Community Forums

edgray · 08-05-2018, 08:59 AM

[QUOTE=LWBAZ;4325736]Unfortunately not. The mounting bolts thread into female sockets in the housing of the slide motors. The sockets don't go all the way through the housing, so your only choice is a bolt threaded into the female socket.

I considered running a drill bit through the sockets, the idea being to install a through-bolt with a nyloc nut on the other end. But the back side of the motor housing isn't flat, so that wasn't a viable solution either.

It's a poor design in my opinion. The motor housing is soft aluminum, which probably explains why the factory workers don't tighten the bolts all that tight (too easy to strip the female threads). I'm hopeful the flange bolts with their serrated faces, along with a generous application of Blue Loctite, will keep the bolts tight.

It would have been so easy to design the motor housing such that through bolts & nyloc nuts could have been used for mounting. Hard to figure why they didn't do that.[/QUOTE]
I know, I know !!! adding nuts to the process would require at least one additional tool, and take much longer than simply running a machine screw into a threaded hole. Too bad the motor manufacture didn't realize it cost them extra to thread the holes.

hawgguy · 08-05-2018, 10:23 AM

Your experience mirrors mine exactly. I did not replace the bolts, though in hindsight, I wish I did. Also, if I recall, for some reason I only got 3 of the 4 sealed with loctite. So overall, your writeup describes the "proper way". Realize I was doing this in 2015, uncharted territory relatively speaking. While replaceing the drive cog on the front slide I happened to notice that the motor mounting bolts were loose. This prompted me to check the others as well (which were loose) and this led to the discovery of the diabolical vanity slide motor location. To this day, I extend and retract that slide with kid gloves, releasing the switch at the earliest moment to avoid strain. Really, I treat all the slides with respect. I hate to be interrupted while in the process of extending or retracting.

Tim Fox · 10-16-2020, 04:32 PM

Bringing an old post back to life. Our new 21 Anthem slide motor has failed. All I get is a click in either direction and the slide is presently in its out position. So no taking it to the dealer to deal with. CS had me do a 2 minute 12 volt reboot, switch wires on the firefly module in basement to try and operate from another slide switch as well as hitting the direct button on the module. No luck. After trying to get the access panel off with a fair bit of difficulty I figured I better check this forum. Larry’s suggestion of the heat gun made a huge difference. Temps here are in the 40’s so the adhesive was extra difficult. Unlike Larry I am not able to reach the most forward self tapper on the inside edge so I opted to work on releasing the long inside edge. It’s gotten towards happy hour, so have quit for the day, but I am struggling to access one of the bolts for the motor. I can get a 1/4 drive socket on it and with a fair bit of effort I am able to get one click of a turn due to limited space. I’m hoping a fresh attitude in the morning will shine a new light on how easy it should be. In the mean time CS is sending a new motor.
All suggestions are welcome.

brobox · 10-16-2020, 06:53 PM

[QUOTE=Tim Fox;5483562
All suggestions are welcome.[/QUOTE]
Young mobile service guy, it's under warranty.

Pull folding chair up, open a cold one and watch him. Hand him the new motor when it's time.

Hayman · 10-17-2020, 07:38 AM

Hi Tim, What Chuck said . It's not a fun easy to reach location as I've been there done that , as you've found out and while I also tend to do a lot of my own work while under warranty I'd gladly skip this job !

Tim Fox · 10-17-2020, 10:19 AM

Went out this morning with a fresh attitude. I made a couple attempts to get the the one bolt on the motor I was struggling with. Still a problem for me so resorted to the fix all. I hit the motor with a rubber hammer a few times and lo and behold the motor engaged. I got the slide in and now it will be the dealers problem when we go in for some other scheduled warranty work.

bsaldeen · 10-18-2020, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

The location of the motor for the passenger side bedroom slide is a bit more elusive.

FWIW this issue came up a few weeks ago in PJ's "be sure to snug your bolts on the slide motors" maintenance segment at "Entegra University."

Basically the advice he gave was "don't worry about it, it's a PITA to get to it, and that one rarely fails. It fails the least of all the motor mounts."

Of course, "rarely" is not the same as "never" but there you have it.

I did 3 of 4 and left it at that.

DavidH2 · 10-22-2020, 05:36 PM

I have only had to replace one slide motor...... the one PJ jinxed!

Mwoodofd · 10-23-2020, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsaldeen

It fails the least of all the motor mounts.".

I thought about that too....probably all doomed...

mbcpas · 11-08-2020, 12:51 PM

We have a 2018 Entegra Cornerstone 45B with $12,350 miles. We have not noticed anything wrong with our slides. Do we need to be concerned with loose slide motor bolts? Is replacing the bolts with flange bolts necessary and is it a suggested maintenance issue after so many years or miles? Any information would be much appreciated.

Tim Fox · 11-08-2020, 03:28 PM

I believe it is suggested to tighten up the bolts, minus the bedroom vanity. At least that’s what is mentioned here. With the exception of the bedroom vanity, all the other motors are easily accessible.

LWBAZ · 11-09-2020, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbcpas

We have a 2018 Entegra Cornerstone 45B with $12,350 miles. We have not noticed anything wrong with our slides. Do we need to be concerned with loose slide motor bolts? Is replacing the bolts with flange bolts necessary and is it a suggested maintenance issue after so many years or miles? Any information would be much appreciated.

Even with loose slide motor mounting bolts (which you assuredly have or will have sooner or later), you won't notice anything wrong with the slides. Until you do.

My point being that the slides will still work normally until the bolts get so loose that something binds up. There are four mounting bolts on each slide motor. Three of the four motors are easy to get to, and with your B plan the one motor that isn't easy to access operates your smallest slide (the one in the bedroom on the passenger side of the coach). If that slide fails in the retracted position, your coach is still very usable. If it fails in the extended position, that's a bigger issue (as you can see from Tim's post above).

Bottom line, check the three motors you can get to and at least tighten the existing bolts as necessary. If you're willing to take additional preventative measures, remove each bolt one at a time, apply Blue (not Red) Loctite, and reinstall. I chose to overkill the preventative measures by replacing the factory-installed bolts with flange bolts, but Blue Loctite on the factory-installed bolts should be sufficient.