Enjoyed reading all the tips here and finally tackled my "never functioning correctly" black valve tonight. My valve would seep fluid and never would close all the way. Also, it's always been very difficult to close and then would back out a little.
Paid a dealer to check it once right after we bought it brand new; dealer disassembled and claimed toilet paper was clogging it. Might have been, but it didn't make it work any better.
So, tonight I dropped the belly cover and put on the disposable gloves! I had no problem removing the 4 bolts and valve once I got my 6'3", 240 pounds wedged in place. When I removed the valve there was no toilet paper or other (
) obstruction. The problem seems to be the deformed gaskets wedged into the valve groove. It was easy to see where one gasket was obviously catching the blade and preventing it from closing all the way or sealing. The gasket is permanently deformed (I tried to make it look new again- failed!).
I decided there was no point in trying to make the deformed gasket work, so I will go in the morning to one of the RV dealers in Kansas City to get new gaskets rather than have to do this again. I would order from Amazon, but need to leave in the next day or so for Kentucky - waited until the last minute to do this job.
The valve works great with no gasket in; closes all the way and smooth.
Expect the valve will work well with good gaskets and hopefully not refuse to close all the way like it has since new.
QUESTION
: Should I lubricate the valve or gaskets with something? Vaseline?
Thanks for any input.