I just changed my hydraulic fluid in the automatic leveling system, albeit 3 years late, according to Lippert's recommendations.
Two weeks earlier, I heard some "popping" noise coming from under the coach when I would get on the bed of my 2016 Winnebago 36G, as if the passenger side rear leveling jack was releasing about 1/16", but not enough to feel or show up on my level on the floor. In contacting Lippert about this, they emailed me the service instructions for the entire hydraulic leveling system. First on their service agenda was to suction out the old fluid from the reservoir, and put in new Dexron full synthetic ATF.
I was envisioning my reservoir full of mud, water, dirt, and other contamination since I was remiss in servicing the system.
I failed to find the service info in the Winnebago manuals for this leveling system.
So I purchased 2 gallons of Valvoline Dexron-VI full synthetic ATF from Advance Auto, and lifted the step lid below the powered step cover by using a 7/16" socket. I removed the nut under the lip of that step, and propped it up with a prybar to allow easy access to the top of the reservoir.
The top of the reservoir was completely covered with dust and dirt.
My heart sank thinking the inside of the reservoir would look just as bad. But to my happy surprise, it wasn't bad at all. The vent cap must have been very good at filtering out water and dust, as there was no water and very little dirt in the bottom of the reservoir. (I had not moved my coach for 2 weeks, and it was inside its garage under our home, so if there was moisture in the fluid, it should've precipitated out and not been emulsified)
I used a suction pump and 3/16" poly tubing to clean out the bottom of the tank. The fluid was no longer red like ATF, but only had a light pink color. I was pleased that the suction filter in the tank was also still very, very clean, and I only found one bit of gunk near the filter as you can see in the picture. Using a piece of a shop towel and my mechanical fingers, I extracted that gunk. It was a piece of some sort of sealant, and not sure how that ended up in the tank!
As the pictures show, (sorry it is difficult to see, but I used my cell phone camera as best I could looking through that 3/4" port) the tank bottom was not covered with a film of dirt, or dirty water. I was very pleased about that
.
I removed just over 1.5 gallons of fluid, and then after mopping the bottom of the tank, replaced it with the full synthetic Valvoline Dexron-VI per Lippert's recommendation. I hope this will cure any issues and serve to prevent further issues with my leveling system. If I do have additional issues, at least I have the factory service information provided by Lippert. They were very helpful and cordial.
Glad they cared enough to assist me.
If you haven't looked at yours, please go check it and change it out as needed according to their recommendations! You'll be glad you did.
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