One Wind-up Strut wont wind down Jayco Flight
Submitted: Thursday, Sep 29, 2011 at 13:08
ThreadID:
89289
Views:
12964
Replies:
5
FollowUps:
5
This Thread has been Archived
Karen G1
Hi, we have a 89 Model Jayco Flight and up til now the wind up mechanism has always worked really
well. Alas we went to collapse down after doing routine maintenance and one wind down strut is stuck and we cannot wind it down. Does anyone have some suggestions. Impossible to drive it to a dealer/repairer due to it's "up" state. Also we've always wondered if our camper should have had an internal cupboard or the like that fits on top of the cupboard near the door, as it was on the diagram.
Reply By: koshar1 - Thursday, Sep 29, 2011 at 18:25
Thursday, Sep 29, 2011 at 18:25
if its the same as the early 80 jayco mechs, the top cranks up but gravity lets it back down,
if there is nothing externally impeding it such as some pillows stacked on the mattress etc, it will likely be something stopping the snake spring pushing back into the floor tubing, my guess is something foreign has snagged at the corner where the spring is exposed.
this fault should be a lot easier to rectify than when one of the struts wont go up!
AnswerID:
466336
Follow Up By: Member - Wayne B (NSW) - Thursday, Sep 29, 2011 at 22:31
Thursday, Sep 29, 2011 at 22:31
On the early Jayco the corner posts were easily bent. Particularly when using a side Annex. I believe they were upgraded on later models.
Cheers
Wayne B
FollowupID:
740468
Reply By: dublediff - Friday, Sep 30, 2011 at 16:51
Friday, Sep 30, 2011 at 16:51
Jack the camper up and place wooden posts, shortened broom sticks are excellent for this, at each corner right next to each lifting arm. Back the winch off and spray wd40 into the cavity of each arm, just spray the arm and let it run down the arm - you cannot use too much of this stuff, let it sit for an hour or so and whilst waiting go to the front boot and lift the plate covering the winch mechanism and
check that everything looks okay, equal tension on all of the cables, will be four of them. The immediate problem is more than likely elsewhere, such as a fouled lifting spring, but it probably started with issues in the winch compartment. Give everything a good clean, there will be years of dirt and grime in there so clean it out and give everything a good spray of wd40. By now the wd40 should have soaked into the grime of other crap that is probably causing the stoppage. Put some tension back into the winch and remove the wooden posts,
Check that there is even tension on the four cables in the front boot, then if they are even, slowly lower the top and have one person on each corner to see that it is going down evenly. a bit of a rap on the arm that was stuck, with a rubber mallet or similar - not too hard of course, should encourage it to move if it is still sticking. This should move most stoppages if it is only old lubricants mixed with dirt that is fouling the spring. If this fails you will have to open the inside body panels and physically inspect the issue. It is probably a spring that has come off the glide and fouled on the body and will require some mechanical repairs.
If you find that there is uneven tension on the four cables then that will be your issue, whilst the four wooden posts are in position, adjust the cables for even tension, there will be a adjustable pin and lock nut on each cable just prior to the winch, it is a simple job to rectify. The wd40 you sprayed before will compliment the adjustment and the roof will come down easily....I hope.
best of luck.
AnswerID:
466412
Follow Up By: Karen G1 - Friday, Sep 30, 2011 at 19:21
Friday, Sep 30, 2011 at 19:21
Thanks so much for your comprehensive ideas to fix our problem. We will be trying all of them this weekend. Will post the result to assist other users. Many thanks again.
FollowupID:
740521
Follow Up By: Karen G1 - Saturday, Oct 01, 2011 at 15:53
Saturday, Oct 01, 2011 at 15:53
Finally sucess. We took the side panel off near Fridge and after inspecting the cables discovered the worm tension drive had popped out of it's track and was resting next to the cables instead of being in it's track. Once this was corrected and cables checked and WD-40'd it went down as good as gold like it always has. Thanks so much to everyone for their advice... much appreciated. Thanks.
FollowupID:
740604