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NockOn · 07-26-2022, 05:17 AM

I don't post here often but read a lot

I just wanted to share my recent experience when I retracted my electric Jack too far and it got jammed. The good part is, I was arriving home from a camping trip and still had the original hand crank one in the garage. Took a few minutes and swapped them and was able to unhook the trailer.

After doing a lot of googling and pretty being told to go buy a new one. Being an experience DIY guy and retired aircraft mechanic, I decided to try to fix it anyway. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.

I opened the top part where the gears are and try to put a big wrench where the crank goes and still jammed. the gears looked good so I took it apart to the point where the inner silver tube came out of the black outer tube. Right at the top of the silver tube there was a set screw that holds the inner working of the jack. Once I took the set screw out the inners came out. This essentially one big screw with a big nut that goes up and down. These 2 have very big treads and would be very hard to strip.

I put the big nut in a vise and again with a big wrench, tried to turn the screw and it came free right away

Hard to believe it didn't come free when I first tried while it was all together. I did a quick exam and there was zero damage to the big screw or big nut.

I re-assembled the whole thing and was able to use the crank that comes with it to make it go up and down. Took it over the trailer and plugged it in but it didn't work. Checked the 20Amp fuse and it was blown. Replaced the fuse and it worked

Morale of the story. Don't listen to anybody that tells you it can't be fixed. Worst that could happened is you end up buying a new one anyway LOL

jrollf · 07-26-2022, 07:03 AM

BTDT many times. "Service and repairs" on RVs, and cars/trucks has turned into "just replace the whole thing" instead of fixing the problem.

Case in point. A bearing in the alternator on my truck started making noise, could hear it over the old diesel engine (93 Ford 7.3 IDI).

Went to NAPA and said I want to order bearings for my alternator. The young guy said they don't have them, the old guy next to him said they could order them, hadn't had anyone order alternator bearings in several years. Tried to get me to buy a reman with a "lifetime" warranty.. nope, did that on my car, took three "lifetime" alternators in one month to finally get one that lasted.

Long story short, installed the new bearings on the alternator, cleaned it up, and 10 years/80,000 miles later, the OEM alternator is still running strong. $20 for new bearings vs about $150 for a "reman" alternator. Well worth the effort.

I also don't buy starters anymore, there is an old starter/alternator repair shop near me, their rebuilds are higher quality than anything you can get at a parts store.

travelorer99 · 07-26-2022, 07:19 AM

I always love to take things apart before tossing.
A simple sealing fan is usually a blown cap when it stops working, and can be replaced. They blow or bulge, you cant miss them.
My recent Alternator for my 6.7 cummins was $436 for a remand, and 55 core charge. I rebuilt with new clutch pully, 2 new barrings and the brushes assembly for a little less than $100, and have a spare now.
Gonna replace the neighbors converter in a couple hours, as they put cases of water infront of the cooling fan and pooped it out, so ill rip the old one apart to see what goes bad after one does that.

carybosse · 07-26-2022, 07:58 AM

Yes, we don't have service techs anymore, we have parts changers.

The lift mechanism on my popup went out: I could drive it up with my drill motor, and then it would lower the cover with the switch. I knew it was probably something as simple as a relay. Dealer said $600 for the part and 2 hours labor to replace the whole motor. I contacted the manufacturer of the lift motor, the girl (she could have been my age, for all I know) said that if I was handy, they had a kit to replace the relay. Involved drilling out a couple of rivets, mark the wires to make sure you put them back in the right place, and pop rivet the board back into place. $60 for the kit, as I remember. Took me maybe an hour, including digging in my ammo can of spare bolts after I snapped one of the large mounting carriage bolts when I was re-installing the motor. I am sure it was defective, I didn't have a carriage bolt, but had a regular hex head bolt in my pile.

My biggest issue is finding the components to repair things. When I was young, we had places you could go to get parts, both mechanical components and electrical components. Remember a place called Evans Electronics on Plank Road in Baton Rouge. Believe that is where my dad used to buy the replacement tubes for our old television sets. Now, we don't even have Radio Shack, everything comes from Amazon...

NockOn · 07-26-2022, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carybosse

Yes, we don't have service techs anymore, we have parts changers.

My biggest issue is finding the components to repair things. When I was young, we had places you could go to get parts, both mechanical components and electrical components. Remember a place called Evans Electronics on Plank Road in Baton Rouge. Believe that is where my dad used to buy the replacement tubes for our old television sets. Now, we don't even have Radio Shack, everything comes from Amazon...

This is so true, hard to find parts. I was even reading that you can't buy the parts for the tongue jack. You would think that any reputable company would be willing to sell you the parts to fix them if you are willing to do the work.

NockOn · 07-26-2022, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carybosse

Yes, we don't have service techs anymore, we have parts changers.

Even by the time I retired from the Airforce we mostly replaced parts. The on base shops that used to fix things were on the way out. If you needed things fixed, it went back to the aircraft manufacturer.

wolfgolden · 07-26-2022, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NockOn

Even by the time I retired from the Airforce we mostly replaced parts. The on base shops that used to fix things were on the way out. If you needed things fixed, it went back to the aircraft manufacturer.

One of the places I worked did repairs on Air Force tech.
Your guys may have swapped but then sent to me to fix...

Marine359 · 07-26-2022, 10:47 AM

I’ve gotta say that sometimes it’s plain laziness that determines my choice to repair the old part, or buy a new one. I’m probably not the only one who has been guilty of buying new chain saw chains rather than sharpening the ones i already have. OK, when I get a stack of 6 old ones, I might have a dream that I went down to the basement and clamped my saw into a bench vise and got to work. Then I woke up and put new chains on my Lowes shopping list.

There are distributors who sell obscure electrical parts, but their market is not consumers. Their on-line catalogs are horrible. And, if you go to their location in person, you can wait for what seems to be eternity before somebody comes to the counter from the warehouse. Sometimes you can stumble onto the correct part on eBay, but Amazon usually a waste of time. One day, somebody will make a fortune serving the needs of DIYers by putting an exhaustive catalog online for electrical parts. They’ll become the new Rock Auto.

NockOn · 07-26-2022, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marine359

I’ve gotta say that sometimes it’s plain laziness that determines my choice to repair the old part, or buy a new one. I’m probably not the only one who has been guilty of buying new chain saw chains rather than sharpening the ones i already have. OK, when I get a stack of 6 old ones, I might have a dream that I went down to the basement and clamped my saw into a bench vise and got to work. Then I woke up and put new chains on my Lowes shopping list.

There are distributors who sell obscure electrical parts, but their market is not consumers. Their on-line catalogs are horrible. And, if you go to their location in person, you can wait for what seems to be eternity before somebody comes to the counter from the warehouse. Sometimes you can stumble onto the correct part on eBay, but Amazon usually a waste of time. One day, somebody will make a fortune serving the needs of DIYers by putting an exhaustive catalog online for electrical parts. They’ll become the new Rock Auto.

I've actually had good luck with Amazon. Last year the pressure switch in my water pump went. $32 for a new one from Amazon and was back in business in 3 days :-)