Leaking Dewald hydraulic pump

[Terry’s Atrium]

Hi, I have a 2005 Atrium diesel pusher with 3 slides. I have a Dewald hydraulic pump that operates the leveling jacks and 3 slide outs. The pump reservoir is leaking. I’ve looked at the power gear manual and have done some research and it looks like Dewald was purchased by Lippert. Before I go down a rabbit hole, I’m wondering if anyone has had to tackle this problem and either obtained a rebuild kit or replacement pump from Lippert? Or perhaps had the existing Dewald pump rebuilt?

Any assistance and info will be greatly appreciated.

Thank ou!

[zippyphd]

I've pretty much done everything you can with that hydraulic system, (2007 TM 40C).

For mine, the pump was located in the basement, in front of the water heater. I (VERY!) carefully documented every wire, hose, bolt, connection, and then removed the pump. (Difficult as it weighs 20-30 lbs or so and requires a bit of contortions to get to it...) Used plastic to 'cap' the hoses, after marking what went where, disconnected the electrical, (careful, I THINK the battery cut off opened the circuit..), then pulled the pump out. I removed the electric motor, (again, carefully as it has a cam attachment that was no fun to replace..) I then took the pump to a hydraulic repair shop where they redid all the seals. That cost about $100. Reverse the process of removing and it's worked great since. One more thing, if you have any 'bubbling' of your hydraulic lines, now would be a good time to replace them...

[Terry’s Atrium]

I've pretty much done everything you can with that hydraulic system, (2007 TM 40C).

For mine, the pump was located in the basement, in front of the water heater. I (VERY!) carefully documented every wire, hose, bolt, connection, and then removed the pump. (Difficult as it weighs 20-30 lbs or so and requires a bit of contortions to get to it...) Used plastic to 'cap' the hoses, after marking what went where, disconnected the electrical, (careful, I THINK the battery cut off opened the circuit..), then pulled the pump out. I removed the electric motor, (again, carefully as it has a cam attachment that was no fun to replace..) I then took the pump to a hydraulic repair shop where they redid all the seals. That cost about $100. Reverse the process of removing and it's worked great since. One more thing, if you have any 'bubbling' of your hydraulic lines, now would be a good time to replace them...

Thank you very much. After calling around, I think I am going to have to do the same as you and remove it carefully. I have not been able to find a place to repair it in the Denver metro area yet but still looking.

Thanks!

[THenne1713]

Reservoir should be filled w/ all slides retracted, with a small air space (5-10%?) for hydraulic fluid expansion by temperature. BUT reservoir is NOT under pressure, so consider if repairable using Epoxy?

[Billie/Jack]

Lippert won’t help, we have been struggling with this Dewald system for a few months put a new motor on it, but can’t find help for other issues. Good luck with it , hope you can find a good outcome.[/B]Hi, I have a 2005 Atrium diesel pusher with 3 slides. I have a Dewald hydraulic pump that operates the leveling jacks and 3 slide outs. The pump reservoir is leaking. I’ve looked at the power gear manual and have done some research and it looks like Dewald was purchased by Lippert. Before I go down a rabbit hole, I’m wondering if anyone has had to tackle this problem and either obtained a rebuild kit or replacement pump from Lippert? Or perhaps had the existing Dewald pump rebuilt?

Any assistance and info will be greatly appreciated.

Thank ou!

[Eddndee]

I have the Lippert/Dewald system on my GS. I found a great amount of fluid under my pump after adding fluid. It thought maybe I had over-filled it or I had not properly threaded the fill cap on. I never saw any leaks otherwise and it has since stopped leaking. The reservoir is never under pressure? Hmmm…?

[Terry’s Atrium]

I have the Lippert/Dewald system on my GS. I found a great amount of fluid under my pump after adding fluid. It thought maybe I had over-filled it or I had not properly threaded the fill cap on. I never saw any leaks otherwise and it has since stopped leaking. The reservoir is never under pressure? Hmmm…?

That’s Interesting. I’ll have to recheck mine as I’m assuming it is still leaking. It had leaked quite a bit of fluid and made a mess.
I’ve owned RVs for the past 40 years and it’s always something! 😩

[THenne1713]

If you fill in cooler temps and/or do not allow a small air space (5-10% for temperature expansion??), and/or do not make sure retracted before filling, you stand a big CHANCE of OVERFLOW on retraction, or large weather temperature increase? (My $0.02, Just a gut feel, based on years of mechanical experience.) I have read MANY say "fill until full", but can see where that may well be a mistake. BRAKE Reservoirs/ BRAKE FLUID, as example, GET HUGE HIGH TEMP Change, maybe even boiling, BUT the reservoir CAP has a built-in EXPANSION SPACE AND RUBBER CAP SEAL ENGINEERED INTO THE CAP DESIGN, and additional compensation in lower fluid as brakes Wear... NEITHER an influence in (MY Dewald slide hydraulics) that I recall :-)

[Chuck v]

Since the slide room(s) and the jacks all share this pump/reservoir, be sure to raise/retract all the jacks before filling the fluid.


Chuck

[Terry’s Atrium]

Thank you Thenne1713 and Chuck v, that makes a lot of sense and to be honest, I don't remember if I filled it with slides and jacks retracted or extended? I do know that prior to me checking the fluid and then deciding to fill it up, there wasn't a big overflow mess and I thought it was odd that all of the sudden, once I filled it, there was a big overflow mess. I'll have to double check. It would be great if that is what is happening vs. a leak requiring a rebuild/reseal job.

Thanks again for the great advice!!!

[Terry’s Atrium]

Well, thank everyone for their help with this. I don't believe that my pump is leaking. I believe that I filled it while all the jacks and 3 slides were extended and when I retracted everything, it caused an overflow like it was suggested by Thenne1713 and Chuck v. Today I checked the fluid level, while everything was retracted, and it was spot on. Thanks again as I was about to go down that rebuild/reseal path and now I'm relieved that doesn't require any repairs, at least for now. I love when I get a pleasant surprise!!

Thanks!
Terry :)

[ricklin]

There is an excellent and inexpensive option for the Dewald system motor.

Ebay! Way back before I figured out that sales reps make more bucks than engineers.
Having done a lot of engineering, I figured it was very unlikely Dewald had a pump made for the application. I was right, it is a "generic" pump/motor assembly.

Exactly the same as the Mercury marine motor/pump for outboard tilt/trim systems.

A new one will be well under 100 bucks. I replaced that motor years ago, still working great.

Hope this saves someone a buck or two.

[dbfisher]

There is an excellent and inexpensive option for the Dewald system motor.

Ebay! Way back before I figured out that sales reps make more bucks than engineers.
Having done a lot of engineering, I figured it was very unlikely Dewald had a pump made for the application. I was right, it is a "generic" pump/motor assembly.

Exactly the same as the Mercury marine motor/pump for outboard tilt/trim systems.

A new one will be well under 100 bucks. I replaced that motor years ago, still working great.

Hope this saves someone a buck or two.


You are my HERO! I read this and found the motor you mentioned on Amazon for a fraction of the price I was expecting. It wasn't the cheapest, but it seems like others may have read your reply as well - there seems to be a shortage of these motors on the market :)

[ricklin]

Ya, it was under a hundred, but that's been a few years now.

There is tons of stuff like this I've run across over the years. Back in my day it was the Thomas guides, in manufacturing it always makes more sense to buy a component versus making it yourself.
Funny, I can remember talking to the people who published Thomas guides back then, I suggested they may want to take a look at using the WWW.

They thought it a passing fad.

[Chuck v]

The WWW may indeed be a passing fad -- we just don't know what will replace it yet (but it certainly will NOT be the Thomas Guide tomes getting updated every year or two and mailed out...)


Chuck

[dbfisher]

Ya, it was under a hundred, but that's been a few years now.

There is tons of stuff like this I've run across over the years. Back in my day it was the Thomas guides, in manufacturing it always makes more sense to buy a component versus making it yourself.
Funny, I can remember talking to the people who published Thomas guides back then, I suggested they may want to take a look at using the WWW.

They thought it a passing fad.

Hahahahaha. Passing fad. Bet they wish they had bought stock in Google...

This one was $150CAD which was a bit more than other places, but those other places didn't have it. I called marine supply stores and they wanted $350+ for it. Yay for Amazon! Bet lots of people thought Amazon was a passing fad, too

[ricklin]

Yup,
And we are still figuring it out. To me the most dramatic example of "connectivity" was the first gulf war.

The world changed that day when live war was brought to our living rooms.

That's been what 25 years? We continue to adjust. Bringing "everything" in to the harsh light of day has consequences, and unintended consequences.

[dbfisher]

I remember being horrified at seeing war "live". I cried for my young children. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. But as with most things, careful, deliberate use of the internet as a source of information is invaluable!

[ricklin]

100% agree db.
I'm fortunate enough to be an empty nester, thus we must be a little careful in my casa, no filters on that fat fiber optic pipe coming in.

There are many things I have NO desire to see, or to see again. I often struggle with some of the "mainstream" TV shows and their depictions on screen of burnt bodies for instance.
I've not met the individual that cares to see that stuff as "entertainment" when they have BTDT in actual experience.
There are many things best left unseen.
The violence and hyper realism of CGI and video games serves to desensitize. This is not a good thing.

[Henry111]

I bought a Bayite pump to replace an existing pump on a 15-gallon point sprayer, the screw hooks were perfectly aligned, and the water pump (https://www.rvhometown.com/best-rv-water-pumps/) was more powerful than the old one, worked as advertised, used about 1.5 hours yesterday and will be repeated in the following days. Saved me waiting for an out of stock replacement tank for more bucks. Now a year later in June 2022 the pump is still working great, I use it several times a year.

[dangerruss]

Do you believe the leak is between the reservoir and the motor or the reservoir and the pump?
Thanks..

[Typhoon]

Hi, was reading your conversation, what are the keywords you have to put in to find that 12v motor assembly? Did you find on amazon.com or .ca?
Thanx, I haven't been able to find it, lol.

[THenne1713]

Dangerruss, In Post #11, he advised that it is now probably overfill, as apparently filled while extended, and overfilled when retracted.