Community Forums

RuffingIt · 11-20-2019, 10:14 AM

Hey Everyone,

This is my first post and I hope someone might be able to give me some direction. We bought our coach 2 months ago and ever since then, when the coach is sitting up on the jacks, we are constantly hearing this “popping noise.” And can feel the coach shake. I called Equalizer and they had me go through a process of draining 1 quart of hydraulic fluid out and then adding a hydraulic additive. It didn’t help. We had NIRVC look at it and they said that it was functioning properly but when we leveled out the coach, it still makes the popping noise. Has anyone had this issue before and what was the cure?

Thanks for your help, Joe

momdoc · 11-20-2019, 06:31 PM

Welcome to the forum.

You are joining a good group of folks here with good info to share. Sorry I can't help on the jack problem. Have you tried contacting Entegra directly?

Good luck and continue to enjoy the adventure!

schad · 11-20-2019, 10:08 PM

My guess is you've either got air in your hydraulic jack lines, or you've got a leak somewhere.

I certainly hope that NIRVC checked for leaks, but it's very unlikely they would have bled the system. You can do it yourself; it basically consists of running the jacks up and down, topping off the hydraulic fluid, and repeating until the fluid level is still at max after a cycle. Just be sure to wait at least 15 minutes in between cycles or you will burn out your pump.

If that doesn't fix it, raise the coach an inch or so and look to see if it drops overnight (use a tape measure; don't get under the coach when it's on jacks). If it drops, you can take that to NIRVC and get them to look harder. If it doesn't drop, it's probably, though not necessarily, something else. I think I read a thread here from some time ago where it was actually a loose slide cover. Unfortunately, lots of things can cause a popping sound.

Mwoodofd · 11-21-2019, 03:58 AM

Been many posts on this subject. In the green search box just above, type in

"Entegra jack popping noise" without the quotes, and make sure that irv2.com is selected, and you will see many posts on this subject. Can't remember the fix(es) many found, but you should be able to find some detail in the threads to look at.

Someone will chine in here that has experienced this issue.

MSHappyCampers · 11-21-2019, 09:23 AM

Hi Joe! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

I have no experience with hydraulic jacks as our coach has air leveling only. Just noticed you are kinda new on the forum and wanted to say hello! Have fun and keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

jestal · 11-21-2019, 11:04 AM

out of curiosity what additive specifically did you add?

We have always experienced the same sort of popping you described. First recommendation was to substitute/add Marvel Mystery oil which did absolutely nothing. Surprise....?...NOT

I then drained the tank as empty as possible when the jacks were retracted and refilled completely with the special Caterpillar hydraulic oil which has an anti-friction additive. So....over three quarts of the Cat oil make up the system fill. Over the next few days I cycled the jacks several times to nearly full extension and then back down to make sure the Cat oil was distributed thru the system.

That fixed the problem. Maybe the additive you used was not effective or it hasn't gotten thru the system completely.

My nephew is a Cat service tech/supervisor and has had excellent results with the Cat product. Checked with him before buying as I was skeptical and Cat is very proud of that oil at $30+ per quart. But it did work very well for me.

jmorse1 · 11-21-2019, 12:14 PM

Joe

Your on the right track with the additive from Cat...I was told to add no more than 1 guart of the stuff to the Equalizer jack resivour in my 44b so I added it 1 pint at a time with a month in between additions. I saw no improvement after the first pint, but noticed less violent popping after the second one. This was done over a year ago and since then we've cycled the jacks probably 50 times. Now we notice that the popping doesn't really start until we are parked for a few days ...which is much better for my sanity....also, ours pops more often and more violently when the jacks are extended further such as when leveling in an uneven site..so we try to keep jack extension to a minimum.
In addition, you might try extending all jacks and cleaning the shafts with wd40 then wipe them down and apply spray silicon then retract them
to draw the silicon up into the jack itself.
I believe the real cause of this popping is the style of hydraulic check valve Equilzer used in each of the 4 jacks . I think others may have had these changed out to a different valve.. maybe someone will chime in here...

Enjoy your coach

John
2015 Aspire 44b

Motorhead-54 · 11-22-2019, 06:52 AM

My 2012 Aspire had the same issue. Tried the Marvel Mystery oil and zero improvement. As others have mentioned, went to Caterpillar dealer and bought 2 quarts of their additive. It has helped tremendously...not completely eliminated but greatly reduced the popping. When we have large temperature swings from daytime to night I still occasionally hear it but it is now a rare occurrence.

RuffingIt · 11-22-2019, 10:33 PM

Thank you for your help. Unfortunately, all NIRVC did was to wipe them down and lube the jacks. I do not believe that there are any leaks as we are at our winter location and I do not see any leaks. I will try what you have suggested and without even measuring, I know the coach is dropping.

Again, thank you for your help. Blessings Joe

RuffingIt · 11-22-2019, 10:36 PM

Thank you for making me feel welcomed.

RuffingIt · 11-22-2019, 10:39 PM

Al, thank you for your reply. I used the same Cat addictive you used and perhaps you are right as I have not had the jacks up and down a whole lot since we got the coach. Appreciate your help. Blessings Joe

RuffingIt · 11-22-2019, 10:43 PM

John, thanks for your reply. What I did notice was that after I did the recommendation from Equalizer, it seemed to help a bit. It is possible that i just need to cycle through the system more in order to get the fluid through the system.

Thanks gain for your insight to what seems to be an ongoing problem. Blessings Joe

RuffingIt · 11-22-2019, 10:47 PM

Thank you for your reply. What I have noticed like you mentioned that when the temps change, I will here it more often. What is strange that since my post, the popping has been far and in between, which is a relief. I just re-leveled the coach 1 day ago and maybe that helped the situation. Appreciate your time, Blessings Joe

brobox · 11-23-2019, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RuffingIt

Al, thank you for your reply. I used the same Cat addictive you used and perhaps you are right as I have not had the jacks up and down a whole lot since we got the coach. Appreciate your help. Blessings Joe

I was told by Equalizer to cycle the jacks all the way up, then all the way down 3 times to bleed any air out of the system. However don't do it all at the same time, wait for the motor to cool. The Equalizer tech did not and burnt the motor out.

The coach going out of level could be air in the lines.