Leaky Fluid Reservoir

[Ragstym]

Hello, as my very first posting, I am hoping to learn a thing or two about the fluid leak on my hydraulic system. Having bought my '03 Montana recently, I've been working myself through her with a fine tooth comb, and so far I can say everything looks great. Upon finding a persistent drip at the contact point, where the fluid housing meets the body, tightening the four bolts did not correct the problem so I decided to remove the fluid and replace what I thought would be a traditional gasket. No gasket in place, at least not the type of gasket I expected. There is a round rubber seal around the pumps body but, seems like a traditional gasket should have been in place. Looking for some experience at this point, including the appropriate torque rate of the 4 bolts that hold the fluid housing flanges.

[Spacetrucker]

You need to ck all fittings .mine leak and all the fittings loose. Ck them all

[bobbecky]

I believe what the gasket is, is an O-ring type gasket. You should be able to get a new one at a well equipped auto parts store. What has probably happened, is the rubber material has become hard with age, and now will not compress to provide the seal.

[JRTJH]

Ragstym,

Most hydraulic "unions" are machined surfaces with an O ring or are a compuression fitting with an O ring. Any RV hydraulic system is basically the same as any other hydraulic system. If you haven't been able to find the parts you need at an auto parts store, check your local farm tractor dealer. Any John Deere, IH or Kubota dealer will have what you need and they earn their living by rebuilding hydraulic systems on tractors. Your leak will be nothing new to them.

[tom37]

I had the same problem with my previous fiver. If you have the polyurethane
tank, the o-ring is probably a 348 size. The Tractor Store keeps them or can make one to match yours. If you will notice, the more you tighten the bolts, the more the tank deflects between the bolt holes. My solution was to purchase a metal tank. This means you have to gauge fluid level through fill hole.