Slide Maintenance???

[johnbrowder]

I have been through the Prevost Maintenance books, but cannot find any info on preventative slide maintenance. It seems like something would need lubrication. What about the pins and sockets: clean, lube, nothing? Any thoughts?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Good question for Bill Jensen in Austin. We can BS you with home brewed suggestions such as the use of lard on the pins and seals, but we know Bill has lived through the slide issues and can give you accurate answers.

[johnbrowder]

I'll be there armed with this question. Thanks Jon!

[garyde]

Hi John. I keep all the pin slots clean and use a small amount of graphite in each to keep the pins from binding or getting stuck. I keep all 4 sides of each slide clean, especially the roof. The outside blade on your seal will keep large debris from sliding inside but dirt and particles need to be kept at a zero minimum.
When your slides are out, you can wipe down the blade with a UV protectant but thats about all you need. No silicon, no grease, no lube.
The motors, gears, etc. should be inspected but I don't know how often.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I have no idea if the failure I saw on seals is typical, but the radius of the inflatible portion of he seal when the seal was vacuumed flat showed cracks due to age and flexing. Think of a round shape when inflated, and then press that round shape flat. That flat configuration is the shape of the inflatible portion when the slide is in motion or when there is no air pressure to seal the slide.

I have no idea how the seal can be treated with an anti aging or anti cracking compound (such as the materials used on de-icing boots on airplanes) because to access the seal an owner has to retract the slide about 2" past its normal closed position just to get at the seal. On my plane my de-icing boots were treated with a very expensive liquid called "Age-Master" which is about $200 a quart. The boots cost about $15,000 to replace and BFGoodrich clainms an average life of 7 years. My boots were 24 years old when I sold my plane and still had no patches or repairs so the life of rubber products can be extended but getting access every 3 to 6 months can be an issue.