jheppner wrote: When we had trouble with our jacks retracting slowly on our 2005 Dutch Star, our dealer said to clean off the jack cylinders with white gas and then rub vaseline on them. Works slick! We've been doing this ever since. Apparently when you're down in the Arizona/California area where its sandy and blowing the sand gets stuck to the cylinders and gums them up.
Joanne
Depending on your circumstances, the jacks and gaskets do collect dirt which do need to be cleaned and probably do not need to be re-built. White gas and gasoline or WD-40 and silicone spray is probably overkill and might not be beneficial. ATF is more than enough to clean and lubricate the cylinders and seals.
2008 Itasca SunCruiser 35L
2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
jheppner wrote: When we had trouble with our jacks retracting slowly on our 2005 Dutch Star, our dealer said to clean off the jack cylinders with white gas and then rub vaseline on them. Works slick! We've been doing this ever since. Apparently when you're down in the Arizona/California area where its sandy and blowing the sand gets stuck to the cylinders and gums them up.
Joanne
Depending on your circumstances, the jacks and gaskets do collect dirt which do need to be cleaned and probably do not need to be re-built. White gas and gasoline or WD-40 and silicone spray is probably overkill and might not be beneficial. ATF is more than enough to clean and lubricate the cylinders and seals.
YOU don't get it either. The jack cylinders are IMMERSED in ATF when retracted and self lubricate. The ONLY external maintenance needed is to indeed wash off any dirt/sand/debris but can be done with water pressure. You CANNOT fix sticking seals as the seal that is defective is up inside at the top of the cylinder and cannot be accessed without rebuilding the cylinder. Doug
this works for me:
paper towel, spray silicon lub (bought it at walmart) extend jack, spray up around bottom seal, work paper towel up and inside the lip and clean it real good till your paper towel does no show any dirt; wipe cllinder off good and then retract, you will see a big differance, most folks don't get up in the inside with a paper towel and thats where the dirt is.
and this is comming from another "expert"
* This post was
edited 08/11/12 01:17pm by melvonnar *
I have a right rear one that was going up slow. I was told to start the engine when I retract the jacks. Well, I did that, then it took a little over 20 minutes.So went back to just turning on the key and hitting the store botton. It goes up now in half the time.
dougrainer wrote: 1. There is NO NEED to lube HWH jack cylinders. The only maintenance is to make sure all dirt and debris is washed OFF the silver piston if it gets dirty.
2. ALL these complaints about sticking cylinders and how you can use lube or cleaners is just a patch for the REAL problem. The REAL problem is either old style rusted retraction springs or defective inner seals. 99% of the problem is defective seals.
3. UNDER WARRANTY, IF the jack/s exhibit the sticking as described by all these postings, HWH replaces the cylinder, because THAT is the only fix.
4. The Jacks are self lubing as they are immersed in ATF when retracted and it is a good idea to cycle the jacks a couple times a month. That keeps the inner seals pliable. Doug
Doug is correct. About two years ago I had a leveler not retracting. The reason I used ATF was I was mid season and did not want to put the MH in the shop or go without a leveler. Spraying was just a stop gap. I would raise it about as high as I could, without taking heels off ground, and spray it thoroughly with ATF. That would allow it to retract. This became habit for several trips, until en of season, when I could take the leveler off. I still carry a small spray bottle of ATF, now.
May God bless your travels
Me, The Wonderful Wife
and two Spastic Border Collies U.S. Army Retired 2004 Coachmen Aurora, 3480DS 2007 Saturn Outlook, FROG
doug is right. if in doubt. read the manual. if you feel the need to lube the cylinder, which you dont, the manual says to use wd40 or atf and wipe off. there isnt much that will harm the cylinder.
it may be that the seal is starting to go bad. are you going to the fmca rally at indianapolis. hwh can look at it there.
Got a call back the next day from them.. they said to use wd40 .. spray on wipe off.. I used silicone and it worked too. but I may try their recomendation next time.
2005 Newmar 34' Kountry Star, 8.1L W22, Blue Ox 10K, Honda Pilot, Bijon Shitzu (Sassy) dash dog, Two teenage boys..we get around ! Nine Provinces, Two Territories, 47 States, Northern Mexico... so far..
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