Leveler O ring

RVermont · 08-21-2017, 03:33 PM

Thursday night drove 750 miles with several stops for fuel,food and sleep. Arrived at the campground, signed in and got back in the cab when the jack down alarm started to alarm. Not sure what was going on I got it of the rig and looked under and saw a spray of hydraulic oil from the fitting on one of the pistons. Not wanting to stop in the middle of the road and plugging up the campground entrance I decided to drive to our site. Once there I determined that I could jack the rig up and get it leveled and deal with leak later. Saturday I found the fitting loose and tightened it hoping that was the problem but unfortunately when I tried to lift the jacks it started to spray again. I then tore it apart and found the oring ripped. Found an auto parts store and replaced it. Put it all together and tested. All good.

It was a very stressful time, trying to come up with possible solutions to the various potential causes. Trying to figure out how I would remove on jack and fake the system so it would not run and cause faulting. It really is amazing that a $.35 oring could shut down a 26000 lb vehicle. Just got home and the repair worked. Now I am going to secure the hydraulic hoses as I think the vibrations on the hoses loosened the fittings and causes the oring rupture.

Just a rant on another possible issue on these units. Also another reason I would never borrow or loan someone one of these beasts.

Other then this issue the trip was great and comfortable.

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pconroy · 08-21-2017, 04:34 PM

Wow - I consider myself fairly handy but not sure I'd be able to tackle that. Congrats!

35 cent 'O' ring -- yeah -- just like that old proverb, "For want of a nail, the battle was lost..."

Robbbyr · 08-21-2017, 06:19 PM

Glad you got it fixed without major problems.

The newer Senecas have the Equalizer leveling systems don't they? Not that it matters, an older Bigfoot system could likely suffer a similar failure. Probably a good idea to secure the hoses if Jayco didn't, and an item for other newer Seneca owners to check. Perhaps that might prevent an issue.

RVermont · 08-21-2017, 06:28 PM

Yes they are equalizer and they use a pressure switch on the line to be sure that the jacks are up. With a leak the system thinks the jack is dropping so the pump comes on and the unit returns to the stored position. With a leaking hose the pump just runs unit the pressure is obtained or you run out of fluid.

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javamon · 08-22-2017, 12:52 PM

Where was the location of the loose fitting?

RVermont · 08-22-2017, 02:11 PM

My attempt to show the leaking part. I think the weight of the hose bouncing loosened the fitting and then the high pressure blew the oring. I am going to secure the hoses.

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ed4ster · 08-23-2017, 01:29 PM

RVermont, on a trip earlier this year we had a O-ring failure on our Equalizer system too. It was where to hose connects to the valve body, made a mess when we tried to deploy jacks for leveling our rig.

Glad to hear it was an easy repair.

ed

javamon · 08-23-2017, 01:50 PM

Does anyone know what size "O" ring this is. Would be good to have some on-board.

RVermont · 08-23-2017, 01:59 PM

I will send the size when I get home tomorrow. I bought a few spares of various sizes.

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RVermont · 08-24-2017, 05:31 PM

The orings I used were 8mmx12mmx2mm. Got them at advanced auto parts

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RVermont · 08-24-2017, 05:32 PM

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gprapim · 08-25-2017, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVermont

Thursday night drove 750 miles with several stops for fuel,food and sleep. Arrived at the campground, signed in and got back in the cab when the jack down alarm started to alarm. Not sure what was going on I got it of the rig and looked under and saw a spray of hydraulic oil from the fitting on one of the pistons. Not wanting to stop in the middle of the road and plugging up the campground entrance I decided to drive to our site. Once there I determined that I could jack the rig up and get it leveled and deal with leak later. Saturday I found the fitting loose and tightened it hoping that was the problem but unfortunately when I tried to lift the jacks it started to spray again. I then tore it apart and found the oring ripped. Found an auto parts store and replaced it. Put it all together and tested. All good.

It was a very stressful time, trying to come up with possible solutions to the various potential causes. Trying to figure out how I would remove on jack and fake the system so it would not run and cause faulting. It really is amazing that a $.35 oring could shut down a 26000 lb vehicle. Just got home and the repair worked. Now I am going to secure the hydraulic hoses as I think the vibrations on the hoses loosened the fittings and causes the oring rupture.

Just a rant on another possible issue on these units. Also another reason I would never borrow or loan someone one of these beasts.

Other then this issue the trip was great and comfortable.

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The same thing happened to me on two different occasions, only at the pump end. I really don't know what the answer is to keep it from happening again !!

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RVermont · 08-25-2017, 09:00 AM

I did not even mention that I had the leak on the pump end when I first got the unit. I had to drop the pump and reservoir to get to the fittings. The fittings are designed to be tightened with two wrenches and I think they get lazy and only use one wrench. That then twists the hose and over time loosens and breaks the seal. They welded a bracket to hold the pump, they certainly could have mounted it a couple inches lower which would have maintenance a lot easier.

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gprapim · 09-29-2017, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVermont

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What make are your levelers? I would like to carry a couple of O rings as spares, since this has also happened to me on my 2017 Grey Hawk 29W. I don't want to simply go out and buy the O ring you posted, just in case it will not fit my leveler system. Thanks in advance for your answer.

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RVermont · 09-29-2017, 11:43 AM

I have the equalizer systems jacks. I actually bought a kit with several sizes just in case. probably never need them but for $10-15 worth the peace of mind.

Shakedown St. · 09-29-2017, 10:25 PM

I too noticed that one of the lines on my leveling jacks had been leaking, though a turn with a wrench seemed to do the trick as it hasn't leaked since. Good to know about the o-ring, thanks for sharing.

RaceChaser0 · 10-02-2017, 11:52 AM

Thanks for sharing the schematic drawing and the o ring part info. Will definitely be buying an assortment of o rings and throwing them in the coach before our trip this weekend!

gprapim · 10-06-2017, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaceChaser0

Thanks for sharing the schematic drawing and the o ring part info. Will definitely be buying an assortment of o rings and throwing them in the coach before our trip this weekend!

I got in touch with Equalizer Systems and was told to purchase #4 and #6 "O" rings for my GreyHawk levelers (one is for the pump end and the other is for the cylinder end).

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