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Old 06-23-2017, 06:41 PM   #1
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Can heat make the hydraulic fluid splatter out?

We are traveling home through Redding, California, where the temperature is brutally hot. Was reading 108 degrees. We are driving a 2010 Fleetwood Providence/Discovery with auto leveling. When we tried to auto level, the front jacks came down, but not the back. We manually levelled them, and I heard a loud whooshing sound as they came down.

My DH noticed the tow car is now spattered woth what looks loke hydraulic fluid. He checked the level, and it was fine.

I am wondering if it is related to the heat. We plan to leave early tomorrow before the heat kicks in, but worrying about the jacks. We have already had to replace one rear jack and the sensor that indicates fluid level.

If it spewed out fluid, will it be too low to retract? Really want to get it into our RV place, 250 miles away.
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Old 06-23-2017, 06:46 PM   #2
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Depending on the jack setup, it should have springs to retract the jack and not use hydraulic pressure. I wouldn't extend the Jacks again until you find out what is leaking and why.
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Old 06-23-2017, 06:58 PM   #3
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The answer is no, heat alone will not afect a proper hydraulic system. I have flown my venerable C-130 Hercules aircraft out of Al Udied Air Base in Qatar (100%nasty)and it's as much 130F there. And the hydraulic pumps live in nacelles which produce lots of hotness. Hydraulcs on aircraft are pretty robust, but they easily withstand -40F to really really hotF if the system is properly built and maintained. Your system should be ok at 108F, unless there is an underlying problem.


So, go do some underlying. Put a straw in your beer and crawl under the mh and look for a trail of hydraulic fluid. It can't go up wind very far so the trail, the leading edge of that trail should get you pretty close.
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Old 06-23-2017, 07:23 PM   #4
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We know it came out of the reservoir. That is why I wondered if it could overflow from the heat. Guess not! I hope we can retract and get home tomorrow!
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Old 06-23-2017, 10:08 PM   #5
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My guess is the tech did not purge the hydraulic system of air after replacing the jack. When the jacks were retracted the "whoosh" was compressed air being expelled. Along with the air was some hydraulic oil.
The method of purging the system of air is: insure oil level is full, extend jacks-retract jacks, check oil level, repeat for 2-3 cycles. When oil level remains full the system is purged of air.
NEVER add hydraulic oil when jacks are extended. Already done that once, what a mess.
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Old 06-24-2017, 07:04 AM   #6
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Years ago we retracted the jacks (HWH) at 30 degrees then went down to Death Valley. It was 106 and the jack alarm sounded. The jacks came down an inch and retracted when I pushed the retract button. Never happened again; so I thing the fluid expanded a bit.
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Old 06-25-2017, 08:21 AM   #7
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Thank you to everyone for your thoughts! And the sequel

Next morning we started the RV to pull in the slides, etc. When the RV started, the jacks all retracted without our turning on the control panel. I don't know if that behavior is related to the hydraulic spraying, but I don't think it should happen.

The beast is in the transmission shop anyway. We also got the Check engine light, communication error message. We had this happen once before, and it went away after being turned off for half an hour. We had the tranny software updated and thouht it was fixed. This time it did not go away, and we elected to have it towed to the transmission repair place. With the heat in the 110's, we could not risk a breakdown on the road.

I don't know if these issues are related. Doesn't seem like they could be, but something is not right!
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Old 06-25-2017, 12:11 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kathy Winzer View Post
We are traveling home through Redding, California, where the temperature is brutally hot. Was reading 108 degrees. We are driving a 2010 Fleetwood Providence/Discovery with auto leveling. When we tried to auto level, the front jacks came down, but not the back. We manually levelled them, and I heard a loud whooshing sound as they came down.

My DH noticed the tow car is now spattered woth what looks loke hydraulic fluid. He checked the level, and it was fine.

I am wondering if it is related to the heat. We plan to leave early tomorrow before the heat kicks in, but worrying about the jacks. We have already had to replace one rear jack and the sensor that indicates fluid level.

If it spewed out fluid, will it be too low to retract? Really want to get it into our RV place, 250 miles away.
Kathy,
First off, how long ago, was that one jack replaced? Another words, have you used your jacks, to level the coach, SINCE that jack was installed? If so, how many times? If more than at least once or twice, your system should have already purged to the point that there's no air in any of the lines. Also, as has been stated, todays hydraulic systems are way more robust than one thinks. If heat was an enemy here, there would be failures all over the U.S. in zillions of coaches. So, you can rule that out. Your Jacks are hydraulically powered DOWN but, they are SPRING loaded, to retract. There is no hydraulic pressure needed for retracting .

As for the oil on your toad, you stated that you checked the "fluid level" and it was fine. Well, while it's "Potentially" possible for you to have leveling system hydraulic fluid on your toad, it's highly unlikely. One of the main reasons is, those leveling systems have HEAT/PRESSURE sensors installed in them. Those are there to compensate for the heat rise in pressure in the system, due to heat and pressure from atmosphere, engine and road heat. They operate when the system is closed. When the system is at rest, as in when your tootling down the road, it's at a normal "at rest pressure". But, if heat from hot road conditions, atmospheric (ambient temp rise) or engine proximity heat starts to rise the pressure in the system, the relief valves steps into action. And that is what keeps it from blowing hoses, seals etc, while you're on the road.

Now, is this film of potential hydraulic fluid from any other potential source? Well, possibly. The trans can and does have a vent on it. If there was too much oil in the trans, and it got a bit hot, well, it's possible, not likely but, possible that it could have vented a tad bit. But, you'd have T-oil all over the underside (rear) portion of the coach.

Now, you don't say what length of Providence you're piloting or, if it's a SIDE radiator. You see, some side radiator'd coaches, use hydraulic oil from a pump, usually the power steering pump, to power up the cooling fan, on a side radiator. Now, if you have a side radiator and, have a hydraulic powered fan, can you have a leak in that system, yeah sure. Again, you'd have signs and symptoms (old EMT and Paramedic speak here) of that system leaking .

So, some close examination of all potential areas of leak is in order. Please inform us of what you find so that we all may learn.
Scott
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Old 06-25-2017, 09:23 PM   #9
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It could be the oil on the towed did not come from the HWH system, your engine may have a slobber tube/crankcase breather that expelled oil during that hot weather driving.
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Old 06-25-2017, 11:26 PM   #10
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We could see fluid around the top of the reservoir, which was covered in the fluid. My husband's hands were covered with it, when he went to check the level. He had to wait a while to check the level after it was cooled a bit.

We have a 40' Providence/Discovery. The jack was replaced early after we bought the rig and has been used for at least four trips since.

As I wrote above, it is now at the tranmission repair shop for the other problem (see above). I will update when we hear more from them.
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Old 06-26-2017, 04:34 AM   #11
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I think that heating in the hydraulic fluid is caused by the losses of input power.
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Old 06-26-2017, 09:17 AM   #12
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it is possible the trans fluid came from the transmission. the fluid in the leveling system tank expands with heat, but the mfg usually leaves enough room in the tank for expansion of fluid. if you had a jack replaced, running it a couple of times is enough to bleed the air out of the cylinder and lines.
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Old 06-26-2017, 10:17 AM   #13
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Just curious, but why did you have to replace the rear jack leg? If your coach is like mine, the stabilizer jack legs have a grease (Zerk) fitting down at the bottom. Make sure you pump several shots of grease in each one. This will lubricate the seals and minimize any fluid leakage.

Like others have mentioned here, it sure sounds like there was air trapped in the system.
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Old 06-26-2017, 10:31 AM   #14
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Different coach manufacturers , use different leveling systems , and those systems are subject to changes over the years .
So it's very important to include all the info you can when posting .
I believe that " Power Gear " levelers use the grease fitting that ; Bigd9 ; mentioned , while HWH levelers do not .
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