Small Oil Leak

[Greg Kamper]

I have a 2000 Patriot Thunder and I have discovered a small oil leak in the loom of wires in the top the storage compartment behind the water tank. I haven't cut apart the mass of wires yet to find the source yet. Does anyone know what these lines are for? It looks like transmission fluid. I thought maybe the power steering, but I guess it could be for the levelers or is the slide hydraulic too?
Thanks..

[Karl Welhart]

Greg,

It is most likely the hydraulic line for the LR slide.  That fluid is transmission fluid.. If that is the case, I would recommend running new high pressure lines.  Not easy, but not impossible to do your self.  Much easier if you have two people.

Good luck,

Karl

[Gerald Farris]

Greg,
If you run new hydraulic lines for your slide,  remember that you do not have to run the new lines in exactly the way that the original lines were run.  It is usually much easier to route the lines differently. Just be careful not to let the new lines rub  on  any sharp edges.

Gerald

[Larry Williams]

Greg,

It is most likely the hydraulic line for the LR slide.  That fluid is transmission fluid.. If that is the case, I would recommend running new high pressure lines.  Not easy, but not impossible to do your self.  Much easier if you have two people.

Good luck,

Karl

When I was at BCS in May I had a drip in that area and BCS said I had leaks in the hydraulic slide lines. They replaced the lines with new ones (using two people). But the old lines were so embedded in looms and through tight places, they just abandoned and capped off the existing lines and ran new ones using different routes.

[Greg Kamper]

You guys are scaring me... Are the old lines poor quality? I thought I might try to repair the leaky hose... Thanks for the help...

[Gerald Farris]

Greg,
The hydraulic hose are not to poor of a quality or they would not have lasted 14 years, but I would not recommend trying to repair a leaking 14 year old hose unless it has a specific cut spot that you can add a splice connector at the cut to repair it. If the hose is leaking without a specific cut, the interior has failed and the only repair is to replace it. If you try to splice out the bad section, you will never be trough splicing it.

The original hose had the minimal pressure rating of 2500 PSI, therefore it is commonly recommended to replace it with a higher rated hose when replacement is needed. The normal recommendation is a 5000 PSI rated hose. It is a little more expensive, but it should never fail again.

Gerald

[Greg Kamper]

Thanks Gerald. I will heed your advice...