HWH leveling jacks - 4 leaking at once

[TomChristy]

Wow..what a mess.

All of our leveling jacks are leaking right now in varying degrees of drainage. Seems to be coming from cylinders which are welded so no easy fix. Planning on replacing two these ourselves first then try to rebuild them if we can’t find two more..HWH cannot help at all right now.

We have used Dextron to fill when we had just one leaky cylinder..filled with 16 oz Dextron, and now all 4 are a mess.

Does anyone have a clue why this would be happening. Have been properly cleaned, can see the seals, etc.

Have left a message with Mr. Maddox as well.

Any help or opinions are appreciated.

Tom

[Mudfrog]

The Kwikee jacks on our developed leaks a few years ago. Started with just one, then a few weeks later, another. Replaced those, then within another month or two, had to replace the others. All four within a couple of months of each other. Sounds weird to me as well but that's the way it went down.

I was able to buy replacements back then but I'm not sure of the availability these days. Mine are welded too but from what I've read on here, could have still been rebuilt. It's been mentioned a few times that a competent hydraulic shop can do the work.

This website has been mentioned in a couple of threads.

Custom Cylinders

[Ray,IN]

Use this HWH quick system ID pdf to accurately identify your leveling system. Then you will be able to correctly request and receive assistance.
Another HWH part source is Stewarts Services in Elkhart, IN., which is the largest HWH parts source outside the factory. HWH has a list of authorized dealers on their website too.


Welded cylinder repair is possible. The HWH factory has the lowest cost for rebuilding cylinders.

[Sweetbriar]

Sudden leaks can happen with age but what peaked my interest is the Dextron fill not long before all started leaking. Are you 100% sure Dextron was the correct fluid and compatible with the seals? Just looking for a common denominator.

Welded cylinders are repairable but you'll need to decide if the added cost due to the increased labor time is worth the effort. Just to give you an idea I had an internal leak but my jacks can be disassembled (Quadra Bigfoot). $300 in labor for 2 1/2 hours of shop time.

Cutting open a welded cylinder - https://youtu.be/o1b9EtN3_XQ

[Jim_HiTek]

Probably not a popular idea but after you verify that the right fluid was used, if it was, note that when I had about a cup of fluid leak out of my Powergear rear jack several times after I bought that first rig, I had nothing to lose so I dumped in a bottle of ATF stop leak. At first, it slowed the leak. And after the 2nd bottle and several operations over time as a full timer while I traveled, the leak stopped. From then on, if I didn't over extend that jack (got in the habit to never over extend or put too much of an angle on any of them), the leak wasn't an issue. Worked fine for 12 years with only needing to add Stop Leak occasionally when I spotted a small puddle of ATF in the pad. Like once per year.

When I bought this current rig with it's HWH jacks, I found that the tank was a quart low, so I added stop leak as I topped it off. None of the jack pads had any evidence of a leak, I just did it for preventive maintenance. And so far, after 6 years, so good. No leaks.

I know AZPete is NOT in favor of stop leak in an HWH system but with 4 leaking jacks, it sure would save a lot of money if it did work. And it give some time to find the best shop too.

[Ray,IN]

Jim Hiteck, that's right. For instance my HWH manual says it's OK to use Type A ATF if HWH oil is unavailable. Then goes onto state "NEVER use hydraulic jack oil."
Some model #'s do state Dextron III is OK.
As you said, the final authority is the owners manual.

[TomChristy]

So we swapped to new jacks yesterday, drained all Dextron, replaced with HWH fluid, and all seems okay so far. Now on the hunt for two more jacks model 41172. If you have a lead, please share.

Tom