by JON TWORK 1996 Foretravel U270-36
I have been troubled by a leaking hydraulic pump and leaking fan motors for some time. I installed some specialty fluid designed to swell the seals in the hydraulic system and it seemed to work quite well for a while but, the leaks never totally stopped. In the back of my mind, I awaited imminent failure.
I had already done research on obtaining new or rebuilt pumps from VARIOUS sources. Some said the pumps MIGHT be able to be rebuilt and others said NO WAY as the manufacturer has gone out of business. A new hydraulic pump might run as high as $2800 along with one fan motor being $1900 and the other at about $1400. THIS WAS JUST FOR THE PARTS. NO LABOR. Too pricey for me. I kept looking and looking.
I finally ran across a repair facility that indicated that they could help. It seemed to be a very clean and well-run shop. The facility specialized in mining and forestry hydraulics.
From here, read carefully.
I drove into the shop on Wednesday morning and backed me up to the garage door on the pump rebuilding building. I opened the engine compartment door for the mechanic and the first words out of his mouth when he looked into the compartment were, “Whoa! Humm! That’s not good!” He was pointing to the engine coolant pump which was slowly dripping coolant out on the ground. We both understood the gravity of the situation and after looking it over, he commented that: No problem we can deal with that. He removed it and they ordered a replacement from Columbus, OH.
The replacement coolant pump arrived the next day and installed. BIG problem resolved.
They pulled the hydraulic pump and had it all rebuilt and installed by 9 AM the next day and they had also removed the two fan motors and found that they needed a series of “O” rings that were available in Michigan. The parts were shipped overnight and arrived at about noon on Thursday. They were installed and tested and we left the area on Thursday afternoon with everything working. We spent two nights parked in their lot hooked up to electric along with a nice view and gentle breezes. It gave us time to drive around that area of WV and enjoy the rivers and lakes and scenery. We have put on about 1100 miles since the repair and no sign of any leaks or any problems.
The following is the bill I received for the above services:
| 1 gl | ANTIFREEZE | $15 |
| 1 | WP-9008 WATER PUMP | $125 |
| REPAIR HYDRAULIC PUMP | $90 | |
| 2 | REPAIR FAN MOTORS | $130 |
| 2 gl | 15-40 ROTELLA | $44 |
| 4 hr | LABOR | $200 |
The labor was originally 8 hours on the bill. He crossed out the 8 and made it a 4
The subtotal was $604 and he X’d it out and made it $550 and added tax of $33 for a grand total of $583.00
He realized that we were traveling and he mentioned that the labor part of the work they did was related to hydraulics and NOT motor home service and then discounted the labor charges. I really appreciated that on my limited budget.
If you are considering having work done on your hydraulic system, I would recommend that you contact the person below and have them REPAIR your hydraulic parts. I highly recommend them.
Mr. Wayne Beckett
J & S Hydraulics, Inc
785 Airport Road
Sutton, WV 26601
Office: 304-765-7008
Cell: 304-619-4776
FAX:304-765-0109
I inquired to Wayne about your shipping in your defective pumps and motors and he said he does it all the time for his primary industries. He would be glad to assist motorhome owners who need his services. Be sure to have UPS or FEDEX properly package your equipment for shipping.
It would be best to allow two weeks for the item to be returned to you. This allows for shipping times, parts ordering times, and return shipping times along with time for the repairs.