Adding Anti-Stiction Fluid To Lippert 6 Point System

[orbiker]

I used a turkey baster. It worked OK but I'm sure there are way better tools for the job.

Thanks Brian.

[Fsalmy]

What is the best way to siphon out a quart ??? KEN

We have several variations of this siphon pump on the farm - https://www.walmart.com/ip/HyperToug...00WD/345121918 Cheap and most work pretty well. Except the Tractor Supply store brand one. It leaked like a sieve.

[Second Chance]

What is the best way to siphon out a quart ??? KEN

I bought an inexpensive siphoning kit at a local auto parts store. I think it was meant for gasoline, but it worked.

Rob

[Hoopy Frood]

What causes the popping sound? Just curious.

[Second Chance]

What causes the popping sound? Just curious.

The pistons (leveler struts) stick to the O-ring seals and, as the ambient temperature changes, the fluid expands or contracts and the struts/pistons shift a little. The "stiction" at the seals causes the popping.

Rob

[jjbbrewer]

The Lippert white paper allows for replacement of up to two quarts of ATF with up to two quarts of the anti-stiction fluid or fork oil. The first time I only replaced one quart of ATF with one quart of fork oil. We ran it that way for several months. We move frequently, so I think it was well-mixed but we were still getting popping. I then siphoned off another quart and added the quart of CAT fluid and, after a few cycles of the gear and slides (they share hydraulics), no more popping.

Thanks for that info.

So could it be the ratio of anti-stiction fluid to ATF rather that the fluid itself? I'm wondering if replacing 2 quarts of ATF with either the Torco RFF or the Maxima would have had the same effect. The Lippert page kind of suggest incrementally adding anti-stiction fluid up to 2 quarts until the problem is resolved.

[Hoopy Frood]

The pistons (leveler struts) stick to the O-ring seals and, as the ambient temperature changes, the fluid expands or contracts and the struts/pistons shift a little. The "stiction" at the seals causes the popping.

Rob

Thank you for the explanation.

[Second Chance]

Thanks for that info.

So could it be the ratio of anti-stiction fluid to ATF rather that the fluid itself? I'm wondering if replacing 2 quarts of ATF with either the Torco RFF or the Maxima would have had the same effect. The Lippert page kind of suggest incrementally adding anti-stiction fluid up to 2 quarts until the problem is resolved.

It's possible, but since my "experiment" was completely unscientific, I have no way of knowing if it was the addition of the CAT fluid or the (less than) two quarts of any kind of fluid. I say "less than" because a little of the original quart of fork oil was siphoned out in the mix when I added the CAT fluid. When I replace the fluid at the recommended interval down the road, I think I'll stick with the CAT fluid, anyway, though.

Rob

[bertschb]

So could it be the ratio of anti-stiction fluid to ATF rather that the fluid itself?

That's possible but I know in my case (with two different 5th wheels) that adding a single quart of the CAT fluid fixed the "popping" sound.

[jjbbrewer]

It's possible, but since my "experiment" was completely unscientific, I have no way of knowing if it was the addition of the CAT fluid or the (less than) two quarts of any kind of fluid. I say "less than" because a little of the original quart of fork oil was siphoned out in the mix when I added the CAT fluid.

Yep, that makes sense.

When I replace the fluid at the recommended interval down the road, I think I'll stick with the CAT fluid, anyway, though.

Sounds good. The reason I'm going into this so much is I tend to have quite a bit of various brands/weights of fork & shock oil at home (I have 3 dirt bikes, 3 road motorcycles, and a full suspension mountain bicycle). I'd much rather use some of that then have yet another container of fluid sitting around. Thankfully, I haven't had any popping (yet?) but if/when I do, I'll try an experiment with the fork oil and post up what I find out.
Good info!