I've had the dreaded drip of death coming from the headrail in the vicinity of the latch, so I suspect the hose going into the top latch has perished.

Can anyone suggest someone who is competent and reasonable who could repair this problem? I live on Boston's South Shore.

(Why couldn't they use a simple cable mechanism??? Sorry...just venting.)

Submitted by suntaug@msn.com on Thu, 08/09/2012 - 22:01

We recently had the top latch and both pistons rebuilt by TopHydraulicsInc.com. They also supplied new kevlar reinforced hoses reusing the original fittings by fitting new ferrules. They plan to offer hoses complete with new fittings but I do not know when they will be available. Contact Klaus by e-mail for better information. We had the work done by an excellent shop in North Hampton, NH. It was not cheap but the solution is perfect. The dash does not need to be removed, however most of the interior will need to come out. Clean the fluid from all the interior surfaces right away or it will etch and stain the surfaces. Don't try a shortcut repair it will not work.

2000 XK8 owners

Submitted by dhwahl@verizon.net on Thu, 08/09/2012 - 11:49

Mine was the gush of death coming from the headrail and I am being told that the replacement part, which resembles a tube attached to a flexible hose (like a kitchen sink faucet) has to be installed by removing the dash and potentially going under the floor mats to the pump in the back What did you end up doing? Mine is a 2000 which operates great--except for this.