major leak in leveling piston

[captl27]

Has anyone else had an somewhat major leak in a leveling jack. My relatively brand new 3725rl has developed a pretty serious leak in one of the lift jacks. The unit is in camping world getting repaired but now I wonder if this is a regular problem or a rare one.

[mhs4771]

Is it the seal on the Ram or possibly a loose connection on the jack. Had one on our SOB that was leaking and it turned out to be a loose fitting, once tighten, no more leak.

[captl27]

I check all the fittings and everything was tight. Camping world said it was the seals and that they are going to put a whole new piston unit in.

[mhs4771]

Seems nobody rebuilds these jacks, they're a throw-a-way item, just remove and replace. Had two replaced on our Montana and one on our previous SOB, keeping our fingers crossed on this new one.

[captl27]

I am hoping that this is not an inherent problem and that just a few of us were unlucky enough to have it happen to us. Hopefully this thread will answer our questions.

[Mudchief]

Check and see if it is coming from the top and not from the ram. I had a problem with one and it was a torn o-ring on one of the fittings at the top and was draining down the jack. It would leave a puddle.

[captl27]

Camping world said that they have to replace the whole jack and that it was an internal seal and that the unit is not rebuild able like old style cylinders. He also said they send the bad one back to Lippert and they rebuild them.

[jcurtis934]

No problems yet on ours, but we are full-timers and we aren't doing a lot of traveling and exercising the jacks daily or weekly. I thought the units were steel when we bought...bummer to find out they were aluminum. Oh well, they work great to date. John

[DQDick]

With the number of non forum folks we camp with and the fact that it happens on the forum but isn't a constant I'd guess you just had bad luck. Lippert recommends wiping the legs down with a dry silicone lube every time before you retract. I should, but don't, do it every time but I do it often and particularly after dust storms like we're experiencing now.

[captl27]

I am aware of the maintenance protocol but my problem started with less then 3 months of ownership and only 2 weekend uses. The stain in my driveway after storing it was unidentified until my identifying the leak last month. I have operated hydraulic equipment for more then 40 years and have only remove visible dirt to protect seals. Lippert want use to protect there equipment so they don't have to warranty there product. My piston leaked at the top not where the shaft enters the unit so I dough that any maintenance would have prevented the damage. I am just hoping to find out I was just unlucky to have this happen to me and that it is a rare occurrence with these units. I hope your experiences are correct. I am hoping to not have to worry about this again.
Thanks to all for your comments because I am now getting a good feeling about the reliability of these lift units.

[hickory]

One of our front jacks started leaking.I took it to a shop where they repair hyd. cylinders and when they removed the top cap they found an o-ring on the 'banjo bolt' was flatened one one side. They did'nt have the exact size so used one slightly larger and that stopped the leak. They are a pain to remove and replace but can be repaired. Be sure the shop checks for any cracks in the top cap.

[captl27]

Thanks for the information I will keep it in mind if it ever happens again. This time it was covered by the new unit warranty but if it happens again I will be sure to check out the o rings.

[mail2us]

We had same problem on curbside middle ram leaking and Lippert was kind enough to assist and service it in out west this past summer.Also a crimped O-ring helped the leak problem.

quote:Originally posted by Mudchief

Check and see if it is coming from the top and not from the ram. I had a problem with one and it was a torn o-ring on one of the fittings at the top and was draining down the jack. It would leave a puddle.

[captl27]

That was the same symptoms mine had and camping world replaced the jack with lippert's approval. Lets hope none of use have this problem or any other again.