oil leak from the windscreen header xk8 convertable

[jagmk9]

Hi everybody, The suns out so I thought take advantage, get the roof down end enjoy the day, Not to be!!!! I pressed the roof button and pow!! got covered in hydraulic oil, coming from the interior lights, so I started to investigate......I found some info about how to lower the roof manually, and you have to be careful how you do this, so as not to damage the roof linkage, so after removing most of the rear interior I got the roof down, I then started to remove the top of the windsreen interior and found that one of the hoses had blown off of the latch mechanism. Now I think my trouble starts, has this happened to anyone else, if so are there better manufactured hoses out there?, I am a bit reluctant to put the same type back in because of the amount of work involved, the original ones are not crimped properly in my view. Thanks for any help on this one.
cheers John

[Raymond007]

Hi John !!!!! Looks like you've been an identiacal victim as me and on the same day !!!!!! )(see my post under faulty convertable roof).

As my car had only literally within the hour return from a main dealer service (including my written instructions to check out and lubricate the hood mechanism) that's exactly where I have returned it to for them to start work tomorrow morning first thing !!!!! Did you manage to mop up most of the fluid without damage to any other parts of the interior ? I arrived back at the dealership looking like a drowned rat and you will no doubt also have experienced the odour of that stuff !!!!!!!

Have to say bearing in mind my car has been very sparingly used - 4,600 miles in total - and the fact it had just returned from a main dealer serive within the hour - I'm going to be looking to them or Jaguar for the full costs of rectifcation and valet. Let me know how you progress with your issue !!!!

Have to say, I know it's serious but I can see the funnny side of me turning up back in thier reception drowned in and stinking of hydraulic fluid !!!!!!! I honestly though we had seen the end of these types of problems !!!

Have a graet day,

Kind regards,

Ray

[mike020150]

I've only heard of occasional leaks from the hood mechanism. If I'm wrong, it would be good to hear from members to expose the problem(s). Mike.

[jagmk9]

Thanks Ray & Mike,
First of all let me say that this seems to be a common problem, I have been on several Jaguar forums and it is an issue, I am suprised that this hasn't come up before, it seems that the fluid used in early cars solidify, and puts extra pressure on the roof latch, the repair is not easy but do able, I found a very helpful bloke in the U.S.A. who helps out on lots of forums and his website is definetly worth a visit, it has lots of useful hints and procedures on how to do things, supported with photos in a step by step manner that is easy to follow.
The link is www.gusglikas.com/autorepair.htm (you may need to cut & paste this link)
I would be very interested if anyone else has had this problem, lets get it on the forum a get some help on this one.
I have ordered new hoses from British Parts and hope to fit them on saturday, I will let you all know how I get on. In the meantime I am looking into getting a better spec hose made, as I am not happy with the Jaguar quality. Cheers John

[Raymond007]

Hi John !!!

Many thanks and yes good idea to hear from anybody else who has experienced this problem. Like you I was not aware of it being that common but my local dealership are very familiar with the issue.

Luckily in this instance I have secured a significant contribution from Jaguar and on that basis instructed my dealership to go ahead. Thankfully the car was returned this evening in perfect form and oh boy was I pleased to see it back !!! However, what I would say is that I got straight on to Jaguar customer relations direct ie I did not ask the dealership to initiate a claim and at first they also said they were not aware of the problem !!!!! Fortunately the service manager at my dealership is very pro active and knew the customer service contact so was able to put them right straightway regarding the number of claims that dealership had dealt with alone !!!! Looks to me as though one has to be fair but very firm and in my case, although I would rather it hadn't happened, the outcome has been satisfactory,

Kind regards,

Ray

[jagmk9]

Hi Ray,
well its good news for you and I am pleased you had a good outcome,
over the past week I have been on many forums and it seems that Jaguar will not recognise the problem, and many customers have had no luck on warranty claims. We as a group of people on all forums we should somehow get together and show jaguar that it is an issue and it should be adressed, even if it means fitting a pressure relief valve, or a upgrade on the exsisting hoses, maybe a kit to replace all the hoses. It wont happen of course but I do feel they should be aware of this issue.
Cheers John

[mike020150]

The original problem dating back to the nineties which involved deterioration of the fluid and a subsequent change of spec is well known. At first glance, the lastest postings appear to involve younger cars with the later fluid. If that's the case, there are two distinct issues at stake. However, so far, it's not entirely clear (at least to me) whether this is or is not the case. Realistically, if the failures are due to thickening of the fluid in cars of 10 years plus in age, Jaguar are unlikely to react to complaints. If the failures are occurring in cars only just outside the three year warranty (and conceivably within it), there is a chance that Jaguar will react by changing the hose spec and may be prepared to make goodwill contributions to repairs outside warranty. Mike.