Leaking hydraulic hose?

[Mikendebbie]

My jack legs normally pick up road grime on trips, especially the rear jacks behind the wheels. The RV has been parked since our last trip in November. Lately I have noticed oil stains on the wood support blocks and "wet" oil on the foot pad...see red arrows in pics below - this is the drivers side rear jack. The other rear jack is dirty but there is no "wet" oil staining. All other jacks look dirty but dry. I assume my hose connections are leaking on that jack.

I suppose I need to clean everything off and look for fresh oil drips - right?

If I determine the connections are leaking, what is the next step?
Replace the hoses with crimped connections?
or cut off the old connections and install JIC 37 field attached fittings (which will be a first for me).

[Kyle and Lisa]

I have had the same issues in the past,finde your leak and replace with a better-quality hose. Check around local hydraulic shops for the best price. Once the repair is done check fluid level and cycle all legs and hydr. slides.

[twindman]

If you replace hoses, how do you pull the new hose thru the rig? Just curious.

[Mikendebbie]

Originally Posted by twindman

If you replace hoses, how do you pull the new hose thru the rig? Just curious.

Good question

…and also will I need to cap every fitting I unscrew? For example… Do you crack a fitting at the top of the jack and cap the hose and cap the fitting on the jack?

[ChuckS]

The hyd leak you have could be intermittent or actually require fixing :

I would first wipe down the top cap on that rear leveler leg and use a wrench and snug tight the top cap bolts and the extend and retract JIC37 fittings ( snug tight )

Now cycle the rear levelers a few times and observe for leaks

If none observed then continue to monitor

If one of the two hose fittings is leaking REPLACE the entire hose . Many NAPA auto parts places can make you a new hose in about 15 minutes .

Rear leveler hoses are easy to replace …even if you have the cross over return line from drivers side to passenger side rear hose leaking it’s easy to replace

Simply tie a string on one end and pull hose thru with string on the other end. Then use string to pull new return hose from one side to the other ( rear levelers )

JIC37 field repair kit fittings should only be used if you are on the road and have a leak and need a temp fix

New hydraulic hose will be 2 wire construction versus cheap OEM Lippert hoses


Note .. if the top cap is where the leak comes from even after sagging down the bolts then simply replace the large o ring on the top cap as well as the banjo bolt oring ( both are an easy DIY job )

I’ve attached a couple of PDFs I wrote that may be useful

[Mikendebbie]

Thankyou Chuck!

[Kyle and Lisa]

When we replace a hose, if needed we use a union to tie the two hoses together and then pull it thru, sometimes it may get hung up and you have to use a back and forth motion to get it thru a hole for multiple hoses.

[wed]

Make sure you are bringing up once a month

[drjjj]

Mike: Our 2007 is stored under cover in a hard surfaced lot. We have mouse/rat bait inside and out. A few years ago I noticed a minor leak as well and when I took it in to the RV shop we trust implicitly it turned out the rodents had chewed the hydraulic lines in the underbelly, which we had replaced. So, I would recommend you or someone drop the coroplast and check out the lines to prevent a problem.