HWH Jacks

i have not seen a hwh jack where the shaft was corroded. not since 1973 when i started doing hwh repairs. i know never say never, but in this case, i believe i can
inner seals, or a bent shaft is the cause of a stuck jack shaft.

dougrainer wrote:
ALWAYS cycle your Jacks at least twice a month, even if not extended. Doug

Or you will end up like me, with two rear Jacks that are seized up and need replacement. And you don't want to know the replacement price! Because I am cheap, I have relegated myself to searching ebay for those two replacement kickdown jacks that I need. Love new old stock when I can find it!!!

DailyDriver wrote:
When I was in college (eons ago) I worked in a factory that manufactured hydraulic cylinders. I ran grinders for the shafts, dipped them in the chrome vats, and polished the shafts after chroming. I can tell you that chrome is amazingly porous, and is quite susceptible to rust forming beneath the thin chrome veneer. I suspect that any problems with the jacks retracting may be due to a rough surface from slight corrosion forming. This can be removed with very fine steel wool, then apply a protective coating.

If you are going to have the jacks extended for any length of time, it would be advisable to coat them with something for corrosion protection. WD-40, other forms of silicone, ATF, motor oil, anything to coat the surface and prevent corrosion will eliminate problems. This is especially important in any humid or other environment that has a high corrosion potential. The molecular film of oil on the smooth surface after extending the jacks will last for a period of time, but eventually will need something to extend that protection.

While interesting, it does NOT apply to HWH cylinders. IF what you state is true, then lightly using steel wool would NOT cause the cylinder to retract. HOW do I know that? Because I am HWH factory trained and have had extensive conversations with HWH over the years about this problem. THEIR Engineers are the ones that have found and stated it is the inside seals that cause the problem, NOT a porous metal cylinder. IF what you state is true, then why does it take a floor jack under the Piston lifting it up and using the 10,000 lb plus motorhome pushing back to SLOWLY get the cylinder to fully retract? Yes, your last statement is correct. ALWAYS cycle your Jacks at least twice a month, even if not extended. Doug

When I was in college (eons ago) I worked in a factory that manufactured hydraulic cylinders. I ran grinders for the shafts, dipped them in the chrome vats, and polished the shafts after chroming. I can tell you that chrome is amazingly porous, and is quite susceptible to rust forming beneath the thin chrome veneer. I suspect that any problems with the jacks retracting may be due to a rough surface from slight corrosion forming. This can be removed with very fine steel wool, then apply a protective coating.

If you are going to have the jacks extended for any length of time, it would be advisable to coat them with something for corrosion protection. WD-40, other forms of silicone, ATF, motor oil, anything to coat the surface and prevent corrosion will eliminate problems. This is especially important in any humid or other environment that has a high corrosion potential. The molecular film of oil on the smooth surface after extending the jacks will last for a period of time, but eventually will need something to extend that protection.

as usual, doug is right. wd40 is a cleaning agent, NOT a repair. it will temporarily mask the problem. if you want to clean your jacks, feel free to use wd40. we do recommend wd40 for this purpose. it will also temporarily lubricate the cylinder and allow it to slide more freely, for a short time.
first, clean your springs. road grime or rust will cause springs to be much longer that they should be, and will affect retracting the jacks.
on the straight down cylinder, loosen the lower clamp very slightly, enough for the cylinder to turn within the collar,and try retracting the jack. if it will not retract, or retracts slowly, outside the allowed times published by hwh, you should consider replacing it.
if you have the new type of cylinder, that is held in by a lower clamp, and it is slow retracting, or will not retract, you can remove the lower clamp and file it out enough to remove the paint. it should not slide out of the ring milled into the jack cylinder. this cylinder is designed so that it should be able to turn inside the clamp, but not slide up and down.
if the clamp is too tight, it will egg shape the tube, and the shaft will not move freely. as ever, moderation and common sense should be used in filing the collar. do not over do it.

Listen to Doug.

I hope that Doug has saved his list to re-copy each time this topic comes up.

Here we go again.
1. HWH jacks are IMMERSED in ATF when retracted
2. The ONLY cleaning or wipe that needs to be done is IF the shiny silver piston has sand/dirt/mud on the shaft. You then use water and soap to clean it OFF. There is NO reason to lube or wipe the shafts with anything on a correctly operating HWH jack system.
3. When a jack sticks from retracting, IF you can push it up in store mode with your hand/arm, you have weak springs. If it takes a lever or force to push it up, the inner jack seals are defective and the jack needs replaced or rebuilt.
4. The Jack needs rebuilt or replaced---PERIOD. If you want to spray WD 40 or silicone, that will temporarily bypass the problem, but is NOT needed on a correctly functioning system
5. HWH under warranty will replace any jack that exhibits the sticking problem. Doug

My jacks are straight down and I used silicone and it did not help. Should I wipe them clean and try Dot 3 Transmission fluid?

There have been more posts about this than probably any subject here. The most accepted fix is to wash the extended jacks with soap and water to remove the grime and grit. Pay special attention to the upper seals. I have also wiped the extended jacks with ATF fluid applied to a paper towel, and the combination has radically increased jacks-up times.

I would be reluctant to use silicone or WD-40 or any other foreign fluid.

Had similar problem with my 2 rear ones. Called HWH and explained what the service person told me and was told service was flat out wrong. He walked me through a couple trouble shooting steps and confirmed they were shot. They were less than 18 months old.
First thing he had me do is loosen the lower bolts and try to raise them. They performed a lot better. Don't recall if they were normal retraction at that time, but much better. Actually, now that I think of it, that was the only thing we did.
Mine have bolts at the top where they attach to the frame. There is also lower bolts attached to a bar that only attaches to the opposite jack, presumable for lateral stabilization. I loosened these.