Brand new GT5 - Hydraulic leak near leveling pump

[NXR]

Well, we've had the GT5 for two months and taken three trips so technically it's no longer "brand new".

Tonight I noticed some spots on my new concrete driveway extension. I got underneath and it was oily. I looked up and saw that the bottom of the house battery/leveling jack hydraulic compartment was wet with red fluid. I opened it up and saw red fluid had sprayed around inside.

The tank level looks pretty close to the same but that little dip stick inside the cap is useless because it doesn't have any serrations. It's definitely above the low level mark.

I haven't had a chance to run the system yet because I was home alone. The fluid is not on any of the walls, not on the ceiling of the compartment and not on the inside of the compartment door (thankfully, since it's white).

The two electrical connectors on the manifold closest to the outside are sprayed but the two on the opposite side, the inner side, are not sprayed. The house battery connectors are sprayed as are most of the electrical connectors on the inner-most wall (closest to the driveshaft). I opened the Precision Circuits battery control panel and fortunately it's dry inside. The circuit breakers just aft of it are also sprayed.

Looking at the spray pattern is making me think it's coming from that junction on the rear-most section or the pump itself. You can see a drop of fluid on one connector and you can see where the spray is more dense and the direction it went.

I wiped off as much as possible so we'll see tomorrow where this is going.

Ray

[foretg]

Welcome to FR's high standard of quality!!!
Good luck with the repairs. Hopefully it is just a loose connection.


D.Smith 2015 GT364

[NXR]

I don't think this one is a quality issue, depending on what I find. We've got over 800 miles on it and many jack cycles and this just started. Stuff breaks, which is why there are warranties.

I looked things over pretty closely and paid special attention to the hydraulic system during our PDI (I used to work on jets). The only thing I noticed was that the rear jack hydraulic lines were right up against the metal jack structure whereas the fronts were not. I added spiral wrap for chafe protection but otherwise everything looked good.

Ray

[Mr. October]

I don’t think the red spray on the electrical connections is hydraulic fluid. It is something applied to all the electrical connections in the battery compartment. We have the same on ours. I believe it is an anti corrosive spray. There is a lot of overspray around the connections but definitely intentional. I asked about this at our PDI and the tech showed me a CRC product that is probably what they use. It is applied with a heavy hand on and around all the components.

So while there may be a hydraulic leak somewhere, the red spray is on purpose.

[Btm]

My GT 5 had a leak that looked about like yours at about 2300 miles. I spent a lot of time cleaning off the fluid so I could find the leak. Also tried to tighten fittings, but did not find any loose. I looked in the compartment and underneath every time the levelers were used. Never found a leak and never had fluid on anything again and now have about 8000 miles. My conclusion was that it was blow back around the tank fill cap threads caused by a full fluid tank. I hope you find your leak or it will not happen again

Btm

[EddieJ]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

I don’t think the red spray on the electrical connections is hydraulic fluid. It is something applied to all the electrical connections in the battery compartment. We have the same on ours. I believe it is an anti corrosive spray. There is a lot of overspray around the connections but definitely intentional. I asked about this at our PDI and the tech showed me a CRC product that is probably what they use. It is applied with a heavy hand on and around all the components.

So while there may be a hydraulic leak somewhere, the red spray is on purpose.

That’s exactly what I was going to say . I have the same red coating on all of my electrical connections as well in that compartment.

[BigRockr]

Had a guy blow a hydraulic line next to us in Los Cruces. It reeked! Does this smell at all? Have a friend run the hydraulics with your head in their (with glasses on of course). It's unlikely it healed itself. You should see the issue.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by EddieJ

That’s exactly what I was going to say . I have the same red coating on all of my electrical connections as well in that compartment.

Agreed. The hydraulic fluid just happens to be the same color. The wiring, the plastic parts, it was all covered with fluid.

Ray

[FORKLIFMAN]

Check that all the fittings are tight, one may have been snug, and after using the hydraulics a couple times, may have loosened up.I suggest a proper size wrench not a crescent wrench. Looks like 3/4" maybe 13/16" or even 5/8". You may have to take the outside hoses lose off to check that the back hoses are tight......I would suggest cleaning with brake cleaner and compressed air if you have it..... put a big piece of cardboard under area to keep ground clean!!! This is common practice, way to clean hydraulics when in the field and doing repairs. I carried brake fluid by the case!Before removing any hoses mark them! So they are put back on correctly. Little punch marks? Tape labels, pictures, what ever works. Sharpie marks tend to disappear.

Before you check fittings, doing all your fittings. Some one may have over filled the reservoir? From the mess in your pictures I doubt, this is your problem, but still check the level!

Clean everything then check your fluid level..... Mine when I bought it was being over filled, by previous owner,and lots of fluid on the manifold and else where as a result! ( Nothing like what you have)From what you said? You thought the oil level was OK? I would say you have a lose ,or blown hose, looking at the mess on your pictures! Here is the proper way to, check fluid level for any Hydraulic system!

First and foremost NEVER check the level, after its been left in operated position! in other words all the cylinders have to be retracted. This will put all the fluid in the system, back into the reservoir, this is when you check the level... So if any cylinders are extended, the level will be low! If you were to check the level while something is out(extended) IT WILL BE LOW! AND IF YOU ADD FLUID,because you think it is low. after the said cylinder is retracted , you will have a big mess!

The fluid is red, more than likely it , it is Automatic Transmission fluid...
Make sure to find out the correct /recommended FLUID is, for this system. There are so many different Trany fluids and Hydraulic fluids, better to be safe.

Hope this makes sense?
Good luck

Cheers David

[NXR]

Originally Posted by BigRockr

Had a guy blow a hydraulic line next to us in Los Cruces. It reeked! Does this smell at all? Have a friend run the hydraulics with your head in their (with glasses on of course). It's unlikely it healed itself. You should see the issue.

Nope, no smell.

We did extend the jacks today and will be retracting them on Monday. I did not see any indication of a leak on extension. I was watching inside the compartment while my wife ran the jacks. I'm going to try and clean more of the residue off the fittings so I can see if one is seeping.

Ray

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Btm

My GT 5 had a leak that looked about like yours at about 2300 miles. I spent a lot of time cleaning off the fluid so I could find the leak. Also tried to tighten fittings, but did not find any loose. I looked in the compartment and underneath every time the levelers were used. Never found a leak and never had fluid on anything again and now have about 8000 miles. My conclusion was that it was blow back around the tank fill cap threads caused by a full fluid tank. I hope you find your leak or it will not happen again

My hope as well.

Mine definitely did not come from the tank cap according to the spray pattern. That outside rear corner of the manifold is where it was the heaviest and the inside forward parts of fittings were not hit. So wherever the leak came from, it was headed from the rear outside part of the compartment and aimed in the direction of the driver. I think.

Ray

[NXR]

Originally Posted by FORKLIFMAN

Hope this makes sense?
Good luck

Cheers David

It definitely does. I used to work on jets (avionics and electrical) for a small corporate flight department. I've had a lot of education on the other systems including hydraulics. I agree with everything you said.

We'll see what happens when we retract them.

The tank level in the picture is where it is with the jacks retracted. I thought it was low so I had the dealer check it. They told me there is a dipstick inside the cap, which I did not know, and there is one there. They said it was at the correct level a month ago

Unfortunately the dipstick is kind of useless because it only has two serrations, Full and Low. Because of the fluid composition it leaves no mark on the dipstick but the Low mark is definitely wet with the jacks retracted.

There is a 1.5" difference on the dipstick between the Full and the Low marks. I measured the dipstick and adjusted for how much the dipstick goes up inside the cap and the height of the neck. If I did it right, a full tank is 1.25" below the top of the tank and the low mark is 2.75" below the top of the tank.

It is ATF fluid. I need to figure out if it's Dexron or what, though. Lippert says either Dexron or something else can be used but I do not want to mix fluid types.

Ray

[kenandterry]

In the documentation for my Lippert Hydraulic system it says you can use ATF fluid specifically for Dexron lll/Mercon applications.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by kenandterry

In the documentation for my Lippert Hydraulic system it says you can use ATF fluid specifically for Dexron lll/Mercon applications.

Thanks! I'll need to dig through MyLCI again.

Ray

[Btm]

[QUOTE=NXR;2187472]Nope, no smell.

We did extend the jacks today and will be retracting them on Monday. I did not see any indication of a leak on extension. I was watching inside the compartment while my wife ran the jacks. I'm going to try and clean more of the residue off the fittings so I can see if one is seeping.

Ray[/

When you retracted your jacks, did you still have a leak ? Have you found where the leak was and fixed it ?

[NXR]

We've run the jacks several more times and zero leaks. Go figure.

Ray

[JimF]

The LCI manual says the tank fluid level is supposed to be 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the top with all jacks retracted. Well, I filled mine to that level and ran the jacks and slides. Whoa nelly, when I retracted them ATF blew out of the vent cap all over the compartment. It looked like a high pressure leak, but wasn’t, and the tank level was down to the fill line that was indicated on the tank, about 1 and 1/2 inch down. Now that is the level I keep it.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by JimF

The LCI manual says the tank fluid level is supposed to be 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the top with all jacks retracted. Well, I filled mine to that level and ran the jacks and slides. Whoa nelly, when I retracted them ATF blew out of the vent cap all over the compartment. It looked like a high pressure leak, but wasn’t, and the tank level was down to the fill line that was indicated on the tank, about 1 and 1/2 inch down. Now that is the level I keep it.

Yes, I saw that notation also. Mine wasn't nearly that high when this happened. I measured the dipstick inside the cap and my measurements match what you noted, but my tank doesn't have a fill line on it.

Ray

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by JimF

The LCI manual says the tank fluid level is supposed to be 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the top with all jacks retracted.

Isn't that jacks and slides retracted?

[JimF]

Originally Posted by bubbles

Isn't that jacks and slides retracted?

Yep, your right, I should have said “all hydraulic cylinders retracted, jacks and slides” to be more specific. Thanks for pointing out the oversight, didn’t mean to confuse anyone.