90's Hunter .5 Series Dining Table Stuck

[neilleparkerjr]

When I bought my 1995 Hunter 37.5 the counterweight in the compression post to "help" with lifting the dining table was stuck and I couldn't budge it. So I cut the cord and moved the table without the counterweight, it's not that heavy.

But over time the table itself has become stuck in the down position and seemingly no amount of WD-40 or Liquid Wrench can free it. I've tried twisting and banging vertically from below, nothing works.

Anybody with this problem had any success?

 

[wilburleft]

My 1995 35.5 would only move up or down by turning it back and forth…took a lot of force…while applying up or down pressure. This after applying grease. Probably took 200 or more moves to get it up. The metal sleeve around the post has about a 2 inch plastic ring inside at the top and the bottom ends that hold it tight against the post. I ended up removing the bottom ring and loosening the top ring by drilling holes in it with a very long, thin bit. On the bottom i replaced the ring with little pads you stick on chair leg bottoms. That snugged up the sleeve to the post. Now it slides nice and smooth.

 

[wilburleft]

Remove the wood table top and bang hard on the metal support to get it to turn. You can bolt a 2x4 onto the support for leverage. Once you get it to start moving it may loosen up. If there’s thick paint on the post try sanding it off.

 

[wilburleft]

Don’t damage/move the compression post!

 

[NoReverse]

When my 94 37.5 weight first got stuck I was able to free it up with liquid wrench BUT the important thing to realize is you should be asking yourself why it did that. You have a mast base and wiring that penetrate the fiberglass. I took down the mast end of season and sealed up the wiring and mast base which were allowing water to run down the inside of compression post. Problem solved. 10 years and table still moves up and down like butter….i also moved added a connector inside the mast so I could take down the mast easier and filled the pass through with caulk.