Hyd Slide problem

[billr]

Our door side slide after extended, will only draw in the aft end (active end with actuator) the passive end (front) doesn't move in or out. I did manually push it in while the aft was retracted with hyd so I could tow.

This is the first time this has happened.

We have an 05 38RL3 S/N 2046

Anyone ever see this? Any ideas on fix?

Bill :(

[Huck]

There is a tube that connects the two pinion gears.
There is a pin that connects the gears to the tube on each end. Usualy a 1/4" bolt.
Your bolt or pin has broken.

[billr]

Thanks Huck! I haven't had time to look under the bottom covering, but will! Sounds like an easy fix! Hope it's the shear bolt.

Cheers,
Bill

[billr]

You nailed it Huck, Thanks!

It was the bolt broken at the fwd rail pinion where the square tube from the rear connects. Access was pretty easy just under the under-covering where the fwd slide gear rail goes under. Put in a good 1/4" bolt. Works great!


Cheers,
Bill

[Huck]

Your very welcome :D
Glad I could help.

I carry extra bolts just incase.

I used to have a CrossRoads Paradise Pointe with a Lippert frame and had those bolts break about three times.

[cptxguys]

We had the same thing happen to us this past weekend on our '05 Mobile Suite.

I went to Lowe's and bought a pack of 1/4" x 1.5" bolts and nuts (so I would now have some spares). Be sure you get a heavy grade (Grade 5 or 8) bolt. I also purchased heavy duty gorilla glue tape (black) to seal the underbelly after it's cut open.

It's fairly simple to repair, but dust from the underbelly is terrible on the eyes!

I've attached a few pics to help others.

[golf_bears]

One needs to be careful about replacing these bolts with grade 5 or 8. These bolts are designed to shear when and overload or bind occurs in the mechanism. If the bolt cannot shear the next time a bind occurs, something else will break, maybe the gear teeth will shear then you'll have a more complicated fix to deal with.

[cptxguys]

Golf,
You are correct. However, in this case, the bolt that was removed was Grade 8 (based on markings on the bolt head). I was unable to get Grade 8 bolts at Lowes, so I opted for a Grade 5.

Here's the SAE specifications for the bolts -
Bolt Tensile Strength (Breaking Strength -lbs)
BoltDia(in) Grade 2 Grade 5 Grade 8 (coarse thread)
1/4 2350 3800 4750

[golf_bears]

cptxguys

"Here's the SAE specifications for the bolts -
Bolt Tensile Strength (Breaking Strength -lbs)
Bolt Dia. (in) Grade 2 Grade 5 Grade 8 (coarse thread)
1/4 2350 3800 4750"

Very interesting, that is some load on that shaft! Those bolts are failing in a shear plane. Usually shear strength is about 75% of the tensile strength and even that is a heavy load on that shaft. Wonder what the weight of the slide is? I'm assuming those slides are on some support system, perhaps rollers, and therefore rolling load should be no more than about 10% of the static weight of the slide.

Perhaps there is something binding the drive mechanism? My curiosity has really peaked now???

[Motor31]

OUTSTANDING pictures there for the explanation of fixing the shear pin problem. Thanks a bunch for providing them.

The questions I have are these. Is there a shear pin on each end of the rod? If not, is the pin on the opposite side from the ram or the same side? I'm asking as that would save cutting more of the underbelly than needed.

[cptxguys]

Hey Motor,
You know...I don't really know. Since I was only having problems with the front of the door slide, and this was a known occurance, that's the only part of the underbelly I cut.

I don't know, but I imagine that since the ram is next to the rear gear assembly, there is less 'flexing' with the rod and shear bolt (if there is one) than on the oposite (front) gear assembly. It's just a guess.

In any case, I only cut the front piece of the underbelly where needed and all is working fine.

I'm glad you like pics. I always find them helpful.

[frostth]

Hello, I have a 2006 32tk3 with the door slide problem.

This is my first time posting a message so hopefully I'll get it right. Anyway, would it be possible to define how big a opening needs to be cut to gain access to the gear spline and broken bolt. I'm just concerned I may not cut a big enough access hole and then have to make it bigger and this would probably make it tough to re-cover and seal properly.

Thanks,

tom frost
2006 32TK3
2008 Ford F450 :D

[billr]

Hi Tom, welcome!!

If I remember right, I just pulled the covering down after removing a bunch of the screws. It allowed enough room to replace the bolt. Then just screw it back. I added more screws to better seal it up.

Once open, then you can pull the insulation back and see the shaft that runs from one rack to the other. The bolt is near the pinion gear area like in the pics from Robert.

Bill

[frostth]

Bill, thanks much for your guidance. You know if it wasn't for this website many ms owners would be in the dark about many features and repair techniques, thanks to the good people who sign in and share their knowledge and skills. Again, my thanks.

tom frost
06 ms tk3