tongue jack lube

[WDavidG]

Our 4 year old scamp 13 has an atwood side crank jack bolted to the tongue. Removing the top cover plate provides access to the bevel gears for greasing. I assume that the vertical tube contains a threaded rod that should also receive periodic lubrication. How do you access it? The text printed on the cover plate refers me to the "maintenance bulletin" for directions. Scamp didn't provide any bulletin or directions, the atwood website doesn't help nor does etrailer offer any information. I'm guessing you have to unbolt the entire unit from the tongue and access it from the bottom but thought I'd seek forum advice before exploring that route.

thanks

[Byron Kinnaman]

Mine has a hole in the top and you simply squirt some oil down it. Mine's a swing up top crank.

[floyd]

you can open the jack all the way and lube the inside tube with just about anything. a bit of used motor oil on a rag works well or spray PBs Blaster on it and wipe off the excess.
Get some under the ring gear so it can run down inside from the top, then use regular wheel bearing grease on the gears.
Too much will just make a mess and you don't need to do this very often.

[stevebaz]

I use motorcycle chain lube in a spray can. It sprays on thin and gells up as the carrier dries off leaving a thin waxy grease. I use it just because I have it.

https://www.amazon.com/PJ1-13oz-Labe.../dp/B00230KKJQ

[k corbin]

My son just had his nearly new Airstream slip of the blocks he had stacked under the tongue because excess lubricant from the jack got under the bottom of the foot support plate and when he lowered it that made it slide sideways as he was on a slight slope.

Greased piggy running away

Remember to wipe off the excess lubricant that runs down the tubes and give some attention to the underside of the bottom foot plate if you have one.

[k0wtz]

As Floyd says about anything will work. my fishing pole quit working recently no drag. no one there had anything so I went to my car and got motor oil put a dab in there everything worked as listed. I caught large trouts no trouble.


Some things get way to important sometimes!

[Darral T.]

When it gets "way too important" is when you're a thousand miles from home and something breaks because it was neglected from a $.50 worth of lubrication occasionally.

Good question David.

Originally Posted by k0wtz

As Floyd says about anything will work. my fishing pole quit working recently no drag. no one there had anything so I went to my car and got motor oil put a dab in there everything worked as listed. I caught large trouts no trouble.


Some things get way to important sometimes!

[J Ron]

I would not use oil or PB Blaster, they will dilute the grease and gears, especially those that take the load of the front of the tr, should have grease. I would find a way to put wheel bearing grease on them. This grease will handle high temp and stress and is unlikely to migrate to other places and cause problems.

[Kai in Seattle]

Darral T: too right. Maintenance and upkeep are better done at home than a hundred miles from anything. We all know we could run into trouble out there, and do our best to prepare for it, which includes taking care of the "little things" that loom so much bigger if you don't take them seriously when it's easy to do so. That includes weight balancing, tires, lube, lighting--well, we all know what all we need to attend to, and it's up to each of us to decide what is most important. YMMV and all that.

BEST
Kai

[Lynn Eberhardt]

A few drops of oil will usually soften up dried grease so it does what it's supposed to do. A little vegetable oil on a finger tip will even do in a pinch.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by J Ron

I would not use oil or PB Blaster, they will dilute the grease and gears, especially those that take the load of the front of the tr, should have grease. I would find a way to put wheel bearing grease on them. This grease will handle high temp and stress and is unlikely to migrate to other places and cause problems.

Actually on the common side handle jack with top gears, the light oil should never come in contact with the grease or the gears.
Also the type of lubrication is not that important as long as you keep your crank arm RPM down under redline.
On a tongue jack, keeping the rust away is more important than seizing from the heat of high speed cranking.
Grease works great on the gears along with a little oil on the shaft parts.

Care must be taken when lubing a friction sway control or brake parts... but the tongue jack? Not so much.

[k0wtz]

Floyd is that your own picture?

bob

[WDavidG]

Originally Posted by floyd

Grease works great on the gears along with a little oil on the shaft parts.

Thanks for the photo Floyd. I am greasing the bevel gears shown in your picture but wondering how to get lubrication access to the threaded rod below the gears (inside the down tube).

I recently had to replace the threaded rod on my bal leveling jack. The threads got chewed up because I failed to keep it properly lubed and, having learned my lesson, I'd like not to repeat my mistake with the tongue jack.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by WDavidG

Thanks for the photo Floyd. I am greasing the bevel gears shown in your picture but wondering how to get lubrication access to the threaded rod below the gears (inside the down tube).

I recently had to replace the threaded rod on my bal leveling jack. The threads got chewed up because I failed to keep it properly lubed and, having learned my lesson, I'd like not to repeat my mistake with the tongue jack.

I also have Bal Stabilizers on my 13Scamp, I simply spray them with white grease and exercise them once in a while. They are exposed to the elements whereas the tongue jack is enclosed.

You could simply use a spray of white grease up inside the inner tube on the jack with the foot removed and the jack fully retracted, then run it down and up a couple of times to disperse the grease.
When it is fully extended rub some more white grease on the outside of the inner tube.
The Ring gear is not sealed, so you could just spray under it with PBs blaster(or the like) and plenty of it will run down the threads. or if you like you could drill a tiny hole near the top of the chamber and spray into it.
One happy point, tongue jacks need less maintenance than Bal Sabilizers and they cost a lot less. They also only take three bolts to change.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

Floyd is that your own picture?

bob

yes.

[k0wtz]

I have used the grease in a can to fix a hung up ball lock you know the thing that comes down and lock up things I put a m/lock through it. it got so it was hard to work.

grease in a can fixed it works perfect now!! good stuff!

bob