I love this forum for providing help in how to diagnose and fix problems. I successfully adjusted the clutch on my roof lift, which has ratcheted from day one ("that's normal") but lately has stalled after lifting about 20%, and I'd literally have to put my back into it to get it past that point. Good thing I'm tall enough to do it.
I did want to provide some guidance, though, as I made a mistake. I put oldetymeflyr's roof supports, one one each side, just behind the kitchen sink (and same place on passenger side). If I have to do it again, I'll put two on each side, at each end of the piping. Doing it the way I did it, in the middle, allowed the pipe to spread, which put the weight on a little fiberglass piece on the cabinet....there is no other support from end to end. It held for a while.....then I heard it start cracking, but I couldn't react fast enough to what was going on. It broke a small piece on the end of the cabinet (which is not visible) and the roof fell about 2 inches....which tightened the gap where I had taken the motor out, so there was no way to get it back in (it also tightened various parts of my anatomy when it happened). I put a jack under the piping on the kitchen counter, but immediately realized there is no support under the counter, so I had to pull out the pots and pans and build a support. I realize now part of the difficulty in sliding the jack motor out was that it was carrying the weight, because when I jacked the roof back up and ensured no contact, the motor slid in easily.
By the way, I did find that the motor itself was loose in the transmission assembly, which could be tightened by two nuts once the cover was removed. There was no gear damage. The clutch adjustment itself was easy....slide the gear off the shaft and turn the 3/4" nut ~1/4 turn, as stated. Getting the rubber o-ring (which is probably optional for an inside installation) back on wasn't real easy, just because I didn't remove the wiring from the motor and so had limited working room.
I also had difficulty in getting the lift screw out past the white piping, which although unbolted, was still in front of the bronze blocks. I found that I had to disconnect the passenger side at the joint (just remove the bolt) and remove the downpipe to allow access. The lift screw channel was almost embedded in the wall on the passenger side, so I had to gently pry away, and once I got the passenger side out, I was able to remove the driver's side without disassembling any of the white piping. Taking note of oldtymeflyr's advice about the location of the bronze blocks, I did mark with a sharpie, but I found they stayed in place even with lift screw/channel removed. I did run into difficulty rebolting the white piping to the bronze blocks....it was a job to get the bolt holes to line up. I was able to lift and hold the roof by hand on the passenger side, but needed my jack again on the driver's side.
A couple of other caveats....watch the wiring at the motor (my solar wiring comes through there, as well as the jack motor wiring) so that it doesn't get pinched, prepare for grease so that it doesn't get all over, don't lose the sleeve bearings on the bolt that connects the lift pipe to the bronze block, and obviously be careful with the lift screw when it is out so that you don't damage curtains or accidentally push it through a window!
A side note....there must be a structural member down the middle of the roof, which prevents the a/c and vents from being centered. I have two solar panels, so that puts the weight of a solar panel and the hanging cabinetry on the passenger side, but a solar panel, hanging cabinetry, microwave, TV, a/c, and two vents on the driver's side. I wonder if there would be less problems if the weight was evenly distributed.
If oldtymeflyr or whazoo or anyone else who has done this job can add anything or point out where I went wrong or how to do it better, feel free to speak up.
Thanks,
Mike
