Hydraulic oil leak

[cheatham09]

We have a 3010 re for a month and went to wash it and notice hydraulic oil under the back fiberglass bottom. Any idea where it's coming from and what to do

[bsmith0404]

Do you have the 6 point leveling system? I believe your slides are hydraulic as well. What is the fluid level in your reservoir? If it is an active leak, I would guess a line is leaking or a lose connection at the line and hydraulic cylinder. If your fluid levels are good, it's possible it is an old leak that was discovered by the dealer/manufacturer and already fixed. Only one way to know for sure, drop the colorplast ("fiberglass bottom") and take a look.

[cheatham09]

Going to drop the colorplast this morning. I would think if a Broken hose the slides would not work.

[bsmith0404]

they won't work with a broken line, but they will with a leaking line. Typically if a line leaks you will get air in the system which will cause cavitation. If your fluid levels are good and everything is operating smoothly, I would guess it's an old leak that was fixed already.

[cheatham09]

There is a leak, no broken hose or connection. But where the nut is welded to the cylinder it is leaking there.

[cheatham09]

Hoping it can be re brazed or welded

[bsmith0404]

Should be able to. You can check with an rv dealership, but in this case a good farm equipment dealership may be a better option. IMO they have a lot more experience dealing with hydraulic cylinders. The biggest concern with your situation is getting enough heat to fix the leak, but not too much to cause problems with seals. They may have to disassemble the cylinder.

[JRTJH]

I'd steer clear of most RV dealers for repair on a hydraulic cylinder. Many of them believe in the "if it's bad change it out" form of maintenance. You may have a perfectly good hydraulic cylinder with a leaking fitting and they will want to "change out the cylinder rather than do a simple repair. That's just the nature of our "disposable society".

Like bsmith0404 said, you'd be better off removing the cylinder, taking it to a farm/fleet repair facility (like a John Deere dealer or ???). Also, another option would be that in most relatively large towns, there are hydraulic hose/hydraulic fitting shops that build hoses, etc. Most of them specialize in rebuilding hydraulic cylinders. For them, this type of leak is their bread and butter. They repair that kind of stuff every day and know exactly how to do it right without a lot of cost or "swapping parts".

[cheatham09]

Toke it to the dealer this morning showed them what was leaking, will take up to two weeks for a new cylinder to come in. Their welder looked at it and said if it wasn't the fact that the original weld don't go all the way around and made a small pin hole. He would have re welded it. But all good under warranty. So going to use it till the part comes in.