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bigfootford

Fair Oaks, California

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Posted: 08/12/12 07:50pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Pete_k wrote:

I do mine a little different but its worked for over 6 years. Taking a picture from the first post.
[image]
[image]
And just taking the motor off the top. In the above picture you can see there's room to use a White grease spray can and straw placing the straw next to these small openings around that inside SQ you can shoot this White Grease down onto the worm gear.
Sure beats tearing your jacks in pieces. And doing it this way It takes me less then an hour to do all 4 jacks with the camper sitting on the truck.
Plus less room for me to mess something up or leave a step out that could cause a camper to fall.

Pete


If it were this simple those of us that have taken our jacks apart would have not had to...

Someday you will have to....but for now, I am glad that works for you..

Jim


2000 2500 9.6 Bigfoot,94 F250, Vision 19.5, Mich 245/70XDS2's, Bilstein shocks, air bags/pump, EU2000, PD 9260,Lifeline 100ah, 200W. solar, Morningstar Sunsaver 15A/ display panel, Trimetric, Delorme/laptop, Holux gps rec,led lights, Wave-3 heat.

wnjj

Cornelius, Oregon

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Posted: 08/12/12 02:27pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

magic43 wrote:

The 4 nylon pads on the bottom seem to be doing their job because there was no paint skimmed off of the center of the jack leg. Of course, uneven terrain puts uneven pressures on the jack legs so surely there is some flexing taking place.

All 4 of my jacks are missing paint, but only one had any sign of any paint build up. A silicone spray may improve the slideability is that a new word?)of the jack legs. Surely it would not do any harm.


HJ recommend waxing both the inner and outer tubes. Maybe that would help prevent the paint scraping?

magic43

Brookhaven, Ms.

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Posted: 08/12/12 12:02pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

The 4 nylon pads on the bottom seem to be doing their job because there was no paint skimmed off of the center of the jack leg. Of course, uneven terrain puts uneven pressures on the jack legs so surely there is some flexing taking place.

All 4 of my jacks are missing paint, but only one had any sign of any paint build up. A silicone spray may improve the slideability (is that a new word?)of the jack legs. Surely it would not do any harm.

* This post was edited 08/12/12 06:52pm by magic43 *


magic43

bigfootford

Fair Oaks, California

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Posted: 08/12/12 09:59am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I have some scraping/scratching going on but it is the area where the 4 guide pads are at the bottom inside of the outer tube....
Some places on the inner tube I do have a bit of flaking...
My jacks are 12 years old and get used a lot...
I customarily drop them every time we camp...For slightly leveling and stabilization... The Wife does not like the feeling of being in a boat that rocks when you turn over in bed...

Wonder what Atwood jacks do for centering...

Jim

Artum Snowbird

Campbell River, B.C., Canada

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Posted: 08/12/12 09:53am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I certainly have some of the paint scraped off my inner tube as well... I wonder how this is happening?


Mike
2012 Winnebago Impulse Silver 26QP
2005 16.6 Double Eagle
2018 Jeep Wrangler JK
previously Snowbird Campers,
Triple E Motorhome and Fifth Wheel

bigfootford

Fair Oaks, California

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Posted: 08/12/12 09:25am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Wow, I find that interesting! I always thought the inside tube was suppose to float. The nylon pads at the bottom "inside" of the outer tube was there to center the inner tube.

This is something for us all to watch for now...

The process of disassy of the jacks is actually a simple process...
The main thing is making sure the shims and load bearings are put together in the proper sequence.

Thanks for posting your findings..



Jim

KKELLER14K

BEAVERTON OREGON

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Posted: 08/11/12 11:19pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I'm so glad this has helped so many out....the info is easy to understand...when you see how it all works..it is not so bad to fix something that most anyone could do.

magic43

Brookhaven, Ms.

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Posted: 08/11/12 08:23pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Many thanks to KKELLER14K. This is a most excellent thread. My problem was not related to lube or lack thereof. I had no broken or worn gears. The jack simply froze up and could not be extended or retracted with the motor or the manual crank. After removing the motor and top gears, the inside telescoping part containing the acme threaded rod would not budge. It finally took several minutes with a 6 lb. hammer being applied to the lower jack foot to remove the inner jack assembly.
[image]
Slivers of black paint that had been skimmed off of the jack and tightly compacted between the two sections had virtually welded the two pieces together. I then disassembled and lubed the other three jacks and none of them had any paint buildup.

Thanks to this topic, I am now very comfortable completely disassembling/reassembling the jack units. I also copied the tutorial and filed it with the owners manual for any future reference.
[image]
Tightly compacted black paint that had been skimmed off of the lower jack portion.

* This post was edited 08/12/12 05:58am by magic43 *

Artum Snowbird

Campbell River, B.C., Canada

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Posted: 06/24/12 07:05pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I'll try this again. We are all a little befuddled as to what exactly doesn't come apart.

1) When you have your jack all together, did the inner square tube extend from the outer square tube out to maximum extension of 32 inches when you lifted the camper?

Perhaps the answer to this is NO, it did not, and that is the problem right there. Put a straight edge along each side of the outer tube and see if it might be bent a little. That may explain why the two square tubes do not come apart.

Recently I had to replace one of my jacks with a new one because I bent the inner tube about 15 degrees when it struck the ground. I took it to a machine shop and he tried his best to straighten it. But then it still would not go back inside the outer tube. Only then did we realize that the outer tube as well as the inner tube were bent. I tossed it then, only keeping the inner gears and parts as possible spares.

jjinatx

Austin, TX, USA

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Posted: 06/24/12 06:25pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Ted,

If you pulled the bearing off and the pin out of the shaft, it should come right out. Nothing else holds it in unless you have some different model jack.

The stiff turning and grinding noise sounds like the ball bearings in the recirculating ball mechanism are rusted like mine were, (see the pics I posted a while back of the inside of my jack.)

The rattling you hear is either flakes of rust or if some of the balls have fallen out.

-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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