Bert the Welder
Van. Island
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Joined: 03/11/2009
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Those with experience with them:
Would waxing the legs help?
Or shooting them with silicone type sprays?
Having a cover for the motor head units while stored, if outside?
To be honest, I'm a bit nervous/surprise at some of the experiences posted here. Certainly sound like these units need to be babied right from day one.
"> 1998 GMC 2500, 10.5 Okanagan, My better/smarter half, George and Finnegan(APBT), all I need.
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KKELLER14K
BEAVERTON OREGON
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Joined: 12/15/2006
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It has got to be really rusted up....that square plate has to slide out from the head. Just keep working it!
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ticki2
NH
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Joined: 07/09/2008
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A 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF makes an excellent penetrating oil . Turn the jack upside down and let it soak at lest a few hours , overnight is even better .
'68 Avion C-11
'02 GMC DRW D/A flatbed
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KKELLER14K
BEAVERTON OREGON
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Keep on it, don't give up you will get it apart. Once you do you will be happy you did. If you got the gears off the top, it will come apart. If you can't get the upper gear off, use some sand paper to take the burrs off the shaft. Mine got stuck first try but I finally got it apart. Sounds like you have a lot of junk inside the tube. Can you imagine how hard the motor is working to get the leg down?Good luck and repost what you find.
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Bert the Welder
Van. Island
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Geezus.....my new TC has Unhappijacks. This thread is pretty alarming..... Sounds like they are only meant to be used indoors.....
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goshawk
wyoming
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Thanks Draggin! I will patiently continue. It's good to know that I've got the concept correct.
JS
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dragginbaet
Qualicum
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I had the same experience. The likely reason is the tubes are stuck is because there is a build up of rust and grit between both tubes. You are on the right track; it's a slow process. Try using a better quality penetrating oil applied from the bottom. Stand the jack upside down for hours. You may have to repeat this several times before you get results. I separated the pieces using two techniques (the trick is you don't want to hammer pieces so hard as to cause damage). 1) I locked the jack in a vise and tapped the foot of the jack to get some movement. 2) With all the gears removed you'll notice a hole at the top end. I used a piece of rebar about 1 1/2 times the length of the jack and tapped it against the inside of the foot. Once thngs start moving the effort required will decrease. Before reassembly I cleaned the tubes with acetone and steel wool. Upon reassembly I greased the running surfaces of both tubes (it's messy). The root of the problem is that the recommended lubrication method is not effective. Little to no oil gets into the tube area and over time moisture and road dust causes gunk inside the tube. Happijac owners are left with no joice but to disassemble the jacks every 2-3 years to clean and lube the tubes.
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goshawk
wyoming
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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,
JS
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Ripit
Texas
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Thanks. This was very easy and helpful. Didn’t take long to take apart clean and lube and put back together. Warning, the plastic cap opposite the switch broke when I was disassembling. I found a nylon bushing at the hardware store that will work to replace that. There is a 1 5/16” rubber o-ring on top of the leg. Mine had tore apart. I’m not sure where it belongs but I looks like it fits into a groove on the top of the leg. Maybe for a bump stop when the leg is all the way in the up position. Other than that all went well. I found son bevel gears on etrailer and wiring junction boxes at Lippert Componets Lci1.com if anyone is needing these items. Good luck.
* This post was
edited 07/31/19 12:03pm by Ripit *
2017 F-250 Super Duty Crew Cab
2007 Outfitter Apex 8 Loaded
2014 Eastcape Lostman
2004 King Cat 296
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TCs_a_lot
Colorado
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Came off of a 2006 Arctic Fox, HJ 4500.
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