Replacing Power Gear Slide Motor & possibly guide bearings.

[Gundog]

Our last trip the driver side slide the largest and heaviest slide would not retract. I was able to get a couple guys and myself to push on the slide while my wife retracted the slide inside.

Yesterday I ran it out and it was hard to get it out but I ran it out to find the issue. I took the slide motor out and it has broken gears in the gear box. I have found a replacement on ebay.

What I am wondering is maybe there is an issue that caused the motor gears to fail. There are 4 guide rollers on each side that I would like to change out. I am not sure what the proper method would be to change out the bearings. I am planning to use a floor jack with a piece of wood to hold up on the guide bar to take tension off the bearings I hope this is the proper method. If you have done this before please share your method.

I may also change the pinion gears once I get them out and can do a close inspection.

Thanks Mike

[Gundog]

The new slide motor came in today and I installed it. I checked the roller guides and they look good so I did not mess with them. The slide came right in nice and quite. Next I am going to change the oil & filter and we will be ready to go on our first trip of the season.

[rgatijnet1]

Does it help to tilt the coach with the levelers so that you are extending the slide slightly downhill and then reversing the tilt when you retract?
I did that with my Monaco coach and it seems to make it easier on the motors.

[JoeH]

Gundog wrote:

JoeH wrote:
I had broken gears in the gear case too. Take a look at the gear case bushings and the potmetal case that the bushings are pressed into. On mine, I found the bushings to be OK, but the potmetal case had wallowed out thus causing misalignment of the gears and tooth breakage.

I ordered a complete unit with a new gear case the motor also had that burn't electric smell to it.

On mine, I was able to find a replacement gear from a used unit and I cleaned up the old gearcase , fitted everything together and filed in the wallowed out area of pot metal with JB weld. Repacked it with grease and never had a problem after that.

[Gundog]

JoeH wrote:
I had broken gears in the gear case too. Take a look at the gear case bushings and the potmetal case that the bushings are pressed into. On mine, I found the bushings to be OK, but the potmetal case had wallowed out thus causing misalignment of the gears and tooth breakage.

I ordered a complete unit with a new gear case the motor also had that burn't electric smell to it.

[JoeH]

I had broken gears in the gear case too. Take a look at the gear case bushings and the potmetal case that the bushings are pressed into. On mine, I found the bushings to be OK, but the potmetal case had wallowed out thus causing misalignment of the gears and tooth breakage.

[wa8yxm]

I have burned out a motor but never broken a gear. Did break a shaft once (turned it around and still using it). Not aware of any gear issues but I do from time to time hear of them breaking.

Oh on the power gear Rack and pinion if you have to move it manually there are two or three ways.

You used #3

#1 (the official) is to release the brake on the motor than use a 3/4" wrench on the nut that is on the non-motor side of one (usually the rear) gear.. only i don't have that so a pipe wrench or cresent on the square shaft (Worked but man is that a job)

#2: On the non-motor side of the gear locate the hair pin in the shaft and pull it. Knock the shaft toward the motor and pull the plastic bushing. tie these to somnething so they don't get lost.. Do the same for the other gear

Now push each end in at first either have two people push a in tandem or push in just an inch or two. then move to the other end. Once about half in give er one yell of a shove.. Use the locking bar

Putting it back out I shoulder bumped each end a time or two then put my back against the wall opposite and my feet against the couch. (Knees bent) and straightened my legs

But then I'm 6'+ by 300 pounds

[2oldman]

Gundog wrote:
It started by being very slow and hard to get back in. When my slide goes out it drops down at the end. When it comes back it has to raise about 3" - 4" then it used to come in fairly easy after it climbed over the hump..

Same as mine. It's been struggling to get over the hump for maybe a year now, and it's getting worse. I noticed the electrical conduit tube is touching the rail it passes through, an indication perhaps things are starting to droop.

I see scraping damage on one side of the underfloor, so I assume it's sagging and pressing hard on whatever is below it. I imagine one of these days it just won't come in at all. I do not look forward to taking it to be repaired.

Bringing it in is a slow process of moving it a centimeter at a time, getting over the hump. Takes time. Thankfully my slides are each on their own switches.

Thanks.

[Gundog]

2oldman wrote:
I'm having trouble with my biggest slide too. Did yours suddenly fail, or have you seen symptoms develop over time?

It started by being very slow and hard to get back in. When my slide goes out it drops down at the end. When it comes back it has to raise about 3" - 4" then it used to come in fairly easy after it climbed over the hump. I have cleaned and sprayed the rack & pinion several times that seemed to help. But when it failed you could hear a clunking noise from the broken gears. I really have to wonder if the broken gears are a symptom of another problem this is why I want to look over the guide bearings before installing the new motor. The guide bearings are under tension right now so I need to take the tension off the bearings to remove them.

[2oldman]

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[2oldman]

I'm having trouble with my biggest slide too. Did yours suddenly fail, or have you seen symptoms develop over time?