Levelling Jacks Leaking

[marbilupton]

I have leaking levelling jacks on the front of my RV. I was told by Camping World technician that they need new seals. He said he called Kwikee and they no longer make these jacks and don't have the seals and I need to purchase new ones for $1,600 each. Any idea where I might be able to find some seals?

[mtrumpet]

dougrainer wrote:

-Gramps- wrote:
According to the Power Gear tech I talked to, if you pump enough grease into the fitting that you see it come out the seal, you have a blown seal, or you just blew it out yourself. Best to use only two or three pumps of the gun, not till you see grease coming out.

I have done more than 50 Powergear lubes in the past 20 years. I will bet if you talk to that Power gear tech, that is 50 more than he has done. And at no time when the grease oozed out has it ever caused a leak or operational problem. Doug

Doug is absolutely correct. The reason that it's oozing out when greased is because it's coming out from behind the Wiper seal (which is not the actual high pressure Rod Seal.) The Wiper seal lip is facing outward - away from the pressure. Therefore, the grease is merely pushing the lips open and therefore oozing out.

The cross-sections of Power Gear Rod Glands that I've seen have a grease fitting that enters in between the Wiper and the Rod Seal. For what exact reason they have a grease fitting there, I'm not quite sure exactly?

The seal that you actually "see" where the rod moves in and out of the cylinder is merely a "Rod Wiper" and it does what it's name implies - Wipes debris from the rod as it retracts into the cylinder. The wiper does not "seal" any hydraulic fluid under pressure. The actual high pressure sealing is done by another seal that sits behind the wiper in it's own groove. That seal is typically a "U-Cup Seal" or sometimes known as a "U-Seal". Although, there are many types and styles of Rod Seals, these are most common in these types of applications. It is THAT Rod Seal that does the actual High Pressure sealing.

[dougrainer]

-Gramps- wrote:
According to the Power Gear tech I talked to, if you pump enough grease into the fitting that you see it come out the seal, you have a blown seal, or you just blew it out yourself. Best to use only two or three pumps of the gun, not till you see grease coming out.

I have done more than 50 Powergear lubes in the past 20 years. I will bet if you talk to that Power gear tech, that is 50 more than he has done. And at no time when the grease oozed out has it ever caused a leak or operational problem. Doug

[-Gramps-]

According to the Power Gear tech I talked to, if you pump enough grease into the fitting that you see it come out the seal, you have a blown seal, or you just blew it out yourself. Best to use only two or three pumps of the gun, not till you see grease coming out.

[dougrainer]

-Gramps- wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

-Gramps- wrote:
If it is a small leak shooting the jack full of bearing/axle grease should fix it, it did mine, which happens to be a Power Gear jack. There should be a grease fitting on the housing just above the leg opening. You will need a grease gun to do this.

Powergear jacks with the Grease zirc are NOT for filling the jack full of grease. Injecting Grease in that Zirc will NOT inject grease into the jack. All it does is grease the lower seal. IF that lower seal is the source of the leak, adding grease to that seal will not stop the leak. The systems operate at 3000 psi. That will overcome any grease. Doug

Of course it doesn't "fill the jack" it greases the jack cylinder/housing and lubes the seals, and if the seals are dry and leaking a small amount of fluid, it stands to reason that lubing them can stop a leak, and in my case it did just that. I saw red fluid on the jack leg and collecting in the jack foot and after greasing, that went away.

As to the 3000 psi "overcoming" any grease, greasing is part of the maintenance listed in the Power Gear Manual. I have yet to see any grease blown out of the jack housing and clinging to the leg, that is what the seals are for to hold the fluid and the lube. If they are allowed to dry out, then like a dried out garden hose washer, you could get leaks.

Well "Gramps" you are partially right. When you inject grease into the Power gear lower collar, YOU WILL SEE GREASE OOZE OUT OF THE BOTTOM SEAL. Not ATF. You wipe off the excess and you are good to go. The grease zircs are for when you have a jack that does not fully retract or extremely slow retract or makes a noise when extending and retracting. Not for sealing if you have a ATF leak. Doug

[-Gramps-]

dougrainer wrote:

-Gramps- wrote:
If it is a small leak shooting the jack full of bearing/axle grease should fix it, it did mine, which happens to be a Power Gear jack. There should be a grease fitting on the housing just above the leg opening. You will need a grease gun to do this.

Powergear jacks with the Grease zirc are NOT for filling the jack full of grease. Injecting Grease in that Zirc will NOT inject grease into the jack. All it does is grease the lower seal. IF that lower seal is the source of the leak, adding grease to that seal will not stop the leak. The systems operate at 3000 psi. That will overcome any grease. Doug

Of course it doesn't "fill the jack" it greases the jack cylinder/housing and lubes the seals, and if the seals are dry and leaking a small amount of fluid, it stands to reason that lubing them can stop a leak, and in my case it did just that. I saw red fluid on the jack leg and collecting in the jack foot and after greasing, that went away.

As to the 3000 psi "overcoming" any grease, greasing is part of the maintenance listed in the Power Gear Manual. I have yet to see any grease blown out of the jack housing and clinging to the leg, that is what the seals are for to hold the fluid and the lube. If they are allowed to dry out, then like a dried out garden hose washer, you could get leaks.

[tweetyvicki]

I had my jacks rebuilt at Custom Cylinders in Kentucky .....it was about $400 each and I was told they would be like new jacks.....had to ship them back empty and then pay for shipping back to Las Cruces, NM...had the rear done 2 years ago and the front last year......everything O.K. so far...this was on an Alfa See Ya 2002.

[BUTCHPHI]

Fully extend the jacks (or nearly so) then spay very thoroughly with silicon spray (so shafts and seal area is /are very clean and soaked with silicon spray) then run the jacks up and down several times (possibly spray once again in between up and downs). Over 20 years I have done this a few times when I have had seepage / leaking problems and it has always corrected the problem.

[mtrumpet]

Chum lee wrote:
I don't understand why locating hydraulic seals is an issue. Most seals are used in multiple applications, just like bearings, bolts, nuts, etc. Because of that, seal manufacturers standardize the sizes to minimize their inventories.Because of that, seal manufacturers standardize the sizes to minimize their inventories. If you have the old seals and a magnifying glass, there are numbers on the seal which identify it by manufacturer, size, and material. Most hydraulic shops can help you.

That said, some seals are not designed to be serviced because of how they are installed. If your jacks are like that, you may be buying new ones.

Chum lee

If that were only true, it would make things a lot easier. Unfortunately, this is not the case. And those numbers you speak of...If you don't know who the original manufacturer of the seal is, the number will do you no good. Sometime, they will print the sizes on the heel face of the seal, but those are typically done on metric seals.

[Chum_lee]

I don't understand why locating hydraulic seals is an issue. Most seals are used in multiple applications, just like bearings, bolts, nuts, etc. Because of that, seal manufacturers standardize the sizes to minimize their inventories. If you have the old seals and a magnifying glass, there are numbers on the seal which identify it by manufacturer, size, and material. Most hydraulic shops can help you.

That said, some seals are not designed to be serviced because of how they are installed. If your jacks are like that, you may be buying new ones.

Chum lee

[mtrumpet]

marbilupton wrote:
I have leaking leveling jacks on the front of my RV. I was told by Camping World technician that they need new seals. He said he called Kwikee and they no longer make these jacks and don't have the seals and I need to purchase new ones for $1,600 each. Any idea where I might be able to find some seals?

I could provide the seals for you. However, In order to do so, I would need to see what the old/original seals look like in order to determine the style/type of seals that are needed. Also, if possible, the hardware dimensions where they would be installed - i.e. Rod Diameter, Bore Diameter, Groove width (packing space length) to determine the correct size needed.

You may PM me if you would like to pursue further.

[hostage]

dougrainer wrote:

jyrostng wrote:
Some thing to try before spending thousands. Just me, but I would appreciate a way to fix something minor cheaply with near zero labor.

You can do anything you want. It is NOT advisable. You know, radiator shops LOVE Radiator Stop Leak. Why? Because they KNOW the radiator will have to be pulled and repaired sooner or later from the affects of the Stop Leak. Doug

sometimes.depends on size of leak and how much stop leak one uses
and type of stop leak;; did auto repair for 40 years and owned a rad shop

[dougrainer]

jyrostng wrote:
Some thing to try before spending thousands. Just me, but I would appreciate a way to fix something minor cheaply with near zero labor.

You can do anything you want. It is NOT advisable. You know, radiator shops LOVE Radiator Stop Leak. Why? Because they KNOW the radiator will have to be pulled and repaired sooner or later from the affects of the Stop Leak. Doug

[hostage]

jyrostng wrote:
Some thing to try before spending thousands. Just me, but I would appreciate a way to fix something minor cheaply with near zero labor.

ok got yah now

[jyrostng]

Some thing to try before spending thousands. Just me, but I would appreciate a way to fix something minor cheaply with near zero labor.