quail48
on truck
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Thank U much for H-jac info.... I think I have a sheared pin as I can step on the foot & get instant full extension... WOW ! ! ! They want $47. + shp'g to rpr... Will not sell parts ! ! Liability ! ! ! ? ? Bob
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KKELLER14K
BEAVERTON OREGON
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Wow I can't believe that Quail48!......True that the only thing that holds the whole thing together is that pin...but if that pin sheard off, the leg would just fall out...I wonder if yours is a different type, or should I ask how is it staying up in the tube???.
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KKELLER14K
BEAVERTON OREGON
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Again, oiling the socket with 3 in 1 only lubricates the socket itself and nothing else...Their suggestion on maintenance is misleading and is why I think a lot more people have jacks that go south from lack of lubrication. I have been told that the top plate eventually drys out and this is why it binds up. I also have heard that the bearing can go bad....I'm surprised that they wont sell the parts...again I haven't had anything break but I believe the binding I was experiencing was because that plate was not lubed very well.
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DesertDave100
San Jose CA
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A couple things I saw that are different from the comments on this post.
My screw sections are lubricated with oil. Oil would get there from the hole in the socket. It wouldn't lube the grease pocket or other failure points, but it would lube the acme screw.
There was a large o-ring between the square plate and the round piece that contains the needle bearing. On my jack it had broken up, and I think that was the cause of the vibration that caused me to tear into it in the first place. I've viewed several postings/blogs/photo links on Happijacs, and I've never seen this mentioned.
2014 Four Wheel Grandby. Rides on a 2007 Ford F350 6.0 SRW Torqshift
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3 tons
NV.
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FYI, I spoke to Gary at Happy-Jac today and he said that the jack screws on the 4500/4600 series are permanatly lubricated at the factory and a change in lubricant can allow foreign contamination to enter into the bearing area rendering damage to the jack. This thread is focused on the 4150 model only.
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quail48
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Hi Keller, The lower leg is retained by the brass plate & worm gear that is peened in the top of lower leg... Mine was not done well as it pulled free by me trying to drop leg with the release lever... The worm gear screws into this plate... I don't believe you had this in your pic's... I don't have a way to peen it so am thinking of drilling for roll pins as it could come out during use & needs to B taken off to reinstall it...
If others R like that (not well peened) the leg could come down at any time... I have drilled a hole at the bottom & put a screw in each jack to prevent any coming down. NOTE with remote!!
P.S. This was/is a smooth operating jack...
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bb_94401
Columbia Falls. MT
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There is something I don't quite get about the clinch spring. Can someone help me out with my thinking?
It seems to function in one direction to tighten down on the cyclinder that mates against the square thrust plate? The added friction of the cyclinder against the plate then adds resistance to prevent the worm gear from freewheeling under the weight of the camper and slowly lowering the jack? So in this case it would seem that friction is good and little lubricant would be a good thing and that is why there is no needle bearing there.
When turning the gear to raise the camper, the spring would unwind and the cyclinder would not rotate. However when turning the gear to lower the camper the spring would lock tightly and spin the cyclinder against the square thrust plate. With no or little lubrication, gauling of the parts would occur in this direction.
So if you lubricate it really well, it may freewheel? If you don't, it gauls and won't rotate in one direction. Then when the roller needle bearing fails it gauls in both direction without lubricant. Do I have this right?
To put this is perspective, has freewheeling been a problem for people who have rebuilt their jacks and heavily greased the mating faces of the square thrust plate and the cyclinder?
It would seem that with electric motor driven jacks, there is added resistance to freewheeling vs. the manual jacks.
Seems I've read more gauling, noisy, locked up jacks vs. freewheeling jacks and collapsed campers. Does this reflect the relative value / risk cost of jacks vs. cost of camper.
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wnjj
Cornelius, Oregon
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bb_94401 wrote:There is something I don't quite get about the clinch spring. Can someone help me out with my thinking?
It seems to function in one direction to tighten down on the cyclinder that mates against the square thrust plate? The added friction of the cyclinder against the plate then adds resistance to prevent the worm gear from freewheeling under the weight of the camper and slowly lowering the jack? So in this case it would seem that friction is good and little lubricant would be a good thing and that is why there is no needle bearing there.
When turning the gear to raise the camper, the spring would unwind and the cyclinder would not rotate. However when turning the gear to lower the camper the spring would lock tightly and spin the cyclinder against the square thrust plate. With no or little lubrication, gauling of the parts would occur in this direction.
So if you lubricate it really well, it may freewheel? If you don't, it gauls and won't rotate in one direction. Then when the roller needle bearing fails it gauls in both direction without lubricant. Do I have this right?
To put this is perspective, has freewheeling been a problem for people who have rebuilt their jacks and heavily greased the mating faces of the square thrust plate and the cyclinder?
It would seem that with electric motor driven jacks, there is added resistance to freewheeling vs. the manual jacks.
Seems I've read more gauling, noisy, locked up jacks vs. freewheeling jacks and collapsed campers. Does this reflect the relative value / risk cost of jacks vs. cost of camper.
You have it 100% correct. The cylinder and and square plate form a brake which operates in only the "lowering" direction because of the 1-way spring clutch. In the raising direction the needle bearing turns. Like any brakes some wear is normal. The worse wear is lowering the camper with the camper's weight on it. Once the jacks leave the ground (when loading up), the slack in the assembly pretty much unloads the brake anyway. So the more you lower your camper all the way down the more wear your jacks will probably see.
I'd rather service a noisy one than "improve" the design and make the brake fail. With a motor connected it really can't backspin but I have and love the quick release option and will gladly put up with the brake system to keep it. HJ may be covering their butts in case someone pulls a motor without supporting the camper on models without the release lever.
I don't know if there's much to improve unless there's a small round clutch friction disc you could drop in there?
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Neverhappy
Europe
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Happijac website : what to lube
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jjinatx
Austin, TX, USA
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KKELLER14K,
Thanks for the great instructions & pics. I had one jack dragging. If I tried lifting with all four jacks at the same time, the LED on the tethered remote would turn red. I ended up loading the camper by alternating between front and back jacks.
My jacks are old - the camper is a 2002, and it does not have the oiler holes inside the handcrank sockets. I shot some WD-40 around the socket and tried the jack again and it was considerably more free running.
Even though I store my camper under a carport cover, this particular jacks gets a lot of sun & rain on it. I followed the first part of your instructions and popped the socket out with the jack still attached to the camper. The socket was rusted and pitted - not shiny like your picture. Definitely because I could never oil it because no hole.
I chucked the socket shaft into my drill press and held some plumber's emory cloth around it while it spun. This got the rust and pitting off. Then I polished it on my buffer wheel with white rouge. Then, back to the drill press and drilled a 1/8" oiler hole into the socket. Smeared some new white lithium grease on the socket and gears and put it back together. Works like new again.
Then I went and did the same to the other rear jack. After having done the first one, it only took a few minutes to get the socket out. This one was shiny, so I just drilled the oiler into it, lubed it and stuck it back in.
One tip though. You don't have to remove the white plastic ring to get the socket out. In fact,it is better to leave it on. Mine is so old it cracked when I pried it off. Fortunately it stayed together and I was able to snap it back on.
I see you can buy some plastic caps that cover the socket. Do they just plug into the crank socket? Will they keep water from getting in between the socket and journal?
-jj
Current Rig: 2017 F350 Crew Cab Short Bed 4X4 Powerstroke, 2018 Grand Design Reflection 29RS. Dearly Departed: 2003 GMC Sierra 3500 Dually, 2002 Bigfoot 25C10.6.
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