Community Forums

Astontibs · 07-30-2020, 06:17 PM

2007 34ft Itasca Sunovo on a W-22 chassis. Kwikee Level Best 3000 leveling system with hydraulic up and hydraulic down cylinders. The systems is acting very strangely. If I need to rasie the right side of the coach, the leveling jacks go down to the ground and then stop and won't raise the coach. I can raise the front, the rear and the left side. My jack controls always raise the jacks in pairs and usually do not start lifting until both are on the ground. Then after i raised all the jacks the best I could, the left front would no retract all the way. Then when I tried to raise it again it actually started extending. THe only way I got it to lift was by cracking the line at the top and pushing it up manually. After I did that it did seem to retract normally but would not go all the way up. My initial though is debris in the system which will require a complete fluid flush. FYI, I did check the back 2 jacks for air in the system and they were good. I did not check the front. I also jumpered the control panel for manual raising before i raised it by cracking the line and the jack still extended. Any other thoughts?

Astontibs · 07-30-2020, 06:40 PM

I am sorry if this seems confusing but that is why I say it is so erratic.

HarryStone · 07-30-2020, 09:00 PM

Sounds like a controller issue. Have you tried resetting it? I understand removing the connectors from the back of the controller for 60 seconds resets it. Other than that, I'd contact LCI directly. They still deal with parts and repair for the Kwikee system.

Astontibs · 07-31-2020, 03:31 AM

Hey Harry,
thanks for weighing in. In the process of troubleshooting, I did disconnect the control to manually jump the system to raise the jacks as I stated int he thread. The left front jack still extended, I really don't think it is the control and I will tell you why. When I press the button for Front/Right/Left/Rear, the correct jacks extend until they hit the ground, it is after they hit the ground that things get erratic. This is why I am focusing on the hydraulics. I would say the say the pump is bad, but then none of the jacks would lift the coach and that is not the case. I am leaning towards debris in the system preventing the valves from operating properly. I was hoping someone had a similar problem so they could tell me how they fixed it.
I do have 2 numbers to call this morning once everybody is awake.

HarryStone · 07-31-2020, 09:20 AM

Hope you get it fixed.

Astontibs · 08-10-2020, 05:54 PM

After talking to Lippert Technologies, the tech said it sounded like I had debris in the system causing the valves to operate erratically. Based on that, I did the flush and fill last Saturday. I removed each cartridge valve and inspected and cleaned them. On two of the valves there was so much debris that the screen on the valve was deformed, probably from the hydraulic fluid trying to get through and pressure build up. Once i saw the debris, which was metallic, I knew i may be in trouble. Well I put everything back together, poured in new fluid and now the jacks won't lift the coach and they struggle to go back to the retracted position. I have to believe now that the pump destroyed itself and won't make pressure anymore. I have found used units for $2000 and I can get a new one from Lippert for about $2600 (with a 10% discount they have going right now). I was ready to buy the new one when I called a hydraulic shop about flushing my hoses so I can get rid of all the debris. While we were talking about that I asked him if had ever rebuilt a pump from an RV leveling system and he said they are probably very similar to the typical pumps he works on. Well I am going to remove the unit after this weekends camping trip and give it a shot. It has to be a lot cheaper than $2600.

HarryStone · 08-10-2020, 08:24 PM

Hope he can rebuild it for you

Astontibs · 09-10-2020, 12:31 PM

I removed the pump/manifold unit from the motorhome 3 weeks ago and partially disassembled it to inspect everything. Finding nothing obviously wrong , i brought it to a local hydraulics shop. They disassembled the the pump and inspected the rest of the unit and found nothing wrong, in fact they stated that the hydraulics looked brand new inside. Then they bench tested it and found that the pump was generating 1850 psi per the manufacturers literature. I do have to state that they only checked the pump in the retract position. They did not shift the main directional valve to check the extend pressure. Either way, this does show that the pump is capable of making full pressure with no flow.
This past weekend, I flushed all of the hoses going to the jacks with compressed air. Then I used the compressed air to verify that all the jacks moved up and down easily using the air. This also helped flush the rest of the fluid out of the jacks so I knew I was working with all new fluid now. Next I reinstalled the pump/manifold unit and retested it. I found that the jacks all extended and retracted the way they are supposed to, until they hit the ground. When the fronts hit the ground, the pump changes pitch slightly but the RV does not lift. When the rears hit the ground the pump changes pitch and the rear lifts very slowly.
To verify it wasn't the jacks leaking internally, I lifted the RV using a hydraulic bottle jack and then extended the jacks until they hit the ground. Then, I released the hydraulic bottle jack and the jacks held the RV up. I did this in both the front and the back and every jack help up just fine.
My theory now is that the directional control valve is leaking internally and not allowing the pump to build full pressure in the extend position. It is making enough pressure to lift the rear very slowly but not the front. I did pull the directional control valve and flushed it with compressed air and verified that the spool does shift with the solenoid and reinstalled it with the same symptoms.
My next step is to take it back to the hydraulic shop and have them see how much pressure I am getting in extend position. I am hoping it is just a failing O-ring but we shall see.

Astontibs · 09-10-2020, 12:32 PM

PSA for others who have the Kwikee Level Best 3000 system. The solenoid operated control valves on the pump manifold are Deltrol Hydraulics parts. I tracked down the part number for the 4 way 2 position control valve and it is DSV-080-4CON-C14 and I purchased one for $42.38 with shipping from a local Deltrol distributor.

HarryStone · 09-10-2020, 10:54 PM

Thanks for keeping us posted

Astontibs · 09-21-2020, 01:12 PM

Good news bad news:
Bad news: the directional control valve did not fix the problem
Good news: I figured out what it is and it all makes sense now.

The internal seals in my right front jack failed. That explains the debris in the system when this whole mess started. I finally figured it out whne I realized I could rasie the rear of the RV and I could raise the left side of the RV but I couldn't raise the front or the right side. TO make absolutely sure, I used my hydraulic bottle jack to raise the right front and dropped that jack. I let the bottle jack go and the front of the RV stayed in the air because the valves in the manifold were keeping the fluid from escaping. Then when I tried to raise the front, the front actually dropped. This tells me that the fluid that is trying raise the RV is escaping through the blown internal seals in the right front jack and going right back to the tank. It has been a long road troubleshooting this issue, but I am certain this is the case. I thank the earlier posters who turned me on to Custom Cylinders Inc. I just spoke with them and they said they could rebuild the jack for about $300. I have one camping trip left for the season and then I will pull that jack and ship it to them for repair.