Slide gear box with stripped gear question

[JGH1325]

Hi everyone, I have a 2008 Phaeton 42 with a stripped gear in my rear drivers electric slideout, the one with the bed on it. This gear is plastic and mates up to metal gears. The only way Lippert sells it is to buy the entire motor and gearbox together for a ton of money and they are out of stock anyway. I have found a aftermarket replacement gear made of all metal instead of plastic. I called Lippert and ask about replacing with the metal gear and they said not to do it because it would eat the other metal gear. I am looking for anyone that has actually tried one of these metal replacement gears and what results they had because it seems to be my only option right now. Thanks for any help on this problem.

[garykk]

What kind of metal, steel or brass. If it’s brass, you should be alright.

[OMMM4747]

If your manufacturer uses plastic and then tells you not to use metal ... Hmmm?

Maybe they know something?

Try granger.com, you may be able to find a suitable alternate. But you should consider the OEM parts so you don't have a repeat or create avoidable, self-induced problems in the future.

Good luck

[bhammond1980]

You should be able to replace the gear with an aftermarket version. You just need to know the pitch and the number of teeth. I would steer clear of another steel gear because the rack may be soft and not hardened. I am making the assumption that you're talking about a rack and pinion system.
Like the previous post stated, a bronze gear could also work.

[workingonit]

Of course they don't want you to buy and aftermarket gear. LOL. I wouldn't hesitate to use that gear especially if it's bronze. Sounds like you don't really have much choice anyway.

[Skip426]

Is your gear box a Lippert 18/1 Tuson ?

Gear look like this ?

[JGH1325]

Yes that is the one, Tuson 18/1 Steel. The only thing I have found available. Looks like there has been hundreds of them sold on Amazon and Ebay.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by JGH1325

Yes that is the one, Tuson 18/1 Steel. The only thing I have found available. Looks like there has been hundreds of them sold on Amazon and Ebay.

These gears are plastic ; the plastic gear is a sacrificial component in the reduction drive to prevent the motor from burning up in the case of jammed slide .
Order a spare and manually extend and retract the slide to check for binding before you try using the power drive .

[garykk]

I noticed that the gear advertised just says it’s metal, not steel. Makes me wonder if it’s not a potted metal or aluminum.