Schwintek Drive Shaft Broken, or sheared GIB?

[d2reid]

Rjapcok, that is really good info on the 3/8 drive. It will help immensely today when I test the torque shaft. I have been hesitant to stick my fingers inside the housing while running a motor, I like my fingers and don't want to lose any of them. By using a ratchet I can slowly turn the coupler to see if it turns the torque shaft.

Jlawless2, yup know that trick, unfortunately no room for my cell phone. I dug out my old gopro and charged some batteries so I could attempt to take a decent picture of the torque shaft head. Another good cell phone trick is to turn the flash light on in dimly lighted restaurants. I tried using my wife's tooth mirror but it was too small.


MidwestCamper, the motor that's in there now is new. I tested it while it was outside the housing and everything moved for the brief 2 seconds DW applied power to it. I have watched that before. The 16:35 portion was a really good shot of the top of the torque shaft. It is my suspicion that the white thing on top of the torque shaft is broken. I will attempt to get a clear shot of it today while doing the ratchet test.


I think one of the fun side effects is that the motor spins but the slide does not move. The controller senses the motor operating and probably considers the motors synchronized, so no error codes. No error codes, no need to put the controller into manual mode.

[howson]

d2reid

Which coupler style? Old or new? Which torque shaft?

RJAPCOK note about the 3/8 ratchet is new to me (great info!).

[d2reid]

Which coupler style? Old or new? Which torque shaft?

Coupler N
Can't tell yet if the torque shaft is aluminum or steel, I am betting aluminum.

So I pulled the slide in a little this morning and took the motor out, I am getting good at it. You gotta watch those wires on the top, really easy to break them, cut them, twist them... I was gonna take a picture of the coupler but forgot, RJAPCOK nailed it. 3/8 drive fit perfectly in the top.






































Remember the feeling when you strip the head of bolt kinda has some resistance but then slips and gives. That's the feeling I got when trying to twist the ratchet. Enough resistance you can't twist it with your fingers, but when put real pressure on it just slips off.

This would account for a couple of behaviors, one it won't twist the shaft with enough force to move the slide, two, when the slide is the one moving the gear attached to the coupler the couple moves, just enough connection.

T-day so no running out to get a decent mirror. I wiggled and giggles and lit and photoed to the best of my ability, which wasn't very good. The tight quarters made it nearly impossible to get a well lit focused photo, but I had fun trying.

This is the best of about 40 pictures of the torque shaft head, WARNING: I am not responsible for any eye injuries due squinting.



My little gopro fit pretty good in the there, but I could never get enough light and focus to get a good picture either. Thank goodness it's short.

I won''t be able to tell for sure until it is taken apart. Given I can't purchase individual parts then I must wait until I can get the whole assembly. My techs order was succesfully cancelled, I am now free to get a dealer to order the assembly from GD, provided someone else hasn't purchased it before I get around to it. Then it's the LCI 4-6 weeks scenario.

I appreciate the thoughts of taking the part to a machine shop. While I have fixed a lot of things on the my RV's it is not my preference. I prefer to pay professionals to fix things. While I can take anything apart it's the putting back together thing that I have a poor record with. I may have to resort to that, but it's not my preference.

[howson]

d2reid -- would be very interesting to see the bottom of the coupler where it interfaces with the torque shaft. If I'm understanding correctly, the coupler was installed and that's what you engaged with teh 3/8" drive, right? So if the torque shaft isn't broken, and it doesn't look like the top of the shaft is stripped, then it's either the top or bottom of the coupler that's causing the "slip" feeling, right?

[Guest]

d2reid -- would be very interesting to see the bottom of the coupler where it interfaces with the torque shaft. If I'm understanding correctly, the coupler was installed and that's what you engaged with teh 3/8" drive, right? So if the torque shaft isn't broken, and it doesn't look like the top of the shaft is stripped, then it's either the top or bottom of the coupler that's causing the "slip" feeling, right?

howson Howard, what keeps the shaft from dropping down to below where the coupler engages it? The shaft looks like its intact but low in the coupler bore.

I would be real careful putting a socket on the shaft since we do not know how well it fits and can distort the shaft. A great idea but seems this is best suited for the hex shaped shaft.

Jim

[TedS]

From a video I watched, the shaft has an upset feature that prevents it from falling through the upper gear and keeps the end of the shaft standing proud to engage the coupler.

[Guest]

From a video I watched, the shaft has an upset feature that prevents it from falling through the upper gear and keeps the end of the shaft standing proud to engage the coupler.

Thanks Ted. So if the shaft is aluminum and damaged at the upper gear contact area, the shaft can drop and disengage the coupler. I felt it would be rare that both gears would fail but this may (or may not) explain why both gears are not engaging.

Jim

[TedS]

Just had a thought. If the shaft was installed from the bottom, it would drop down and not engage the coupler. Is that possible?

[Guest]

Just had a thought. If the shaft was installed from the bottom, it would drop down and not engage the coupler. Is that possible?

This is what I'm thinking Ted. What retains the shaft from dropping down and losing contact with the coupler?

Jim

[TedS]

Here's the link to the video that mentioned the upset shaft.

https://youtu.be/J6Np8X-vDbA

[howson]

This is what I'm thinking Ted. What retains the shaft from dropping down and losing contact with the coupler?

Jim

There's a "stakemark" (LCI's term) on the upper end of the torque shaft. When the shaft is inserted in the upper bearing block, the stakemark stops the shaft from falling out. If that stakemark wasn't retaining the torque shaft it would fall right out of the system. (I'm parroting what LCI says in their training webinar. I don't know this from first-hand experience.)

[TedS]

Could that stakemark get worn during trailer travel allowing the shaft to drop enough to disengage from the coupler? But still be bound up in the gear and not drop out. I don't have first hand experience with working on this system; have not had mine fail.

[howson]

Could that stakemark get worn during trailer travel allowing the shaft to drop enough to disengage from the coupler? But still be bound up in the gear and not drop out. I don't have first hand experience with working on this system; have not had mine fail.

It's all interesting speculation at this point. d2reid needs to pull that side of the mechanism (or have a mobile tech do it) to find out exactly what's wrong. At the end of the day I suspect he'll have to replace it.

[Guest]

It's all interesting speculation at this point. d2reid needs to pull that side of the mechanism (or have a mobile tech do it) to find out exactly what's wrong. At the end of the day I suspect he'll have to replace it.

I agree Howard. The slide needs to be removed to see whats going on. At that point, it can be determined if a replacement unit or a repair kit can be installed.

Jim

[d2reid]

TedS thanks for sharing that video it ads a couple of good things to my inventory. First that is a really cute trick with the slide motor to pull the rack out. Second between 3:33 and 3:37 it shows a very clear picture of the torque shaft. First thing I noticed was the wear notches where the coupler fits over the shaft. The coupler appears to be the same one that I have. I could find no damage to the coupler.

It's going to be fun to get the slide stabilized, the bottom sits at eye level.

At the end of the day I suspect he'll have to replace it.

I agree also, whether its a stakemark gone allowing the shaft to sink or sheared shaft, the shaft must be replaced. In order to get a new shaft you have to order the assembly. I'll try over the next couple of days to get that started.

I am thinking that if I use the same holes I won't have to do much measuring. If holes appear loose I will do the old wood glue and toothpick trick to tighten them up.

I will need some sealant to restick the bulb seal onto the assembly rack. Any suggestions?