Hydraulic Leveling Jacks stick on Adventurer

royt911 · 05-25-2017, 05:16 PM

I have to pry them with a shovel to get them started. Can they be wiped with oil or wd40 or something? Just the back ones.

LJowdy · 05-25-2017, 06:43 PM

It's fairly common. I extend the jacks then wipe the down with WD40 and that usually solves the problem. You may have to do a couple of times if the jacks are dirty

HR2004 · 05-25-2017, 07:52 PM

Also look for grease fitting. Mine needed help going up also. Dealer told me about the fittings. They work now.

f18sailor · 05-26-2017, 04:53 AM

Depending on the age of your rig, they might have to be re-built.

I had to have this done to 2 of my jacks after the WD-40 would not improve the issue anymore. The coach was about 15 years old then.

Just call HWH and they will give you a return number. Removing the jack is not terribly difficult but the hydrolic connection can be hard to get at on the rear jack. To remove the spring, extend the jack all the way and then place multiple wood shims between the spring coils. Then push the jack up manually to create slack in the springs.

My interim solution was to place leveling blocks under the jack before extending it. This way the weight of the coach would push the jack back up and I did not have to use the shovel method.

Waiter21 · 05-26-2017, 05:52 AM

There is something broke inside the jack, i.e. a bent shaft, a piston top that came off the top of the shaft and is causing it to bind inside. etc.

The only way to tell is to remove it and take it apart.

If you're able to do this on your own, there are a lot of resources that are available . i.e. I just removed one of mine and was able to repair it,

Power Gear 500384 hydraulic jack teardown – 1999 Southwind 35S

Power Gear 500384 hydraulic jack re-assembly – 1999 Southwind 35S

..

scenic route · 05-26-2017, 09:49 AM

I'd try cleaning and lubrication first. WD-40 is good for the cleaning portion, but IMHO, the best lubrication for the rams is the same fluid they operate in.

Extend levers out all the way...clean, lube liberally, operate a few times and lube again (extended) with ATF or whatever the system uses. After you're satisfied the rams are clean, wipe off any excess. This may take a few times, but it this fails, you probably have other issues.

I used this method during longer periods of storage...it worked great.

Skip426 · 05-26-2017, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royt911

I have to pry them with a shovel to get them started. Can they be wiped with oil or wd40 or something? Just the back ones.

To be sure you get the right info, for possible repairs to your system , could you add the brand of levelers and the age of your RV to your post.

Starsekr · 05-26-2017, 10:52 AM

HWH factory advice is to extend the jacks and spray and wipe with WD-40. They were pretty adamant in being against silicon lubes. They also suggested that you use a wetted Q tip and wipe the grit and crud out of the seal area at the top of the ram. This usually works for me. The rams should be smooth and shiny with no grooves or scratches on them. I don't believe fixed HWH jacks have grease fittings; the inside seal is lubed by the hydraulic oil. It is the outside seal that the WD-40 lubes.

If you have a weight shift, i.e. sloped parking spot, three coming up and one still down, this can sometimes be caused by side loads on the down jack. Solution is to extend all jacks to relieve the weight and see if the problem jack will come up by itself. It is a PITA, bring them up a little at a time until most of the weight is on the RV springs. Then they will usually retract.
Other suggestion, HWH came up with a new spring design, look into replacing old springs with new, if you can't figure any other reason out.

WendyG · 05-26-2017, 11:56 AM

I second the suggestion to not just clean the shafts but also the rim at the top of the shaft. A remarkable amount of gunk came out of those rims (as much as 12 years worth if prior owner had not cleaned them) and my jacks are retracting much better now.

vsheetz · 05-26-2017, 12:14 PM

Mine get balky. WD-40 gets them going again.

vettenuts · 05-26-2017, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WendyG

I second the suggestion to not just clean the shafts but also the rim at the top of the shaft. A remarkable amount of gunk came out of those rims (as much as 12 years worth if prior owner had not cleaned them) and my jacks are retracting much better now.

I do that and also before each retraction I check the shafts to make sure there is no mud or sand on them. Any sand is gently brushed with my hands and then wiped with a clean soft cloth after a small spritz of WD40.

royt911 · 05-27-2017, 05:20 AM

This is for a 1996 Winnebago Adventurer. Not sure of the manufacturer of the hydraulic jacks. It just started doing this. I saw someone suggest automatic transmission fluid as a lube. I wasn't sure about that so I figure I'd ask here.

I do have to pry it pretty hard with a shovel to get them started. I only have to pry one side to get both of the rear jacks to go up. Once they start going up the springs slowly takes them up the rest of the way. Only the rear springs are affected.

Waiter21 · 05-27-2017, 05:43 AM

Royt911;

Can you post a photo of your control panel for your jacks. This will help identify exactly what you have.

I have the older Power Gear, I suspect you have the same thing. They recommend Dexron III hydraulic Fluid.

On my New-to-Us Southwind, I drained the old fluid and refilled with Valvoline Synthetic Dexron III, You can get it at Walmart for about $18 per gallon. You'll need two gallons to re-fill

Here is a How-to I wrote for mine:

Flush and refill Leveler hydraulic system – 1999 Southwind 35S

If you have to pry to get one of them to start coming down, there is something binding. They should come down with hydraulic pressure. Bent shaft, binding in the shaft, valves sticking and not fully opening, weak pump.

When the jack is retracted, the shaft is completely surrounded by fluid inside the cylinder, so it should be well lubricated when it comes down.

The legs go up with spring pressure, not hydraulic pressure, so the shaft needs to be clean and lubed. Power Gear recommends spraying the shaft with Silicon spray. I say a better approach would be to wipe the shaft with a very thin film of hydraulic fluid.

Some of the leg cylinders have a grease fitting on the very bottom of the cylinder (not the shaft). Give this a couple good shots from a grease gun until it comes out the bottom or the side..

ALSO - Here are a couple Power Gear manuals that will give you and idea on whats inside the cylinders:

http://1999southwind.com/DOWNLOAD/Po...ifications.pdf

http://1999southwind.com/DOWNLOAD/PowerGear_Parts.pdf

..

Waiter21 · 05-27-2017, 06:16 AM

Additional thoughts -

Assuming you have a power Gear hydraulic. My first stop would be to drain the system and refill with new fluid. Then cycle the system a couple times to get air out of the lines. Run the jacks all the way down and let them sit for a few minutes to allow any foam in the cylinders to float to the top, then retract the jacks fully. Repeat this a couple time, verify the tank is full after the jacks are completely retracted.

If someone put in the wrong fluid or perhaps put in some stop leak, This could have caused the o-rings to swell up. This could cause the valves to stick or bind, and not fully open.

If you can get part numbers from the jacks, pump assemble, and thecontrol panel. This will help you a lot in the future.

WendyG · 05-27-2017, 06:17 AM

Take a look around odds are you will find the manufacturer and likely the model of your jacks. You really need to know; you will want to obtain and read the manual for your product.

Mine rig is a 2005 adventurer-clone and it has HWH. It says HWH on my dash control pad. If I crawl underneath, the jacks are labeled with series/model numbers.

azpete · 05-27-2017, 10:12 AM

a 96 winnebago would have hwh jacks, if they are factory installed. if you have to pry them up, they have to be rebuilt. this is the root cause behind burnt and shorted hydraulic solenoids. when they dont retract, the system holds the solenoids open, and after several times doing this will burn out the solenoids.
you can buy new oe reman from hwh, stuarts in indiana, ppl rv, or other places on the internet. ask about the warranty.
to get them rebuilt, email [email protected]
furnish the same info as you would your car. name, address, phone number, vin, make and model of your coach. this is for your warranty.
they will email you a rga number for tracking purposes. send them in and it takes about three weeks to get them back. the only price they will quote is a worst case situation. the cost of a reman jack. this is because they dont know whats wrong with your jack.

vettenuts · 05-27-2017, 11:28 AM

I just ordered two new solenoid valves from Stuart's. Spoke to him on the phone and he was very helpful. Got the new valves very quickly and while on the road at one of our stops.

azpete · 05-28-2017, 11:24 AM

yeah, stuarts is great. good guys to deal with.

royt911 · 05-31-2017, 05:13 PM

I'd add a picture of the controls but this forum doesn't give me this option.

It does say HWH on the controls.

I didn't mention it before but another issue I am having is the slider comes out after a couple days at the bottom. It opens up to about 3 inches or so. Not sure what is going on there and not sure if it is related to the leveling jacks issue.

Hikerdogs · 06-01-2017, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starsekr

HWH factory advice is to extend the jacks and spray and wipe with WD-40. They were pretty adamant in being against silicon lubes. They also suggested that you use a wetted Q tip and wipe the grit and crud out of the seal area at the top of the ram. This usually works for me. The rams should be smooth and shiny with no grooves or scratches on them. I don't believe fixed HWH jacks have grease fittings; the inside seal is lubed by the hydraulic oil. It is the outside seal that the WD-40 lubes.

If you have a weight shift, i.e. sloped parking spot, three coming up and one still down, this can sometimes be caused by side loads on the down jack. Solution is to extend all jacks to relieve the weight and see if the problem jack will come up by itself. It is a PITA, bring them up a little at a time until most of the weight is on the RV springs. Then they will usually retract.
Other suggestion, HWH came up with a new spring design, look into replacing old springs with new, if you can't figure any other reason out.

Are you certain this is advise from the factory? The reason I ask is this was the procedure I was using back in 2001 on our on our 2001 Adventurer. I often found specs of road tar and other contaminants on the rams and in the seal area. Just wiping them off wasn't removing any of the stuck on gunk. I tried WD 40 and, it dissolved the tar and everything worked fine again.

When I mentioned this procedure to an HWH rep he looked horrified. He went into a long tirade about the WD 40 leaving an oily film that would attract more dirt. He also gave me a lecture on how WD40 was incompatible with the seal material, and that it's use would all but insure leaking cylinders. I continued using the same procedure during the entire 12+ years we had the motorhome. The jacks continued to work fine for over 100,000 miles and never leaked a drop. If this truly is advise from the factory they have come full circle from their earlier recommendations.