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Old 06-10-2012, 11:53 AM   #1
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05 journey 36g rear slide leaking hydralic

Fluid is coming out of outside the end of the slide tube assembly. it leaks into the compartment below(power) and drips off the rectangular tube that comes out with the slide. I believe this is a 3 piece assembly, outer rectangular tube mounted to the coach, inner tube that comes out with the slide, and I assume the ram is mounted inside with one end attached to each tube. I believe this assembly will need to be removed from the coach to fix this leak. The inner end is under the bed , but the holes in the floor are not big enough to remove it that way. I can get to the fittings and mounting bolts, but the flanges are inboard of the brackets that mount it to the coach, so it will be tough to just slide it out.

Has anyone taken one of these out ? thought I would ask before jumping in with both feet

Any help is appreciated

Dave
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Old 06-10-2012, 10:50 PM   #2
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Dave I had this exact problem with the rear bedroom hydraulic cylinder leaking. As you say there does not seem to be a simple way to get at the cylinder and you are right. I had this happen on the road and ended up taking it to HWH who managed to get it changed out. I can honestly say that it was the best $250 I have spent getting something corrected on the MH.

First to get at the cylinder you have to remove the house batteries from the passenger side battery tray. Next if you look inside the battery compartment you will sell a door about 10x 8 inches that you have to remove to gain access to the end of the hose connections and bolts that hold the cylinder in place. As you have seen the holes under the bed are not large enough to gain access to the assembly. You unbolt the outboard end of the cylinder from the hole in the underside of slide. You need to have long arms to get at the cylinder from inside the battery compartment.

I would suggest you call HWH for additional info. In addition search this forum for a post I wrote about this issue and look for a post from Fire-Up who did this change out himself and had some interesting comments. He should have some good info based on his experience. You might PM him.

Good luck

Gary
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Old 06-11-2012, 09:12 AM   #3
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Thanks for the info, I did a search before posting and came up with nothing, but with your info I found the thread , thanks so much.

I will be attempting it myself most likely, but it maybe a month or more

Dave
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Old 06-11-2012, 08:38 PM   #4
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Dave 1330,
Well Sir, if you attempt to do this job yourself, BE PREPARED FOR SOME SERIOUS CONTORSIONING!!! I had the leak in the EXACT same place, doing the same exact characteristics, making the same mess, as yours. I was on vacation and every once in a while I'd get a chance to pick up the i-net and see what the latest gossip would be.

Well, I found Gary Ds post and report on this EXACT issue. I read his post and how he handled it with great anticipation. Well, in reading how HWH handled the fix, and being stubborn mule that I am, I decided to do the repair myself. As Gary D explains, it's not a easy task, AT ALL!!!! As you've found out, the entire world of wiring, plumbing, electrical, hydraulic and whatever else in the universe is in that tunnel, under the bed, in front of the ram end, that needs to be undone and removed. That in itself is a serious pain in the a$$.

To undo the other end is kind of a piece of cake. You'll see the ram end, inside the square tube. It's a small, about 1/2" in diameter rod, with the nut on the end. The nut has to be removed and the end of the ram is now free to be retracted and or pulled out through the Los Angeles freeway system of wiring, plumbing and hydraulic intersections. I had a tad bit of advantage, I have an RV Tech as a son and he's just a bit younger and more agile than I am and, he's still living at home so, guess what, GET IN THERE AND GET THAT RAM OUT, OR UP GOES YOUR RENT! Yeah sure dad.

One thing that you need to be aware of, that room/slide, is under pressure. and, as you start to remove the hydraulic fittings, that room will start to creep in on you, that's A BAD THING! Now, I could not determine just which solenoid to use to release pressure so, I cut a block of wood the right size to wedge under the slide, on the outside of the coach so that room kept put.

Now, once the lines are undone, and, the house batteries are out of the way and all the wires/cables are pinned up and out of the way, you have to remove that plate that's riveted to the box. WHAT A PAIN TO DRILL THEM OUT FROM OUTSIDE THE COACH, THANKS ITASCA! So, what we did once the plate was out of the way, was start to remove that ram, and twist it like a drill which helped the large square piece of steel that the ram is attached to, "worm" it's way through the maze of wiring etc.

All in all, start to finish, removing the ram to the point it was out of the coach and sitting on the work bench, about two hours, if I recall. I then tried to decide if I was going to rebuild the ram by trying to find the right size o-rings etc and seals or, simply take it to a local hydraulic shop and have them do it.

Well, #2 won the vote. It was off to the local hydraulic shop. This ornery old cuss grabbed out of my hand, had it apart in about 30 seconds, kicked his dog out of the way of the parts counter, opened and closed a few drawers of o-rings etc, and, put what was needed on the end of the piston and slapped it all back together in about 10 minutes. He then tested it with air pressure.

I told him, "that's air, how do you know it will seal with hydraulic oil"?? He looked at me like I was from Mars and said, "It ain't gonna leak". I took his word for it and gave him $60.00.

Back at the coach. Well, between the son-tech and I, tying up whatever I could inside that tunnel of hy. lines, plumbing and electrical lines, inserting that ram, twisting it like a drill while pushing it into that square tunnel, and, having trouble starting up the nuts and bolts to lock it all into place, connecting the hydraulic lines, etc. The install took us about 1.5 hours, start to finish. And guess what.

NO LEAKS!!!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOO. It's been like that for about 6-8 months now so, I think he did a good job in rebuilding it. Now, here's the $64,000 dollar question: Would I do that again, yep, in all reality, it wasn't all that bad. But, that job was at home, with all the tools and area I needed to do that tedious job. Now, if I was like Dave, and out on the road, and within say, 5 states of HWH, I'd probably cruise on over to HWH. So there you have it partner. Any questions? Surely PM if you have any.
Scott

P.S. Here's a couple of pictures of the ram. The entire outside diameter of that ram is only about 5/8" in diameter. The ram itself is around 1/2" the piston and seals, a little bigger.

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Old 06-14-2012, 10:29 AM   #5
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Thanks again, I have not looked at the end on the battery side yet, but I gather by what you said, you just removed the ram, not the whole rect. tube assembly. Thanks for the info

Dave
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Old 06-14-2012, 10:57 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave1330 View Post
Thanks again, I have not looked at the end on the battery side yet, but I gather by what you said, you just removed the ram, not the whole rect. tube assembly. Thanks for the info

Dave
Dave,
Nope, you cannot remove the square tube assly. It's attached to the slide etc. As you can see in the pics, the ram is relatively small in diameter but, the base end, a rectangular flat plate, about 1/4"-3/8" thick, is around 3"x4" in size, plus or minus. It's that base plate that's the real pain in the a.. to manipulate out and back in that tunnel.

Dave, this project involves patience, lots of it. Many times I've cussed manufacturers on how they constructed something, knowing it could have been built differently or better when it comes to maintenance. Here's a prime example. The "bolts" that hold that base plate to the anchor point, are FLOATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is, as you undo the nuts, the bolts may or may not turn. And, here's a real kicker, those bolts can fall out of there hole and into that square tube that you see on the outside of the slide.

If they do, you'll have one serious tough time getting them back in, in order to receive the base plate after you've rebuilt it. In my opinion, this is one of the stupidest designs I have ever seen in the rolling Kleenex boxes. Why, couldn't they have tack welded those bolts to "STAY THERE" in the event that, that ram should have to be removed and re-installed????? That way, after you have destroyed all the tendons in your hands and forearms trying to contort yourself be getting that ram to that point, it will simply, (notice I say "SIMPLY") self align with them and drop into place.

Now, here's an important point, the ram and piston, MUST be in the extended position as you're reinstalling the entire assembly back into the coach. The reason, is because you'll need that other end to be able to attach it to the outside of the square tube. I had to use a piece of 1/8" stainless steel welding rod and a mirror to look inside that square tube, to put on the end of the bolts to hold them in place so my son could apply the nuts on the side you're working on. Great design huh? Anyway, if you get into this and run up against a stumbling block, surely PM me and I'll do everything I can to guide you from this end. It's doable but, you'll get some practice at cussing while you're doing the job.
Scott
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Old 06-15-2012, 08:38 AM   #7
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Before I found your original thread, I thought the way to do this would be to remove the whole tube assembly from the coach. It bolts to the slide, and there are 4 or so bolts that hold the outer tube, and disconnect the lines, and it should be loose. getting it out of the coach maybe another story, but I wouldn't need to have the nut problem, and fishing the ram back in the tube problem. I looked at the setup under the bed,I need to look from the battery side better, I am well aware of the patience needed and the amount of stuff in the way.

just thinking out loud

Dave
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Old 06-15-2012, 09:01 AM   #8
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Dave,
Well Sir, I don't know where you're at, but, if you were closer, I'd give you a hand with this project. By all means, if you can get the entire assembly, square tube and all out in the open to work on it, go for it. It would certainly (I think) be better than working "in a tunnel, in a tunnel" if you know what I mean. If I recall, I thought I looked at removing that tunnel. I don't remember what I found other than, at the time, it must have been better to remove the ram. Believe me, I've done WAY more than a few projects the hard way in my life. There's been quite a few times when a fellow shade tree mech came up and suggested, "hey, why don't you do it this way, it will save you a ton of time and labor"????

I usually go bang my head against the wall after that. So, anyway, if I can help from this end, let me know.
Scott
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