1 front jack stuck down and one rear? Now what?

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Willie1971

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Feb 11, 2011
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145
Hi

Going on a trip Friday and I dropped jacks to pop slides.  when I was done a few hours later I flipped the level to bring up the jacks.  The front right one went up 3 inches and the rear left one went up six.

Now they are stuck like that and its sitting out there laughing at me.  Is this ironic that 2 are stuck down or are they linked?

suggestions please

These are hydraulic jacks on a 2002 allegro bay 35db

The front one was a tad slow coming up the last few times.  Now it's gone on strike I guess. Do I have a tight seal or valve problem? 
 
If they haven't been used in a while the rams may have dried out seals. Check your hydraulic fluid and insure that the resovoir is full. Then run the jacks all the way down and crawl underneath with some silicone and spray the rams. Wipe off the excess and look up into where the jacks meet the seals. Clean around the edge of the seal if there is any gunk built up there.  Then try to retract them again. 

If they still only retract part way you may have a problem with the control board.  Try the easy stuff first. 
 
On my 02 Bounder the left rear jack only came up about 85 or 90 percent.  I returned  and asked the place I keep it to take a look.  It turned out that the ram needed to be sprayed and he said he filled hooked up a lube gun to the zurk and filled it up as well.  Check for a lube point and spray it down with silicone, that will probably fix it.  Oh and watch for the jacks to completly retract everytime, it's easier to limp home with the jacks down 2 inches than to be stuck with them only going up 2 inches.  (I just happened to notice one of the jacks was still showing a bit of chrome when I retracted them)  Ray's didnt charge me anthing for the cleanup and lube of the jack by the way.

Jeff
 
Great stuff.  I'll try that first thing in the morning.  I'm betting that's it cause for the past 3 or 4 cycles that one was the last to retract.

 
I had the same problem with my front right jack for a while.  Took it to the dealer where I bought it several times.  They changed the springs, lubed with silicone, etc.  It would work one time and not the next.  Finally I discovered that something was dragging down my chassis batteries.  So now I keep them trickle charged and haven't had another problem.  I am not saying this is your problem, but its worth a shot to make sure your chassis batteries are fully charged.
 
I had problem as well with the right front jack...first time on the road cost me a trip to Wally World to get a bottle jack :mad: .
I had to apply pressure in excess of what the return springs would provide to get the jack to stow position. I used this method several times before final solution. I still carry the jack which is handy for other activities as well.
Final solution was to replace the jack (under warranty I am happy to say).
I have read instructions and info that it is not a good idea to lube the jacks :( . Use of silicone may actually cause deterioration of seals. Best way to "lube them" is to extend and retract. If actually dirty, wiping with clean cloth or rag is OK. Those with more experience re jack maintenance should weigh in.
Bob
 
That info is not universally true. Power Gear recommends in their service literature that the rams be sprayed with silicone regularly. Once a month for regular maintenance, ever 3 to 4 days if you are within 60 miles of the beach. 
 
Well good news!!!!  I let the jacks down 50% and sprayed the seals.  Boom..... they went right up.  I spayed them a few cycles to make sure they got a good dose.  Never had a clue I needed to do this.  Guess when I change the oil I will lube the seals as well. 

thx for the inputs.  Glad it was only a 4 dollar fix.


 
I've got HWH hydraulic jacks and once in awhile one jack will not retract all the way up for whatever reason.  The last time this happened was after sitting in Mesa, AZ with the jacks down for 2 months.  I have about a 5 foot plywood board that is about 4 inches wide and about an inch thick that I keep to pry the jacks up with.  But the last time this happened, I didn't want to dig into the basement compartment where I keep the board (it's way at the back of the compartment) so I pulled out a brush that I use to clean the MH with that has a long fiberglass pole attached to it.  I used the pole  to pry the jack up (it doesn't take a whole lot of force to do it).  All the jacks are retracting OK now and it's not been a problem since.
 
It is a really good policy if you are at a destination for a period of time, I use one to two weeks max, to cycle your leveling jacks and your slide out rooms.  It keeps the rams lubed and clean and cycles the fluids through the lines.  Even with electric slides there are still gears that need be kept freed up. 
 
While they were down you didn't happen to add hyraulic fluid did you? If you did you may now have a hydraulic lock due to to much fluid in the system. Anyhow each system is different check you manual or go online to the jack maufacturer to find out how to set the panel and how to manualy retract the jacks
 
While they were down you didn't happen to add hyraulic fluid did you?
Click to expand...

[font=verdana, helvetica, sans-serif]No, I've never had to add hydraulic fluid.  I had one jack replaced about 4 years ago when it had trouble retracting.  I think I've only had one jack that wouldn't retract on two different occasions since then. [/font]
 
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