g3air, thanks for posting the pics.

The upper photo shows the hydraulic pump p/n 5142638AA and the tonneau cover lift cylinder p/n 5142641AA. The other two pictures show the right main lift cylinder p/n 5170015AA. You will notice that it is leaking hydraulic fluid on the bottom. That leak is actually from the cylinder, not from the hydraulic hose or the o-ring that seals the hose to the cylinder.

Top Hydraulics rebuilds and upgrades Crossfire hydraulic cylinders on a daily basis. We make them better than brand new ones (if you could still get them), with zero failure rate so far.

Five of the Crossfire's hydraulic cylinders have straight aluminum bodies, and they all have the same failure mechanism. These five cylinders are:
Right main lift cylinder p/n 5170015AA (located on the right outside bottom of the soft top storage compartment)
Left main lift cylinder p/n 5142639AA (located on the left outside bottom of the soft top storage compartment)
Right bow tension cylinder p/n 5170014AA (located inside the soft top frame, roughly above the right main lift cylinder)
Left bow tension cylinder 5142640AA (located inside the soft top frame, roughly above the left main lift cylinder)
Tonneau cover lift cylinder p/n 5142641AA (shown in the first photo above, next to the hydraulic pump in the trunk.

All of the cylinders above are manufactured the same way, using nearly identical seals. Each one of these cylinders has a number of seals inside: Two cap seals that seal the bottom and top caps/plugs from the cylinder housing, a rod seal that seals the moving shaft/rod from the upper part of the cylinder (specifically, the cap), a wiper seal that keeps debris out of the top cap, a piston seal that seals the piston from the cylinder housing (thus allowing the piston to move under pressure), and two port seals that seal the hydraulic hoses to the cylinder. That's a lot of seals, and Top Hydraulics truly upgrades all of them with better material (and better/larger geometries in case of the wiper, rod seal, and cap seals).

The seals that tend to fail first, are the cap seals. The seals decay with time - it's simply a chemical reaction. That chemical reaction cannot be avoided on the original seals. It gets accelerated with heat and with contamination in the hydraulic fluid. When a bottom cap seal fails, the fluid will actually be coming out of the hole for the mounting pin on the bottom of the cylinder. That's what you are seeing in your photos above. These leaks start slowly, and they will only grow. You need to take care of the problem, or it will only get worse. If you are seeing the leak on one side, then the matching cylinder on the other side will be soon to follow. DIY repair of these cylinders is not feasible. It takes specialized equipment, a lot of know-how, precision machined replacement parts to house the seals, and the right seals.

The two remaining cylinders are:
Rear bow latch cylinder 05142957AA (A1937500184 stamped on it)
Tonneau cover (storage cover) latch cylinder 05166559AA (A1937500183 stamped on it)
These two cylinders will typically fail first at the rod seal, and then at the port seal. Top Hydraulics upgrades rod seals, cap seals, piston seals, and port seals on these cylinders, and we estimate the life expectancy of our seals to be between 30 and 50 years, depending on circumstances.

If you are planning to hang on to your Crossfire for a long time, then it would be wise to have all seven cylinders upgraded in one swoop.

Removal of most of the cylinders is quite easy. You are welcome to send the latching cylinders mounted inside their locks. The left main lift cylinder, the left bow tension cylinder, and the tonneau cover lift cylinder have Hall sensors mounted to them. You do not have to remove the sensors - just unplug them from the wiring harness when you take out the cylinders. All hydraulic lines are fastened to the cylinders with retaining clips. The clips simply slide in a groove. Slide the clip out of the groove, and you can pull out the hydraulic line. Golden rule: retract the cylinder shaft before you remove a hydraulic line. That way, if you accidentally have a tool slipping, it won't scratch the polished cylinder shaft. In the rare case that a cylinder shaft is scratched or rusty, Top Hydraulics can replace it (for a surcharge) with one from our own manufacture, made of polished, hardened stainless steel.

I hope this helps,

Klaus

Top Hydraulics | Rebuilt and Upgraded Convertible Top Cylinders, Pumps, Hydraulic Lines - Top Hydraulics, Inc