HOW TO: VIP 3000 Electric Stabilizer Jack Service

[Rivernerd]

On 4/24/2020 at 7:10 PM, John E Davies said:

NOTE: there is another fuse in back under the street side bed, I am not sure why there are two fuses. Can anyone comment?

A belated response to your query:  In his 2021 delivery video, Jason explains that the second fuse for the front jack under the rear street side access panel is installed to satisfy a requirement that the circuit be fused within "x" distance from the power source.  The power source, of course, is the battery bank.  Jason does not specify what the "x" distance is in the video.

[John E Davies]

52 minutes ago, Rivernerd said:

A belated response to your query:  In his 2021 delivery video, Jason explains that the second fuse for the front jack under the rear street side access panel is installed to satisfy a requirement that the circuit be fused within "x" distance from the power source.  The power source, of course, is the battery bank.  Jason does not specify what the "x" distance is in the video.

Thanks, that makes sense in a kind of warped way. I think it would have been a whole lot more logical to install a robust quick detach connector at the jack (like an Anderson Powerpole) and just have the one fuse in the back of the trailer, where the other two are located. Fuses are not real reliable, and having two in a circuit is generally a bad idea. If you are troubleshooting a dead jack, and check that front fuse and find it good, you might not know that you need to check the BACK one also.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Wayfinder]

@John E Davies It's not quite been two years since you used that awesome grease in the electric jacks, but it "might be" of interest to some what the grease is now looking like, at least in one of the rear jacks, which are easier to inspect.  I would imaging, even with a good bit of use, that the grease looks fine and has remained on the teeth of the gears/cogs, unlike the white grease that came from the jack manufacturer. 

[John E Davies]

3 hours ago, Wayfinder said:

@John E Davies It's not quite been two years since you used that awesome grease in the electric jacks, but it "might be" of interest to some what the grease is now looking like, at least in one of the rear jacks, which are easier to inspect.  I would imaging, even with a good bit of use, that the grease looks fine and has remained on the teeth of the gears/cogs, unlike the white grease that came from the jack manufacturer. 

Stop on by sometime, you can take a look, I do not plan on opening it up myself for quite a while.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[jd1923]

On 4/24/2020 at 6:10 PM, John E Davies said:

I have never opened up a jack, they are all starting to get a little loud, so I decided to service the front one. I don't remember them being this loud when new: ....  John Davies

I listened to the audio clip, and mine is certainly loud too. I want to first thank JD, for publishing this years ago! I read this first and it saved me time. I'm going to add my rebuild that I worked today. Thanks for reading!

[jd1923]

On 1/30/2023 at 10:18 AM, John E Davies said:

Stop on by sometime, you can take a look, I do not plan on opening it up myself for quite a while. John Davies

I could not agree more! LOL, thanks John. Now that I did my front jack, and the amount of short local travel we do, ask me again in 2028 and I'll service this again! Doing such maintenance annually is indemnification from the manufacture's legal department, not required.

[jd1923]

Well at least another member opened this old thread, this year of 2023, before I did, and I thank you. After reading everything here, I jacked the front up high of our Oliver, and placed it on a jack stand. I started pulling the cover off the VIP3000 Power Jack and then remembered from JD's post, that I should first remove the power head.

You want to pull the head, using the 5/32" Allen key, and work the maintenance on your shop workbench. First thing I noticed is that the main driveshaft had a 1/4" play up and down, that cannot be good! Then I stripped down the parts, looking carefully at the gears and bushings. Let me show you a few pics first.

I do not have the pic when I first opened the top casing, but of the insides. But, like John wrote, the old brown grease is "cr@p." Not his words exactly, but to quote one of our lovely forum members. Thanks 😉

[jd1923]

You should notice from the pics (previous post), that I took my rebuild another step and punched out the cross-pin that holds the main drive gear into the housing. The picture shows the punch, the pin, gear and housing. Note the hole, that you would drive a punch through to remove the pin The pin can be punched either direction, as both ends are tapered. I was worried at first, trying to eyeball the thinner side, not!

John previously mentioned the black metal powder/shavings in the grease. Top of the gear was old and hard; bottom of the gear was soft, well used and rich of burnt metal.

[jd1923]

Next step is to thoroughly clean everything. Often, it's suggested to use a brake cleaner spray, like CRC Brakleen, but I try to use these seldomly, for several reasons. One good reason is they're $6 a can, and if you want the environmentally friendly version, it's $10 OTD (and works less effectively). 

First, I pick out all the grease with an appropriate-sized screwdriver, large to small. Then I use a plastic detail brush (see pic), removing grease and wiping on a paper towel. I remove ALL the parts I can, and soak metal parts in old gasoline. I like to use what I have in my shop, and we always have old gas (after dirt riding we always drain the carbs on our bikes).

Note the dark gray color of the gasoline. I brushed and wiped these gears thoroughly and the dark gray is the metal suspended in the gasoline. It's good to have compressed air to blow parts clean.

[jd1923]

The bushings were not worn, but have an odd loose fit, that you would not see in auto applications, like in a water or oil pump. The only worn part I observed was the motor drive gear. See the pic. The relay gear contacts this drive gear at the top portion. It appears the bottom of this gear has cut into the drive gear some, might be some of the noise and the only way to replace this would be to purchase a new motor. It's good enough for now.

[jd1923]

Time to reassemble the jack. You want to get ample grease under the main drive gear. There is a spacing between the washers on the underside and I made sure this groove was packed. Then I thought the housing area under this gear should be filled with grease. Don't forget the washer which you can see in a picture above. The first time I pushed it in, it did not sound right. So, I added a heaping tablespoon more grease and the second time I could hear the correct swoosh sound, with excess grease coming out around the edges. I made sure every tooth on all 3 gears were greased and applied some on top.

[jd1923]

I use a less known brand of high-temp wheel bearing grease. You can see the specs in the picture. I bought a 10-pack online for what 3 tubes costs at the big-name auto parts stores. 

Then I remounted the head plate. The gasket was firmly in place on the top aluminum plate and came easily off the pot-metal casing below. I didn't want the torn gasket, as you had seen earlier. I love this gasket sealer, Permatex High Tack. I've used it on almost any gasket that requires a dressing, for the last 30 years. Just brush it on and you can wait as long as time takes for assembly. It remains tacky, will not harden but seals extremely well. Works on gas, oil and water seals, so no water is getting into this and next time it will remove nicely.

I hand-torque the mounting bolts and lastly positioned the cross pin and tapped it into place. It went in much easier than it came out. When removing this pin, do not be afraid to hit it hard, punch centered, with a short heavy hammer.  You can see the access hole in this photo too (photo take prior to applying grease).

[jd1923]

Doesn't she look pretty! It did not look like this when I pulled the head! It's hard to do this work without getting the wheel bearing grease here and there. So, take advantage of that. I pushed and rubbed the grease in every nook-n-cranny, every piece of plastic and metal and the grease removes the dirt and corrosion. Kept rubbing with clean paper towels and this is the end result. 

When I started this, there was a full 1/4" up-n-down play in the main shaft. By packing grease under the drive gear, there is now no play at all - hope this lasts!

I need to mount the head and clean the main jack post. I'll get back in a day or two to show that. When the head is mounted, I'll spray a little Super Clean on the head, brush it some, and hose it off to remove any remaining grease.

[jd1923]

Final steps are to mount the head and clean the jack post...

I figured out why the motor worm gear has the metal cuts, where the bottom of intermediate gear connects. The wear occurs when you bottom out the gear!!! I/we gotta stop doing this! Lol

Following are pics of the final install, with a before & after of the dirty & clean jack post...

[jd1923]

Monsoon rains came early today in the Arizona high country! Dropped the temp 25 degrees in minutes and I was able to get a lot done on Oliver and our TV!

We're definitely going with a dry jack post. There is absolutely NO need to grease this post, and don't waste $10+ on WD-40 or any other Teflon spray! You only grease fittings with clearances like +/- .030" or less, and there is a good 1/8" difference between the post OD and the housing ID! Just clean her gently and you're done.

Regarding the before and after pic above, the before was actually way dirtier (see the back side in the pic to follow) and the after was really way cleaner!

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

There is absolutely NO need to grease this post, and don't waste $10+ on WD-40 or any other Teflon spray! You only grease fittings with clearances like +/- .030" or less, and there is a good 1/8" difference between the post OD and the housing ID! Just clean her gently and you're done.

In a perfect world you would be correct. On dead flat slabs, fine, but if you encounter a sloping, uneven, unimproved site like in many older National Park or USFS campgrounds, there needs to be lube on the tubes, especially the front one. After chocking and then unhitching, the trailer will always shift, sometimes a fair bit. With dry tubes that have a strong sideways force on them, you will experience creaks, groans and pops, and the jack won’t operate smoothly. It won’t hurt the mechanism, but it is disconcerting and should in theory be prevented.

I suggest Redline CV-2, the same grease inside the gearbox. Apply a very small amount and rub it hard into the (degreased) metal with your palms. Disposable gloves! It should look a little shiny but you shouldn’t see grease.

John Davies

Spokane WA 

[jd1923]

Thanks John, for your input. When this subject came up earlier in this thread, there were mixed feelings. I believe that if you are jacking up you trailer and the jack is bowing to the point that the center post is rubbing against the housing, you should stop and correct your leveling blocks. Where we camp, there is so much dust and dirt of all kinds and colors, a few miles down the road the grease collects dirt which is more abrasive than metal on metal. I'm going to go with mine dry for now, keeping your advice in mind and now that the metal is clean, I will quickly be able to see if the post gets marred.

Edited July 29, 2023 by jd1923
edit: "leveling blocks" is correct not jacks

[jd1923]

My last addition is to follow. How can you get these parts so clean in just minutes?

Fall of 2016, I had to pull the engine on my Goldwing, just to replace the stator. Poor design, but the bike stopped charging, and the repair meant pulling the engine - wow! After a long day pulling parts, I was thinking about how I would clean and recondition all of them.  What a job it would be! As I was washing my hands with GoJo, it dawned on me. If GoJo could remove the grease, so easily from my black greasy hands, why wouldn't it do the same to my engine parts?

Many spray Brakleen, use other degreasers and they are harsh, polluting and never do a complete job. So, I gave my idea a try on my Goldwing engine - the results were amazing! Rub on the GoJo (NOT the pumice kind), push it around, be patient until it breaks down All the grime. Then simply hose it off with a fine mist spray. That's it, and it works amazingly!

It took me 10 minutes to setup and literally 5 minutes to clean the jack post as shown in the pics above. I strongly suggest you give this a try on any part, metal, plastic or whatever, that needs deep cleaning. 

Following are a few pics... First my restored 1984 Goldwing Standard (every part, from engine to driveshaft, wheels, brake calipers, etc. were cleaned with GoJo). Then the engine, just after cleaning with GoJo (the top was loaded with oil, grease, dried gasoline and antifreeze, and dirt). Use compressed air to blow dry after hosing.

Next are the battery trays I just removed from my TV (see left vs. right tray, they were both just as dirty). Lastly is everything you need to do the job! GoJo or the Walmart brand ($2.47 plus tax), brushes and do save all your used toothbrushes for the tight spots. It really works well, just an idea I had, and I've never heard another mechanic or restoration specialist speak of it (most mechanics only clean surfaces that are required, and slap everything back together as dirty as it was). I wish I had come up with this idea 30+ years earlier in all my auto restoration work. It would have saved me hundreds of hours of time, delivering better results! Please let me know what you think, after trying it.

[SeaDawg]

20 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Monsoon rains came early today in the Arizona high country! Dropped the temp 25 degrees in minutes and I was able to get a lot done on Oliver and our TV!

We're definitely going with a dry jack post. There is absolutely NO need to grease this post, and don't waste $10+ on WD-40 or any other Teflon spray! You only grease fittings with clearances like +/- .030" or less, and there is a good 1/8" difference between the post OD and the housing ID! Just clean her gently and you're done.

Regarding the before and after pic above, the before was actually way dirtier (see the back side in the pic to follow) and the after was really way cleaner!

I'd put a block or two under those jacks. Just saying...

Spread the load, decrease your chance of an accidental "drive-off" bending a jack, decrease the throw of the jack... Stretching everything to the limit isn't ever best protocol, imo,  and, if a jack or jack switch  fails, it's easier to bring the jack back up, if it's not fully extended. 

Lube or don't  lube. Your choice, but most folks find lubing moving parts (with appropriate lube) to be beneficial (someday.)

[jd1923]

10 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

I'd put a block or two under those jacks. Just saying...

Once the front frame was jacked up and placed on an automotive jack stand, I removed the leveling blocks to lower the jack to the bottom for cleaning. This is what is pictured. BTW, the jack pictured is close, but NOT even touching the ground! Now that the work is done, and always when the Oliver is parked, the jack is sitting on 6 or more leveling blocks, so that the jack does not overextend.

Barker, the manufacturer of the VIP3000 power jack, has owner's instructions that includes maintenance instructions. Greasing the powerhead is described, with no mention of grease required on the post.

[SeaDawg]

Sorry. The photo looked Ike it was on the ground.