goshawk
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Re: Happijac lubrication
Cannon, you could be right. I bought the camper used with the jacks on it. Previous owner did indeed back into something, damaging the mounting plate on the back corner of the camper -- fixing that corner is one of the jobs on my list. On the other hand, 3 of the jacks work fine, and the jack in question was on the front right side, which shows no sign of damage. And I can't detect any deflection in the stuck jack. But yes, with tolerances so tight, that could certainly be the problem. And previous owner might have swapped it around. Glad to hear JimK got 18 years out of his. That would do me.4KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Happijac lubrication
Update: still stuck, but I've learned a couple things. With the gears removed, at the point where the inner tube should slip out of the outer tube (but mine doesn't) I find I can turn the shaft easily. Smooth and nice. I figure that means the inner mechanism, the worm drive and all, is in good shape. Because it's no longer held in place at the top (and no longer trying to move the stuck inner tube) I can crank it down about an inch, so there's free space between the top of the inner worm drive mechanism and the welded plate that serves as a stop when everything is properly assembled. Which in turn means that I can tap on the foot end and move the inner tube upwards about an inch. Then crank at the top again, make room, tap at the bottom... and so on, gradually compressing the whole rig, pouring in penetrating oil as I go. I'm hoping to free it up with the movement and the oil. So: I can move it in, but can't pull it out. I'm thinking of trying a come-along on the pulling end if it stays stubborn. Maybe donate it to a tractor-pulling competition, LOL For what it's worth, the inner tube -- the 30 inches or so that I've had out -- is clean, smooth, in good shape, no rust. That outer tube must be a mess inside.4KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Happijac lubrication
Seems this is a perennial topic, and I'm the newest one in need of help. Thanks to KKeller's photos, and the pdfs, I've almost gotten my sticking stubborn jack disassembled. Where I'm stuck is getting the inner tube out of the outer one. After taking apart everything at the top of the jack (gears, etc) I tried to pull that inner tube (the black one with the foot on it just to be clear) out of the outer tube. Totally stuck. So I re-assembled and put the jack back on the camper and cranked it as far out as I could. Not easy, but it still functions with enough elbow grease on the manual crank. I hoped that getting it most of the way out, I would be able to pull it the rest of the way. So I took it off the camper, disassembled it again, and have tried all the tricks I can think of to pull the two pieces apart. No success. I can't budge it a hair. Lots of WD40, lots of tapping on the tubes. Something is fiercely stuck. Am I missing something? Something I need to remove before I can get these things apart? I hate the though of buying new ones because I can't maintain the old ones. Cheers, JS1KViews0likes0Comments
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Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Jan 20, 202544,030 Posts
