Leaking Hydraulic Line

[CraigBinFL]

While tackling a problem that caused my 30A breaker near the batteries to repeatedly trip (Relay Near Battery - What's That Noise?) I discovered the outer covering of one of my hydraulic lines had disintegrated and the line is leaking. Is it possible to cut out the bad section and piece in a new one, or should that whole line be replaced? The line disappears through the frame, so I do not know what it operates or how long it might be.

 

[RMcNeal]

If it's disintegrating like that, I would not trust that the rest of the line is good.

 

[Mikendebbie]

Craig - I agree with RMcNeal. Based on what I have learned from reading this forum, you should replace the hose…generally speaking, find a local auto parts store or hydraulic shop that can make you a new hose, tie the new hose to the old hose and pull the new one through into position.

Even though I have read the threads many times on this subject, I can’t remember how you figure out the length of the new hose for fabrication, and I don’t recall the best practice for tying the new hose to the old hose (duct tape? Or maybe use the fittings screwed together and wrap with duct tape?).

Also, if it was my hose, I would need to figure out what to tell the shop for fabrication details for the psi strength of the hose and the type fittings. I might cut a 3” section with a fitting to take to the shop as a “show and tell” - but if that fitting is needed for the pull-thru, I just screwed myself by cutting it off! So many questions from the uninformed!!! Someone here in the forum will advise you better than me…plus you can search the forum and read the past threads for yourself.

 

[CraigBinFL]

In replacing hoses, did you stay with the orange, non-conductive hose? The local auto parts stores only have black, wire reinforced hose and use Gates fittings which in their uncrimped state are too big to fit through the holes in the chassis near my center and rear jacks.

 

[ChuckS]

In replacing hoses, did you stay with the orange, non-conductive hose? The local auto parts stores only have black, wire reinforced hose and use Gates fittings which in their uncrimped state are too big to fit through the holes in the chassis near my center and rear jacks.

The two wire braided hose is far superior to the OEM orange and black hydraulic hoses installed

I have replaced two of mine with two wire gates hose and JIC37 connections made at my local NAPA store .. had no issues getting the new hoses to pull through the holes in the structure underneath

 

[CraigBinFL]

I didn't see the reply until just now and even then, time constraints forced me to make my purchase before it was posted. The picture makes it appear that the crimped Gates fittings might fit through my chassis openings. I probably should have asked if O'Reilly's had one from an old hose so I could have checked it. I bit the bullet and drove over an hour to Rubber and Specialties, Inc in Pensacola, FL and had them make a replacement hose for me. They took the markings from the Lippert hose and provided::

PF267NC-06 non-conductive hose (25ft)
A-0606-FJSH (female crimped fitting)
AF1-4 (male crimped fitting)

They said the fittings are the Japanese version of the Eaton fittings used by Lippert.

Total price out the door was $84.19, almost $200 less than O'Reilly's wanted for the Gates two wire hose and fittings.

Folks were extremely friendly, service was quick. If you are in the southeast and need hydraulic hoses, I recommend you consider them. They have locations in Pascagoula, MS, Mobile, Montgomery and Birmingham, AL, Pensacola and Panama City, FL, with separate divisions in Winston-Salem, NC and Morrisville, PA. Hoses can be ordered online. Rubber & Gasket Supplier, FL - Rubber & Specialties, Inc.

 

[ChuckS]

Image of a minor chaff on a Lippert orange extend line .. I did this when installing GC2 batteries and very lightly knocked a hose with the taller batteries when I installed them.

As you can see.. the chaff is very minimal but the hose leaked like a sieve

 

[ChuckS]

The hose that you had built up is 3/8 ID and stock diameter on all the OEM Lippert hoses is 1/4 ID... Also as far as I know both ends of the hydraulic hoses should be female.......

** Based on the PN of the hose you listed PF267NC-06

My Alpine ( same as Montana ) has the Lippert hydraulic system and there are NO hoses with a male fitting

Hope that hose works out ok... Did you remove the old hose first and use it as a sample? If so you also could have most likely shortened the new hose length

When I had my new hose made for the hydraulic slide I made it six feet shorter than the OEM one I removed

 

[Mikendebbie]

Chuck - how did you tie the new hose to the old hose for pulling the new hose into place?

 

[ChuckS]

Chuck - how did you tie the new hose to the old hose for pulling the new hose into place?

I taped off the end of the hose fitting ( to prevent getting crap inside when puling through ) and left a bit of an end on the electrical tape I wrapped around the fitting

I then wrapped it around the baling wire I used to pull through and wife guided the new hose from the front end at the pump manifold while I pulled the new hose through the underbelly bulkhead holes to the slide out cylinder

*** A better way would be to drill a small hole through a male JIC37 cap head and put a string or wire through the hole and then thread onto the hose JIC37 fitting

** We were in a hurry as we were leaving on a trip the next morning and I felt I could just snake the new gates hose through to the back end...

I had one bulkhead located just before the front tire that the hose fitting was catching on so I just removed three of the coroplast screws so I could reach my hand up inside and guide the hose through the bulkhead hole

 

[CraigBinFL]

The hose that you had built up is 3/8 ID and stock diameter on all the OEM Lippert hoses is 1/4 ID... Also as far as I know both ends of the hydraulic hoses should be female.......

** Based on the PN of the hose you listed PF267NC-06

I will need to re-examine the actual markings on the hose. I know it is marked Piranhaflex and 1/4ID. I'm wondering if they gave me an accurate invoice. I did make a mistake in saying one number was for a male fitting. Both ends of my hose are female fittings. I took the old hose for them to match, both for type and length. I didn't want to shorten it and then have problems with a bend. There are several self-tapping screws protruding thru the wall near where the hoses connect to the manifold. I used some old vacuum tubing to cover the screws I could reach and loosely zip-tied the hoses clear of the screws.

To run the new hose, I used a male plug in the end of the old hose and tied a string to it, drawing the string thru the underbelly as I removed the old hose. I reversed the process to run the new hose. I was doing it by myself so I couldn't keep the line taut and had to drop a section of coroplast in order to maneuver it around something. I was able to reconnect the hose without problem. The coroplast near the rear landing was already dropped in order to maneuver the hose through the chassis and tie up a coil of the extra length.

When I retracted all my landing gear and slides before removing the hose, I saw the fluid my reservoir turn really dark and when I siphoned it out, there was a black sludge in the bottom of the tank. So, I removed the tank to completely empty it and wipe it clean. After reinstalling it and connecting my new hose, I put in almost a gallon of new AW32 fluid. When I cycled the landing gear up & down, the fluid in the tank turned dark again! Looks like I'll need to get more fluid and change it out at least once more. Any thoughts as to the cause?

I cycled the leveler several times. Then I noticed that the front landing gear lifts and retracts when I push the button for the rear levelers. Is this a function of still needing to "burp" the lines, or indicative of some other problem? The front landing gear operates alone when I push the front button. I didn't think to try the right and left buttons independently.

 

[ChuckS]

Since your unit is a 2015 the fluid should been siphoned out and replaced twice by now ..

Lippert used to state every 3 years but have increased it to five years .. there is no filter in the hydraulic system so over time minute particles become suspended in the fluid ..

This can lead to issues with sticking Hydac cartridge valves, etc

I still go by jthe 3 year rule and siphon out the reservoir and reserving with fresh AW32 ( 2 gallons )

Newer units all seem to be using ATF fluid instead of AW32

** fhe “sludge” you saw at the bottom of the reservoir is actually microscopic metal and rubber particles that have accumulated over time

 

[CraigBinFL]

The fluid in the reservoir was a clear yellow and no sludge in the bottom before I replaced the leaking line.

 

[ChuckS]

If the Frt LG moves when you press the manual button for the rear/mid levelers then the Frt LG Hydac cartrdige valve is not fully closed ( thus allowing fluid to flow ).. Hydac cartridge normal state is Closed and is opened electrically via solenoid... Either manual override on LG is slightly open or cartridge has crap inside it not allowing it to seat closed

 

[CraigBinFL]

If the Frt LG moves when you press the manual button for the rear/mid levelers then the Frt LG Hydac cartrdige valve is not fully closed ( thus allowing fluid to flow ).. Hydac cartridge normal state is Closed and is opened electrically via solenoid... Either manual override on LG is slightly open or cartridge has crap inside it not allowing it to seat closed

I haven't touched the manual overides, so it must be related to debris in the system. Replacing the fluid again today to try to flush things out. Any idea of the minimal amount of fluid the system needs to operate? I don't want to waste too much, especially if I have to flush several times to clean it out.

 

[CraigBinFL]

If the Frt LG moves when you press the manual button for the rear/mid levelers then the Frt LG Hydac cartrdige valve is not fully closed ( thus allowing fluid to flow ).. Hydac cartridge normal state is Closed and is opened electrically via solenoid... Either manual override on LG is slightly open or cartridge has crap inside it not allowing it to seat closed

I replaced the Hydac cartridge, but it didn't help. So, I called Lippert for guidance on this. In troubleshooting, we discovered the solenoid was hot, always receiving power. So it was always open when I tried to activate the other hydraulics. Since there was power to the solenoid even when I disconnected the power wire at the controller, Lippert said there was a fault somewhere in the wiring harness, causing the gray wire to the solenoid to be always energized. If I disconnected the wires from the solenoid, activation of the other hydraulics did not trigger any movement in the landing gear. Am just now installing the new wiring harness (Level-Up Wiring Harness ) and thought I should update this thread.

Thank you, everyone for your help.

 

[ChuckS]

I hope it is the gray wire in the harness... it could also be a bad front forward controller.... If however you removed the molex plug on the forward controller and the Frt LG Hydac solenoid was still getting power then it is in fact a bad harness..

The single RED wire in the harness provides 12 vdc all the time to the ffwd controller and could have been shorted thru on the gray wire somewhere in the wire harness...

Its a short harness so it would be very easy to find the short on the harness if there is one...