d3500ram
Colorado
Senior Member
Joined: 07/31/2006
View Profile
|
I did not need to run the rod all that much... it was in great shape and not dry or rusted at all- I did wipe it down and apply axle bearing grease.
Not going to powder coat the inside although I am sure that would have helped in not having all that crud build up on the inside. I need to just make sure to (as the mfgr states) to fully extend and retract the jacks at least once a year to distribute the grease inside and as well to keep an eye on the general condition of the jacks.
I am just very surprised at how quick the rust build up cause a total failure of the operation- I sensed it last year and noted to myself that I need to give some lovin' to the jacks and the only time I needed to raise the camper this year it would not work!
Glad I got it working without needing to buy new.
(edited by me for speeling corecshun.)
* This post was
edited 06/26/17 01:11pm by d3500ram *
|
bigfootford
Fair Oaks, California
Senior Member
Joined: 12/03/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Way to go d3500ram!
Run that rod in and out with an electric drill... PB blaster to clean the rust and then grease...
I use boat trailer grease BTW.
Good job!
Oh, you going to have the inside tube powder coated?
Jt
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.
|
d3500ram
Colorado
Senior Member
Joined: 07/31/2006
View Profile
|
Update to my adventures... ended up being able to salvage the jack but what a pain in the buttuchis.
I sprayed a whole bunch of penetrating oil in side the bottom of the jack tubes and let it set overnight. On Sunday, I again tried tapping out the inner tube. it was still very tough but made more progress to where I could remove it.
It seems that a lot of rust particles and debris built up inside and it was this restriction that caused my problems not he internals themselves as described in the OP's posting. I did go through the whole procedure as illustrated, but it was the physical binding of stuff between the tubes causing my restriction.
My advice to folks doing this maintenance is to first try to identify the problem and if it is anything like I describe, then spray penetrating oil prior to any disassembly. I was able to salvage my jack and with a little touch-up paint, it looks pretty good and operates like new.
Oh, another thing- be sure of where all the parts go- I ended up needing to disassemble again because I did not install one bushing in the right order.
Also- in attempting to dislodge the lower jack tube I used a brass drift and a hammer at the top rod. Even though brass is soft, the steel rod at the top by the gears in relatively soft too. I knurled part of it over to the point where i could not install the plastic square pieces back on. I had to take it all apart again to get a file on that square top of the steel rod. I feel as if now I could do maintenance on the other 3 without instructions...LOL
Folks- not that hard of a job if there are no out of the ordinary difficulties like I experienced.
|
bigfootford
Fair Oaks, California
Senior Member
Joined: 12/03/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Deleted post..
Jim
|
d3500ram
Colorado
Senior Member
Joined: 07/31/2006
View Profile
|
Well, end of the line for my attempt to repair/ maintain the problem jack. The instructions were relatively easy. Getting th gear out was a little tough- I ended up attaching a needle-nose vice grip and then gently tapped the steel outside shaft and the gear popped off:
![[image]](http://i.imgur.com/g3ML88bl.jpg)
![[image]](http://i.imgur.com/hbD0wOWl.jpg)
Once I got the gear off I thought I was home free to complete the chore...
But... the bottom leg would not extract from the housing! I think there was so much rust inside and it wedged between the inside of the outer shaft and outside of the inner shaft. There were deep scores in the paint of the inner shaft clear to the steel:
![[image]](http://i.imgur.com/ZrIChTul.jpg)
I tried tapping the lower leg out with a hammer to no success. Then I got a bigger persuader but it started to really tear up the foot pad:
![[image]](http://i.imgur.com/BUP2Kgcl.jpg)
![[image]](http://i.imgur.com/AFTWiNbl.jpg)
I figured if I could at least get the jack apart I can weld up a new pad so I keep on pounding. But in all of the banging I only budged the lower leg about 9"... whatever is bound up inside will no longer allow it to move. At one pint I had already resigned myself that I will be buying a pair but I wanted to get this dang thing apart to see the inerds.
Who has the best prices on jacks?
|
|
|
bigfootford
Fair Oaks, California
Senior Member
Joined: 12/03/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
d3500ram wrote:Was/ is there a consensus on the best type of grease to use for this repair?
I used boat trailer axle grease...
That was over 10 years ago... No more issues as of yet. I do use our jacks a lot!
Jim
|
d3500ram
Colorado
Senior Member
Joined: 07/31/2006
View Profile
|
Was/ is there a consensus on the best type of grease to use for this repair?
|
SidecarFlip
SE Michigan
Senior Member
Joined: 10/09/2016
View Profile
 Offline
|
jjinatx wrote:My 1st truck camper had manual jacks. I got a socket for my cordless drill that fit like the crank. Mush easier than hand cranking.
-jj
My RT's are manual as well. The TC is set up for electric jacks but the heads are expensive (1500 bucks) and I can buy a lot of cordless drills for 1500. Mine are the same, up and down with a drill adapter. I run 2 cordless drills. my wife has one, I have the other, she is on one side, I'm on the other. Takes us about 5 minutes total from storage position (jacks retracted) to extended.
Maybe 'Santa' will send a set down the chimney this Christmas, who knows.
I'm being a 'good' boy this year... I think at least.![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/rolleyes.gif "rolleyes")
2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB
|
jjinatx
Austin, TX, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 11/25/2003
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
My 1st truck camper had manual jacks. I got a socket for my cordless drill that fit like the crank. Mush easier than hand cranking.
-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.
|
d3500ram
Colorado
Senior Member
Joined: 07/31/2006
View Profile
|
It can be some work, but I have several 6x6 PT HT pieces of wood that I stack so that it is minimal travel of the jacks relative to the truck bed height. I set the jack down on logs and the crib stack makes it very sturdy even at that height:
![[image]](http://i.imgur.com/6r9JLC9l.jpg)
|
|
|
