Leaking Lippert Leveling Jack fixed

Metalman · 11-15-2015, 08:27 PM

Since shortly after we purchased our slightly used 2015 Windsport 27K we have been dealing with a leaking left front leveling jack. (The 30-day warranty is long over.) I removed the leveler and brought it to a hydraulic repair facility. They said they rebuilt it and pressure tested it to 3,000 psi. I reinstalled the leveler and it immediately began leaking. I could see that fluid was leaking from one of the three bolts that hold the top of the cylinder in place. I removed the bolt and found a crushed o-ring under the head. This bolt also directs fluid from the top of the leveler to the bottom, to force the jack into the up position. There is no groove on the top of the leveler for an o-ring.

The above photo was taken before the rebuild and shows the original o-ring. When the leveler was rebuilt, they replaced the o-ring. But when the bolt was tightened, the o-ring was crushed and deformed, and it leaked.

I removed the bolt and brought it to another repair facility and was told that it is a banjo bolt and needs to have a washer and an o-ring to seal the head of the bolt from leaking.

This photo shows the correct washer and o-ring along with their dimensions.

The above photo shows the crush washer and o-ring in position under the head of the banjo bolt.

The right front leveler does not have a crush washer and is showing a bit of a bulge on the o-ring. I will purchase o-rings and crush washers and keep them on hand in case the other levelers start leaking.

I assume that the levelers were assembled without the crush washers at the factory. The most disappointing part of the whole problem is that Lippert wouldn’t offer any help with the leak, and said that they don’t rebuild the levelers and they must be replaced at a cost of over $550.

Don’t believe Lippert. A good hydraulic servicing company can rebuild the levelers for a fraction of the cost to replace them.

ValleyCruiser · 01-08-2016, 07:15 PM

Ever since I bought my 2012 Thor Hurricane, I've had trouble with only two components: the steps and the hydraulic leveling jacks, both Lippert products.
The steps it turns out (after replacing the motor) have been recalled and my dealer has ordered the replacement which they will install.
The jacks, however, are another case. The left front jack began leaking fluid and Lippert was absolutely NO HELP. They weren't even kind about it. They guy I talked to couldn't wait to get off the phone with me. All I wanted was a set of o-rings to replace the leaky ones I have, but he insisted they don't sell them since they don't rebuild them. The only solution, the guy said, was to buy a new jack from them. When I asked how much, he said, "Well, I don't know. Lemme look."
That was so kind of him. Sorry I made him work. $553.91.
I'm making arrangements to take the jack to a local hydraulic shop that tells me they can repair it.
Next time I buy a coach I'll try to stay away from any unit with a Lippert product.

pstandiford · 01-08-2016, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ValleyCruiser

Ever since I bought my 2012 Thor Hurricane, I've had trouble with only two components: the steps and the hydraulic leveling jacks, both Lippert products.
The steps it turns out (after replacing the motor) have been recalled and my dealer has ordered the replacement which they will install.
The jacks, however, are another case. The left front jack began leaking fluid and Lippert was absolutely NO HELP. They weren't even kind about it. They guy I talked to couldn't wait to get off the phone with me. All I wanted was a set of o-rings to replace the leaky ones I have, but he insisted they don't sell them since they don't rebuild them. The only solution, the guy said, was to buy a new jack from them. When I asked how much, he said, "Well, I don't know. Lemme look."
That was so kind of him. Sorry I made him work. $553.91.
I'm making arrangements to take the jack to a local hydraulic shop that tells me they can repair it.
Next time I buy a coach I'll try to stay away from any unit with a Lippert product.

Good luck. I'm not sure you can buy any RV product from any manufacturer without at least one Lippert product on it.

Bosty · 01-08-2016, 09:15 PM

My first Thor motorhome was a Four Winds Super C. It had Big Foot levelers on it which were perfect. They have since started putting Lippert on the Four Winds now. My 2016 Palazzo also has the Lippert system and so far has been ok.

John & Diane · 01-09-2016, 01:27 AM

Metalman, I too would like to buy these o rings and washers to have in case I need them in the future. Where would I find them? Great post and pictures. THANKS!

Metalman · 01-09-2016, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John & Diane

Metalman, I too would like to buy these o rings and washers to have in case I need them in the future. Where would I find them? Great post and pictures. THANKS!

I got my washer and o-ring from a hydraulic cylinder repair place in Crystal River, FL. I suspect that you can get what you need from an auto parts jobber, like NAPA.

PS. The leveler (or hose connections) is leaking again. I haven't crawled under the RV to see if I can find the problem. I wonder if part of the problem is that these levelers apply pressure to raise the RV and pressure in the opposite direction to keep the jacks in the up position. That means pressure is applied 24/7.

DERBRIT · 11-28-2016, 12:18 AM

I also have a leaking jack and like the idea of getting it repaired by a hydraulic specialist. However, I've seen some information which implies the system is always pressurized whether the jack is up or down. If that's the case, how do you depressurize the system to ensure the fluid doesn't escape at high pressure? Same question with regards to the banjo bolt (which is where my fluid is coming from). Can the bolt simply be removed without a loss of a lot of fluid?

Metalman · 11-28-2016, 12:32 AM

The system is under pressure all the time. However, because the engine is not running and there is no power to the hydraulic pump, when you disconnect the hydraulic lines or remove the banjo bolt, there will not be a great loss of fluid. Perhaps eight ounces at the most. Depending on how much has leaked out, it can spray under a force, so I try to keep my face and body away from the jack when I disconnect the fittings or bolt.

Since I posed the modification, I have continued to have problems with fluid leaking from under the head of the banjo bolt. I have removed the washer and had a chamfer cut around the inside of the hole for the bolt so an o-ring can fit between the head of the bolt and the aluminum cylinder head. That worked for about 2000 miles and began leaking. My next attempt to stop the leak will be to fashion a washer that will center itself under the head of the banjo bolt and squeeze down on the o-ring without tearing it. The design of this system is very poor. I don't think there should be full pressure used to keep the hydraulic piston in the up position. Many levelers use springs.

DERBRIT · 11-28-2016, 02:46 AM

Thanks for the quick response, Metalman. It's a pity Lippert is not putting as much thought into this problem as you are. Did they ever give you their position on the washer and O ring? Was there an omission when yours was built or is it designed without a washer/O ring?

Metalman · 11-28-2016, 02:51 AM

The only conversation I had with Lippert about the leaking leveler was that they do not sell parts for the levelers and the only alternative is the replace it for about $550. Looking carefully at the other levelers on the motor home, it appears that the only seal between the head of the banjo bolt and the top of the cylinder is a flattened o-ring. If you find out anything from Lippert, please post it.

ValleyCruiser · 11-28-2016, 02:50 PM

I took my leaky jack to a hydraulic repair shop that said they'd replace the o-rings and repair it for $160. I thought that was a much better route than spending over $500 for a new one. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. The newly repaired jack leaked as well. After talking to several "I dunno" employees who were acting dumb, the repair shop finally told me they had to tighten the bolts on top so much that it cracked and they couldn't fashion a new one. SOL, in other words. After appealing to the owner, he agreed to return half of the 160 I'd paid. Then I just went online and bought the lowest priced new replacement I could find, about $300, as I recall.

ValleyCruiser · 11-28-2016, 03:02 PM

When I wrote about my leaky Lippert leveling jack, I also mentioned that I was having trouble with the retractable steps. After replacing two motors on the unit, I finally took it to the nearest Camping World (about 250 miles away). They told me there was a recall on the steps and since the main bolt holding the entire unit to the coach had been sheared off (I was lucky to have found it in the street where I had been parked) Lippert was going to replace the unit at no cost to me. And they did. But the CW guy told me that Lippert was not replacing all faulty units, only some, and I was one of the lucky ones. He couldn't tell me why they replaced mine and not others, but I suspect having the sheared off bolt as evidence of faulty design/inferior bolt material did the trick. I'm very pleased with my new steps. They work perfectly, but I have to remind people, "Allow the steps to extend fully before stepping on them."

ThorRut · 11-28-2016, 05:03 PM

Great info on leveling jacks. Question, I need to add some fluid to the reservoir - What kind do I purchase?

Chip · 11-29-2016, 09:08 PM

After studying that banjo fitting, it looks to me like you might need a 1/16 cross section oring with a same-sized backup ring up against the hex head. The presence of that groove is not normally found on a static fitting seal. Do your other jack cylinders have crush washers?

bevedfelker · 11-29-2016, 10:44 PM

On military hydraulic systems when we had an o-ring like that it normally fit into a detented area. That way when you applied torque on the bolt and the washer would begin to compress the o-ring, the ever fattening o-ring would fill up the detented recess and prevent leaks. Looking at you top picture it looks like the o-ring just squashes against the black body of the jack. Shouldn't there be a recessed area right where the o-ring meets the jack body to contain the o-ring as it deforms thereby making a seal?

Metalman · 11-29-2016, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevedfelker

On military hydraulic systems when we had an o-ring like that it normally fit into a detented area. That way when you applied torque on the bolt and the washer would begin to compress the o-ring, the ever fattening o-ring would fill up the detented recess and prevent leaks. Looking at you top picture it looks like the o-ring just squashes against the black body of the jack. Shouldn't there be a recessed area right where the o-ring meets the jack body to contain the o-ring as it deforms thereby making a seal?

I presume you are referring to the photos I posted. I brought the jack to a machinist and he put a chamfer (small countersink) around the hole to accept an o-ring. That worked for a while, but it's leaking again. I think when tightening the banjo bolt, the movement of the bolt head tends to tear the o-ring, which was lubricated, hopefully to prevent that problem. It's a poorly designed hydraulic cylinder, particularly because it's made of aluminum. Basically a POS.

Metalman · 11-29-2016, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ValleyCruiser

I took my leaky jack to a hydraulic repair shop that said they'd replace the o-rings and repair it for $160. I thought that was a much better route than spending over $500 for a new one. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. The newly repaired jack leaked as well. After talking to several "I dunno" employees who were acting dumb, the repair shop finally told me they had to tighten the bolts on top so much that it cracked and they couldn't fashion a new one. SOL, in other words. After appealing to the owner, he agreed to return half of the 160 I'd paid. Then I just went online and bought the lowest priced new replacement I could find, about $300, as I recall.

The first thing I did was bring the hydraulic jack to a "professional" for a rebuild and when I put it back on the RV it began leaking immediately. They had not used an o-ring under the head of the banjo bolt.
They shouldn't have over-tightened the cylinder head on your jack enough to crack it. There are two o-rings under the head to prevent leaking. One on the underside of the hole for the banjo bolt and a larger one between the head and the cylinder.

Chip · 11-30-2016, 06:15 PM

Maybe a picture here will help.

However, if your new chamfer is now too large, then the backup ring may fail under pressure due to inadequate lateral support.

My thoughts are that you were attempting to make an oversized, 70 durometer, oring work as a crush-sealed 90 durometer application when the design potentially calls for a completely different sealing method.

Metalman · 11-30-2016, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chip

Maybe a picture here will help.

However, if your new chamfer is now too large, then the backup ring may fail under pressure due to inadequate lateral support.

Your drawing doesn't exactly fit my application. You are correct about the size of the o-ring being too small after the chamfer was cut. I went to a larger size that needed to be squeezed to some extent.

Metalman · 11-30-2016, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chip

After studying that banjo fitting, it looks to me like you might need a 1/16 cross section oring with a same-sized backup ring up against the hex head. The presence of that groove is not normally found on a static fitting seal. Do your other jack cylinders have crush washers?

Yes the other jacks show a squashed bit of rubber under the head of the banjo bolt.

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