Mechanical failures and repairs
When the motor runs and the room doesn't, or one side moves and the other doesn't, something between the motor and the rack has let go: a pin, a gear, a bolt or a bearing. Find which one, find what loaded it, and re-time the rails before the coach leaves.
The short version
- Work down the drive line with someone watching each rail. The first part that stops turning is your failure.
- Power Gear spur gear spinning on its shaft: sheared pins. Replace them, then re-time.
- Skipping noise on Power Gear: bearing sleeves. Loud chatter: height or the anti-jump bolt.
- Lippert stripped gear: replace the gear pack, and match the gear's tooth form to the rack.
- Lubrication rules differ by maker. Lippert's actuator system wants none.
Work down the drive line
Every mechanical failure on these rooms is a break somewhere between the motor and the rack. Run the room (or crank it) with someone watching each rail, and find the first part that stops turning.
| What you see | Where it let go | Maker's fix |
|---|---|---|
| Power Gear motor turns, gear shaft doesn't | Pin in the motor output shaft, or the gear shaft pin or coupler | Replace the gearmotor or the shaft |
| Lippert actuator motor runs, room doesn't move | Actuator loose from the front drive bracket, or motor or gear housing | Tighten the jam and nylock nuts; otherwise replace the motor |
| Drive shaft turns, one spur gear spins on its shaft | Sheared spur gear pins on that outer rail | Replace the pins and realign |
| Gear turns, that rail doesn't move | Stripped spur gear teeth or rack teeth | Replace the spur gear or inner rail assembly and realign |
| One side moves, shaft loose at one end | Sheared drive shaft bolt | Replace the bolt and realign |
| Lippert gear stripped | Gear pack | Replace the gear pack (TI-035) |
Pins, gears and gear packs
Power Gear pins each spur gear to its shaft with roll pins (0.140 by 1.25 in in the kit). To replace one, disconnect the battery, move the room until the pin holes line up, drive the old pin out with a 3/16 in or smaller punch, and tap the new one in. Then measure room to wall at both ends; if they differ by more than 1/8 in, re-time the rail (TIP #70).
Pulling a spur gear means removing the motor if it's in the way (four 1/2 in bolts), the drive shaft bolt (7/16 in) and the hairpin, then sliding the gear shaft out. Replace the sleeve bearings while the shaft is out, and torque the drive shaft bolt back to 168 ± 12 in-lb.
On Lippert gear packs, match the gear to the rack. Lippert lists an 18-tooth 14.5 degree, 12 DP gear and a 15-tooth 20 degree, 10 DP gear, and TI-001 shows how to tell them apart. For a 2.5x2.5 pack with the 18-tooth gear, Lippert has you order the pack (324869) plus the 122739 gear and build that gear into the pack.
Careful: With a pin out or a gear pack off, that rail isn't tied to the drive anymore and the room side can move when you lean on it. Battery disconnected, hands out of the gear mesh.
Skipping, chatter and binding in the same spot
Noise tells you a lot on these systems. Power Gear's chart is specific:
- Skipping noise: loose or broken bearing sleeves. Replace them (0.75 in sleeves, larger end to the outside of the weldment per TIP #143) and realign.
- Loud chatter: room height out of adjustment, or the anti-jump bolt missing or not adjusted. The manual gives no spec for that bolt and says to call Power Gear, whose support is Lippert's now.
- Starts, then stops: a transit bar still in, something in the path, or debris, dirt or corrosion between gear and rack. Clean it and oil lightly.
- Skipping teeth on a Lippert through-frame: Lippert has a sheet for it (TI-376). Get it before you buy parts.
When it binds at the same spot every time
A room that binds at the same place every stroke is pointing at something at that place: a damaged tooth on the rack, debris packed in the teeth, a bent tube, or a tube rubbing the frame opening. Mark the position, stop the room there, and look at the rack teeth and tubes at that mark.
A sheared pin or a jumped tooth had a cause. Find the bind, the obstruction or the height problem that loaded it before you hand the coach back, or you'll be replacing the same pin.
Rollers, wear pads, tubes and brackets
Power Gear's outer rail roller is 3.41 in diameter (kit 530042). Lippert's tubes use rear rollers and, on the 2x3, a separate wear pad; Lippert says its plastic wear pads cut arm-roller noise and need no lubrication. Lippert has videos for inner arm roller, inner arm, head assembly, cross shaft and cross shaft bolt replacement.
A bent inner tube or inner arm is a replacement part on Lippert systems, ordered by tube size, length and tooth count. Lippert's inspection list covers the rest: stops and heads installed and adjusted, cross shafts mounted and clear of everything else, gear packs working. Owners report loose adjusting bolts letting a room walk a little farther out of adjustment every cycle, so put a wrench on every bracket bolt on a repeat call.
Lubrication: follow the maker for that system
The makers don't agree, so match the advice to the system in front of you.
| System | What the maker says |
|---|---|
| Lippert Electric Through Frame (actuator) | No grease or lubrication needed, and it may be harmful. Clean moving parts with mild soap and water after salt or ice. Cycle the room once or twice a month. |
| Power Gear electric (Power Gear service manual) | If noisy, a light coat of lightweight oil on the drive shaft and roller areas, excess wiped off. Do not use grease. |
| Power Gear electric (Lippert CCD-0001615) | If it squeaks, a light coat of silicone spray or lithium grease on the roller and bearing sleeve ID only. Never lubricate drive gears, gear racks or roller OD. |
| Squeaking Lippert gear packs | Lippert's corrective action sheet, TI-003. |
On the job
- Disconnect the battery before you put hands in the drive line.
- Run or crank the room with someone watching each rail: which side moves, which doesn't.
- Motor turns and the shaft doesn't: motor output pin, gear shaft pin or coupler.
- Shaft turns and one gear doesn't: spur gear pins or the gear pack.
- Gear turns and the rail doesn't: teeth on the gear or the rack.
- Noise only: bearing sleeves, room height, anti-jump bolt.
- Find what loaded the part (bind, obstruction, height) and fix it.
- After any repair, re-time the rails, check height and torque the drive shaft bolts.
Numbers
- Spur gear roll pin: 0.140 x 1.25 in (Power Gear kit)
- Pin removal: 3/16 in or smaller punch (Power Gear)
- Motor mounting bolts: four, 1/2 in (Power Gear)
- Drive shaft bolt: 7/16 in, 168 ± 12 in-lb (Power Gear TIP #73)
- Bearing sleeve: 0.75 in (Power Gear 510036)
- Outer rail roller: 3.41 in diameter (Power Gear kit 530042)
- Lippert pinions: 18-tooth 14.5 degree 12 DP, or 15-tooth 20 degree 10 DP
Shop tip
Treat a sheared pin like a blown fuse. Put a new one in without finding what loaded it, and you'll be back for the same pin.
Where this comes from
- Power Gear, Electric Slide-Out System Operations and Service Manual: troubleshooting, Sections 4.1 to 4.10, parts kits, TIP #73 and #143
- Lippert, Electric Through Frame Slide-out Owner's Manual, CCD-0001613, pp. 5-6, 9-45 (parts, gear data)
- Lippert, Electric Slideout System Operation and Service Manual rev B, pp. 4, 16-17
- Lippert, Electric Motor Slide-out Owner's Manual (Power Gear), CCD-0001615, p. 5
- lippert.com, Klauber D-300 listing (wear pads); support.lci1.com through-frame document and video lists