The motor appeared to be losing a drop or two of oil every week, and at the same time started to lose it's strength and ability to raise the hatch.

I've brought this thing home and thought maybe there's a way to fix it instead of having to buy a new one ($250 on up). Has anyone ever worked on one of these? Any advice on what to look for, how they work, and how to repair?

This is the device I'm talking about below.

You may be able to get the manufacturer to refurbish it for a small fee. Mine is made by Lenco Marine. I sent it down to them and they fixed it and sent it back within a week.

Dave M.

Hi Dave,

Mine appears to be a different manufacturer, it's like the one in the pic above, but there's no name on it, just some numbers that I assume would indicate the part number.

I'm guessing mine is hydraulic and simply lost some oil, but I'm more of a computer jockey than a mechanic. Worse case scenario I'll buy a new one but trying to see if it can easily be fixed by adding oil or replacing some sort of seal. Maybe someone here has taken one apart before and could shed some light on it.

Thanks for the link to Lenco.

There are no hydraulic fluids in that style screw jack. There is a weight rating on the lifting torque. Check that your hatch hasn't become water logged. The graphics on some covers really leak and the plastic liners sometimes feed the water into the plywood underneath. The reversable screw jack is used in 7' satelite dishes and some race cars for tire changes as well. A dc motor repair facuilty should be able to rebuild the motor.

Often times the switch is defective and will not allow enough current for the motor to operate properly. Bench test it straight to a battery.

good point capt, I always installed with double pole relays controled by switch. If you don't have the relays you could have a severe voltage drop causing prob. If you need relay info email me at [email protected].

Well, I have it here at the house so I took it apart and yes, it's all pretty much mechanical. There are 2 brushes and springs inside the actual motor. The brushes look fine. I took the brushes and the rotor they rub against and lightly sanded the copper which was dark, now shiny again. Put it back together. I'll check the wiring as well. Thanks for the advice.

Make sure the grease on the screw jack is fresh. I have seen them get gummed up and slow them down. Make sure you have good connections, no corrosion. Check the voltage at the motor and see what you get while running that will tell you if you are dropping any excessive voltage in the wiring. A relay would eliminate some of that problem. Were the brushed worn to any extent? Spring pressure maybe low causing it to not run to full potential if the brushes are worn too much..
Also check that hatch weight..

Good luck.. you headed in the right direction.. Got to love this board!!

Dick

Thanks for the additional advice guys. YES!! This board is an incredible source of info.

The brushes were worn a bit, but didn't look bad. Springs seemed to be pushing enough pressure, so all of that seems fine. I put it on a direct line to a battery here on the bench, nothing. So either I put it back together improperly, or the motor definitely needs a rebuild, or it has to be attached on the boat with the switch somehow. There's 2 wires on this thing, one yellow, one red and that's it.

The hatch has no water in it. I forgot to mention this thing doesn't owe me anything. It was installed in 1989, I'm just trying to shave a few bucks if I can help it.