford to have the car apart while you wait for your parts to be rebuilt, or do you want to be able to do everything at the same time. Tack on labor at whatever rates you can get near you to get an idea of what you are in for. If you don't do the work yourself, $4k is probably not far off or unreasonable.

 

Since the green shower is the result of a hose to fitting failure at one notable place, it is worth inspecting before pulling the trigger on the $$$ of replacement. For all of the hoopla about it, it is not a wear item. If it was assembled correctly, it shouldn't be a clock item either. It has always been a question of proper quality control at original (and even replacement) assembly. Take a look under the trim at the top of your windshield. If your hydraulic tube enters the cylinder properly, you have nothing to worry about. Also check for hydraulic fluid coming from the cylinder shaft seal. In any normal (QC working correctly) situation, that would be your indication of time for repairs. And it would be a rebuilt cylinder, which is another discussion and group of threads on this site.
My own 2002 XKR has the original hydraulics. I have inspected the hoses in the header and in the trunk. I do not worry about them for a few years after. Then, when I do, I inspect them again. Rinse wash repeat.
Good luck.

 

Very helpful, thank you. At the risk of asking a very dumb question, when you state check to see if the hydraulic tubes are entering the cylinder properly, what exactly am I looking for (what is improper vs. proper with regards to the hydraulic tubes entering the cylinder). Thanks again for the feedback. I have checked the actual pump in the trunk, and the fluid level seem very close (level wise) to what is suggested... but I have never checked the "header" lines near the windshield latch itself.

 

you can check the connections at the pump as well, but the header hoses typically get more exposure to heat (depending on where you live) and the outer sheathing will break down and flake off the hose. you will see bits of black falling all around the hose exposing the inner hose. If this is occurring near the connection to the rams, it creates a weak point that has the potential to break when you cycle the top.

 

It's pretty hard to install the hoses in the windshield header improperly - there just isn't enough room to really mess it up. The latch actuator is a blocky thing with two right angle hose connections on the side closest to the glass and a ram out the right hand side. The hoses come up the left hand side A-pillar, run along the header and thread on to the actuator connections. The right angle connectors are offset from each other a bit to allow space for the hoses to fit around each other. The hoses should show very little bend where they connect to the actuator. More of a gentle arc than anything else.

 

If it isn't broken , don't fix it.

 

In the OEM installations, occasionally the hydraulic tube coming into the lock actuator cylinder in the header came into the actuator at a slight angle, probably because the hoses were cut a little short or otherwise mounted wrong, causing them to be taking a diagonal line rather than curving over to come into the actuator perpendicular to the face of the actuator and straight into the fitting. I don't have pictures of mine from my last inspection, and I can't remember the online source where I found this little tidbit of knowledge. It may still be out there, or it may have gone away. IDK. They had pics of a bad install that was in need of new lines.

 

Another school of thought is "If you know its old and don't want it to break at an inconvenient time, fix it first and forget about it."

With these cars, I go that route.