Bizarre cabstar problem

[DanBous]

I'm not sure if anyone can help on this one...

 

I've got a 2010 Nissan Cabstar tipper, single cab.

 

The cab has always been easy to tilt forwards to get to the engine, simply releasing the catch, and lifting the cab up and over until it locks into place.

 

Until recently that is...!

 

A few days ago I went to lift the cab, to check the oil, etc and it felt like it had a colossal weight in it! Just to be sure, I emptied it right out and tried again - no different. It wasn't sticking either. Two of us could only move the cab upwards a few inches, where before I had been able to do this on my own.

 

So I had to resort to pulling it over with a strap on my ranger. The strain was huge, with the cabstar front suspension pulled right down and the ranger back wheels barely on the ground!!

 

As you cabstar owners will know, when you want to release it to let the cab down, you pull a pin and it kind of more or less smoothly descends and clicks back into place. Not so...it crashed down like a dead weight and I'd be surprised if something wasnt broken underneath.

 

Any light on this? Anyone had this before?

 

I'm wondering if possibly there is a counterweight missing?

 

I plan on giving this a full service this winter, and I'm not looking forward to a cab that's impossible to tip.

 

?????

[openspaceman]

32 minutes ago, DanBous said:

 

I'm not sure if anyone can help on this one...

 

I've got a 2010 Nissan Cabstar tipper, single cab.

 

The cab has always been easy to tilt forwards to get to the engine, simply releasing the catch, and lifting the cab up and over until it locks into place.

 

Until recently that is...!

 

A few days ago I went to lift the cab, to check the oil, etc and it felt like it had a colossal weight in it! Just to be sure, I emptied it right out and tried again - no different. It wasn't sticking either. Two of us could only move the cab upwards a few inches, where before I had been able to do this on my own.

 

So I had to resort to pulling it over with a strap on my ranger. The strain was huge, with the cabstar front suspension pulled right down and the ranger back wheels barely on the ground!!

 

As you cabstar owners will know, when you want to release it to let the cab down, you pull a pin and it kind of more or less smoothly descends and clicks back into place. Not so...it crashed down like a dead weight and I'd be surprised if something wasnt broken underneath.

 

Any light on this? Anyone had this before?

 

I'm wondering if possibly there is a counterweight missing?

 

I plan on giving this a full service this winter, and I'm not looking forward to a cab that's impossible to tip.

 

?????

 

sounds like the seal of a gas strut has let go

[DanBous]

I stand to be corrected, but I've never seen a gas strut on it anywhere! Even when it was working!

[openspaceman]

2 minutes ago, DanBous said:

I stand to be corrected, but I've never seen a gas strut on it anywhere! Even when it was working!

Okay but something was giving an assist before, how about a broken torsion bar at the front hinge?

[spuddog0507]

when was the last time you lifted it to do oil water check etc ? 

[DanBous]

when was the last time you lifted it to do oil water check etc ? 

The other day.
Before that it was probably a couple of months at the most.

[spuddog0507]

2 hours ago, DanBous said:

The other day.
Before that it was probably a couple of months at the most.

i think i would be looking at the hinges on the cab, we have had a hot summer and lubrication seems to dry up/disappear then we get it wet for a while and corrosion sets in, our log trailer we norrmally grease once a week this summer every other day and then it took several more pumps than normall, on your cabstar there should be a grease point on the hinges WD first get it moving then grease as you should be doing, if that dont work your back to square one, we had a ford cargo years ago and in summer the cab seemed harder to lift and the above was the problem, hope this helps you out,

[dig-dug-dan]

46 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

i think i would be looking at the hinges on the cab, we have had a hot summer and lubrication seems to dry up/disappear then we get it wet for a while and corrosion sets in, our log trailer we norrmally grease once a week this summer every other day and then it took several more pumps than normall, on your cabstar there should be a grease point on the hinges WD first get it moving then grease as you should be doing, if that dont work your back to square one, we had a ford cargo years ago and in summer the cab seemed harder to lift and the above was the problem, hope this helps you out,

From memory, when i had the single cab, it had a spring assist, albeit not obvious. Sounds like its gone somehow?

[DanBous]

From memory, when i had the single cab, it had a spring assist, albeit not obvious. Sounds like its gone somehow?

Where abouts was the spring dig dug dan?

[dig-dug-dan]

Thats what i am trying to remember. I think it was somewhere where the hinge was.