"To all those interested, we have had the problem fixed, but it wasn’t easy.
If you remember, it was the relief valve on the hydraulic pump which was the culprit.
It ended up that the cap was so corroded that it had cracked and thus created the leak.
When the technician removed the relief valve from the pump, the five gallons of oil began to run down his arm and into his coveralls; he quickly put a rag over the opening and had someone run and get a bucket to put the oil in. So, if you are going to try this at home, be prepared! The oil does all come running out.
After they removed the valve and discovered the leak it became a search for a new part. What they discovered was heart wrenching to all RVers, the pump is made to order in England and would take 8 weeks to get here, that’s right EIGHT WEEKS! We were stranded in the parking lot not knowing what to do.
The pump is made by Dynamatic in the UK. The part number for the pump is 550135765160160. This pump would cost $1,030 before shipping.
A metal fabrication shop next to us took interest in the stranded couple, us, and suggested we have a new cap fabricated at a near by machine shop. We were grasping at anything because we had plans for the motorhome in the next four weeks including traveling to our daughter’s wedding, eight weeks weren’t going to work for us!
We sent the valve to the shop, said a prayer, and called our son to come pick us up (we were 1 1/2 hours from home).
Here are several pictures of the valve and the cap. The first two pictures show the valve sitting in the cap, it is NOT screwed all the way in. The next picture shows you the valve and the cap separated. The valve had two shims, one thick and one thin, a spring and a sliding piece which opens under high pressure to allow the fluid to flow.
The next morning we drove back to the shop to discover the part had already been installed! Hip, hip, hooray!!
We had an extra cap made so we were able to show you before and after photos.
We hope this helps out anyone else who is having this problem.
A shout out goes to
FUSION Manufacturing in Tualatin, Oregon, for suggesting to have the piece made and
Premier Hydraulic Services for all the technical help and custom work. Without them we might have been driving down the freeway when the cap decided to break instead of just crack and spilled all 5 gallons at once; then we would have been REALLY stranded, and possibly for EIGHT WEEKS!!!