HWH Hydraulic Slide Hose Replace Assist

[ziaptrn]

Hello all -
I have 2 hyraulic lines that are leaking at the ends where the female connector attaches to the 1/8" hydraulic line.
I've ordered and received the replacement lines from HWH, but am having a time of figuring out where the lines actually run.
The rig has 3 slides; 2 opposing in the front, and one in the bedroom on the driver's side.
The lines with the leaky ends both connect to the same synchronizing cylinder towards the front (there are 2; 1 towards front and one towards rear) on the Driver's side forward slide - accessed from underneath when the slide is extended.
The lines 'disappear' in to a hole going to the center of the rig, and I believe emerge on the opposite side connecting to the passenger side (kitchen) slide. I can't say for sure, because NONE of the diagrams that I have seem to show the layout that I see, and I don't want to just start pulling off hoses without a little better insight.
If anyone has done this before, I would appreciate a little guidance.
The slides are still functional; the leaks are relatively small but the hose is bubbling and the lines do need to be replaced.
Thanks for any assistance...

[Rbhein]

You might consider having someone watch the hoses on the passenger side while you exert a little pull on them. The least little
movement shoul tell you if they are the same line. If the are, you can disconnect the bad line from the fitting, and using a nipple, connect the new hose to the old, and pull it into place.

[ziaptrn]

HWH Slide Hydraulic Line Replacement

Hello all - Here is a 'report' of sorts concerning some leaking hydraulic lines on our 2004 Vectra. This is the abbreviated version (!) so I'd be happy to answer any questions not covered.

After noticing some oil leakage on the ground under the driver’s side slide, I found that the hydraulic lines for the passenger-side slide were leaking.
As it turns out, the two synchronizing cylinders for the opposing slides in the front of the rig (both driver’s and passenger’s) are located under the driver’s side slide. The lines running across to the passenger side slide were leaking where they connect to the synchronizing cylinder itself, which is located under the driver’s side slide.

Once I looked on the other side (passenger side slide), I found that there were 2 more leaking connections under the passenger side slide (accessed from the bay beneath) at the point where the hydraulic lines from the synchronizing cylinder connect to the hydraulic rams that move the slide.
All of the leaks were at the connecting points where the female screw-on connectors had been swedged on to the lines themselves. I called HWH after reading about a previous recall, but was told that since ours was a 2004, the recall did not apply because the problem was ‘fixed’ with the 2004 model year. Several of the leaks had enormous bubbles where the tubing looked about to burst at any minute (see photos).

After reviewing all of the diagrams online, I called HWH and ordered replacement lines for the passenger-side slide (which corresponds to the forward synchronizing cylinder on the driver’s side). Naturally, only one end of each of the 4 lines was leaking; it would have been nice and both ends of a single line leaked so I’d only have to replace 2 lines instead of 4 – but such was not the case. I ordered the 4 lines and they were received pretty quickly.
Replacing the lines was relatively straight-forward; I had to cut a bunch of zip ties to un-bundle the existing lines and then disconnect where they screwed in. I was able to route the replacement lines along pretty much the same path as the stock lines, and then zip-tied the new ones in place. The lines are long (218”) and the job is very dirty crawling around under the rig, but not super-difficult. The hardest part was understanding where the lines actually ran from one side (synchronizing cylinder) to the other (rams).
To bleed air out of the system, I ran the jacks up and down 3-4 times, and then had to add a little bit of hydraulic fluid to replace that which was in the 1/8” diameter lines that were replaced.

I’d be happy to answer any questions that anyone has. The hardest part for me was wrapping my head around how the lines were run. Replacing was not that difficult once I understood how the lines ran. The diagrams posted online at Winnebago made sense only after I poked around and investigated thoroughly. In short: The forward synchronizing cylinder has lines from the forward end of the synch cylinder that run across the front towards the front edge of the passenger-side slide. The rear of the same synchronizing cylinder has lines that run across under the rear edge of the driver’s side slide to connect to junctions found in the bay underneath for the rear of the passenger-side slide. The lines are long but stiff enough that routing them wasn’t a problem.

Once re-connected, all is well and all slides and jack work without a problem. Happy to have this one behind me, but even happier that the large bubbles didn’t burst while we were on the road travelling somewhere. Photos are of one end of a leaking line, the 'bubble' line end, and finally the forward synchronizing cylinder after replacement of the leaking lines.

[tboss619]

Did you check into the possibility of just cutting the old swedged connector off the line abt one inch behind the bubble and replacing the JIC fitting with a reusable fitting ..I know that HWH requires the same lines be the same length as the other line but they dont say the lines have to be the same length as the stock lines..you will only shorten the original line abt 2 1/2 inches. Maby Im all wrong here but thot I would ask.

[ziaptrn]

Hi -

An excellent suggestion, and exactly what I (and several others) thought of first thing. HWH manuals and service are insistent that this not be done, however. Re-swedging (per HWH) will never produce a tight enough seal, and the result will be yet another leak.

There are a few threads posted here and also on other forums where individuals have re-swedged a new connector and still had to replace the line due to leakage after the replacement.
When I was doing research, there were enough posts attesting to the situation as being true that I didn't try.

Just my decision; I'd love to hear from someone (anyone?) who re-swedged the ends successfully!

[azpete]

when a hose leaks, like what is shown, the fluid is forced back under the plastic covering on the outside of the hose. when any kind of fitting is installed on the end of that hose, it tightens on the outside of the hose. this plastic covering slips, and the hose leaks AGAIN.
when you cut the fitting off the end of the hose, you will see that the hose material is black. if you cut it back far enough, the material will appear white, just like new hose material.
if the hose material is black, it is soaked up with fluid. it can not be used again. its a guaranteed leak. i have done hundreds of repairs like this, and this has been my experience.
im not saying other hose or fittings cant be used successfully but for me,
its just cheaper and quicker to replace the bad hose with the correct hose, and fittings.
crimped fittings are normally rated at 1200 lbs, hwh normally runs at 3200 lbs.
if you use other fittings, be sure to check their pressure ratings and warranty.