ATF type fluid leaking from the front of the coach.

resqguy · 09-08-2005, 05:06 PM

After driving about 500 Miles, then parking on an unlevel site my Horizon 40AD is leaking ATF type fluid from in front of the passenger side wheel. I haven't had a chance to crawl under the coach to figure out what is what so I can't determine much more than that.

I put a small bucket to catch the fluid and it looks like about 1/2 cup has leaked out. The jacks and slides still seem to work fine. It started leaking after trying to level the coach, then stopped after while.

Could it be that there is too much fluid in the system?

resqguy · 09-08-2005, 05:06 PM

After driving about 500 Miles, then parking on an unlevel site my Horizon 40AD is leaking ATF type fluid from in front of the passenger side wheel. I haven't had a chance to crawl under the coach to figure out what is what so I can't determine much more than that.

I put a small bucket to catch the fluid and it looks like about 1/2 cup has leaked out. The jacks and slides still seem to work fine. It started leaking after trying to level the coach, then stopped after while.

Could it be that there is too much fluid in the system?

bflem · 09-08-2005, 05:18 PM

I think it is a leaking jack or the hose to the jack. Should be covered by HWH.

Cruzer · 09-09-2005, 05:45 AM

The jacks are generally behind the front wheels. I'm not sure where your HWH pump/reservoir unit is located. If it was overfilled it could leak out the breather cap but unless your pump is at the left-front corner of the coach, it won't leak up there.

However, the steering gearbox is located ahead of the left-front wheel. It is fed by ATF style fluid driven by the hydraulic pump (and reservoir) at the rear of the coach. It is a sealed system so any overfilling would show up as a puddle at the rear of the coach. I'm thinking you may have a leak at the steering gearbox, quite possibly one of the hoses going to it.

I'd crank the wheels hard left and set the front jacks down (without dumping the air) and go take a look.

PHESPE · 09-09-2005, 02:34 PM

resqguy said "leaking ATF type fluid from in front of the passenger side"

Cruzer replied " However, the steering gearbox is located ahead of the left-front wheel....I'm thinking you may have a leak at the steering gearbox, quite possibly one of the hoses going to it."

Doesn't compute - what do the things at the left front have to do with the leak at the passenger side - which (except in England, Japan
etc.) is the RIGHT side

PHE

bobpie · 09-09-2005, 03:56 PM

sometimes you just have to bit the bullet and crawl under it and have a look see for yourself.

cbeierl · 09-09-2005, 05:56 PM

The HWH hydraulic pump for both the the jacks and room slides in located under the front entry steps. To get access you need to remove the nut from the underside of the top step 'lip' and lift the the step upwards.

It sounds like you got a hydraulic leak in that vicinity--beyond that I don't have any specific ideas.

-Chris

Cruzer · 09-10-2005, 04:58 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PHESPE:
resqguy said "leaking ATF type fluid from in front of the passenger side"

Cruzer replied " However, the steering gearbox is located ahead of the left-front wheel....I'm thinking you may have a leak at the steering gearbox, quite possibly one of the hoses going to it."

Doesn't compute - what do the things at the left front have to do with the leak at the passenger side - which (except in England, Japan
etc.) is the RIGHT side

PHE </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep, my eyes read "passenger" side but somehow my brain logged it in as "driver's" side. I gotta do a CTRL-ALT-DELETE and reboot my brain.

By the way, in England and Japan it's not on the RIGHT side. They're on the WRONG side.

gunny · 09-11-2005, 09:03 AM

The hydraulic level fluid in our coach is clear, power steering oil is red. Sometimes a pressure leak can casue fluid to be sqirted a good distance.

Word of caution here! Oil under pressure can be very dangerous. It can be injected through your skin causing a very serious health issue and possibly death. Do NOT check for leaks with your hands, use a piece of cardboard and be careful. If under warranty let the dealer have the pleasure of reapiring it.

Geechee · 09-11-2005, 04:48 PM

Gunny,

WBI did not use the HWH clear fluid in my coach. Instead they used DEXRON II which is red. The power steering fulid however is clear. one should not jump to a conclusion based only on the color of the fluid.

resqguy · 09-11-2005, 05:04 PM

The last few places where we stopped were better sites in that the coach was able to be leveled. It has not leaked.

The CG where it was leaking was at a site that we were never able to get the coach level. Does that make any sense?

gunny · 09-12-2005, 01:41 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Geeche:
Gunny,

WBI did not use the HWH clear fluid in my coach. Instead they used DEXRON II which is red. The power steering fulid however is clear. one should not jump to a conclusion based only on the color of the fluid. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well!

Guess the fluid can be either red or clear. On our machine it's red for power steering and clear for the levelers and slides. Point I wanted to make was to be careful looking for leaks so as to NOT hurt yourself by injecting hydraulic fluid under your skin by accident. Oil sprayed out of a pin hole leak could be squirted across the coach so where you observed the leak might not be directly over the puddle. In the post following he mentions he has seen no further evidence of a leak and that he could not get it leveled at the site where it leaked. I'd suspect that maybe he had a jack over extended. Might be one of those things that happens once and hopefully will not again.

CalTex · 09-12-2005, 05:46 PM

HWH recommends that you use their fluid (which is clear) rather than the Dextron (which has a red dye) so that if you have a leak that gets inside the coach you don't have to contend with a dyed carpet.

MNGolfer · 08-16-2007, 03:46 AM

What did you find was the source of the fluid? We just got back from a weekend trip and noticed a clear fluid on the right front wheel. It had dripped onto the concrete driveway. Will crawl under the coach tonight to see if I can find the source.

robbstein · 08-16-2007, 04:41 AM

We had a similar leak in our coach. Took a while to really locate it, but look in the wheelwell and up. You will probably find two hydraulic lines coming out of the top of the wheelwell that will be covered with hydraulic fluid. If so, this is a leak in the front ram for the right (passenger side) slide. If you are where you can get to HWH, that would be the way to go. I took mine to them and they rebuilt both cylinders - front and rear on that slide. No problem since.

Robb & Sue Steinheider
03 Ultimate Advantage
02 Saturn L100 Toad
Duncan the Dalmation

SargeW · 08-16-2007, 06:15 AM

Yep, it does make sense. The resevior for the HWH system sits in kind of a built in tray. The fluid you see may have been a slow drip that has pooled over a period of time. Parking on an unlevel site causes the fluid to run a certian way allowing the fluid to escape. When that happened to me, it turned out to be a solenoid leaking at the manifold where they screw into. It took the dealer SEVERAL tries before they stopped the leaks. Kind of maddening. Lift the step as indicated and you get a birds eye view of the resevior. Take an old rag and wipe out the lip that surrounds the tank. Then monitor for a few days and watch for more fluid to appear. While the step is raised you can also have someone operate the slide rooms and the jacks to see if one of the solenoids are leaking. If not, it may have occurred during a fill of the holding tank. Either way, check the fluid to insure that the jacks and slides have enough fluid as to not run the tank dry.

Sarge

MNGolfer · 08-16-2007, 06:37 AM

Thanks for info and you have the same chassis. I was not aware that you can access from the top through the step well. Is there some special procedure to do that?

Just saw in previous post, there is a nut under one of the steps. Will look for that.

SargeW · 08-17-2007, 11:32 AM

Yeah Don, If you feel under the lip of the second step, you will feel a bolt and nut sticking out in the center. With an open end wrench (I forget the size) unscrew the bolt. The step lifts exposing the fluid resevoir. Makes it a whole lot easier to work on. Let us know how it turns out for you.

Sarge

cbeierl · 08-17-2007, 05:04 PM

Actually, I think that you'll find that both of the top 2 steps hinge up. Each has a nut under the center of the step lip.

MNGolfer · 08-19-2007, 01:19 PM

Found the step bolt and nut. Nothing obvious of a fluid leak. I crawled around under the coach before we left and saw no fluid leaks, so will probably end up pulling the wheel to check behind it.