Sea Star Hydraulic Steering - No Hard Stops

[Drago]

I noticed a couple of weeks ago while pulling tubers that the boat did not turn well. Under hard load at speed the wheel just appears to never hit the stop. The boat just seems to not want to make sharp turns. At lower speed it feels loose but does turn okay. The only thing I know is that a very small leak seems to be around one of the cylinders - cannot tell exactly where - oil film on cylinders. I've added about an 30cc of fluid to the fill tube in the helm. It is not power assist. Can someone enlighten me? Is the steering unit repairable - maybe a valve issue?

[cwag911]

You have air in the system. It will have to be bled but you must fix the leak. They do make rebuild kits for the cylinder by the motor and the helm unit.

[jafo9]

replacing the seals on the hydraulic arm isn't too bad. i did mine last winter. i did it in the driveway, doing it in the water would make it harder. there are several different kits out there so just make sure to match up your exact system before ordering. the bleeding was the hardest part as you have to hold the shaft while an assistant is turning the wheel. i never could find a way to attach a bleeder hose to the bleed valve as my clearance under the motor cowling was minimal at best. as such, i took quite a few sprays of hydraulic fluid in the process. sea star has a pdf on their website that will walk you through the process. when i first noticed the problem i just bled the system and flushed it with new fluid. this was a mistake, i should have just done the seals the first time instead of having to bleed it again after doing the seals.

fwiw, i think it was tubing that caused my seals to fail. trying to crank a heavy outboard back and forth rapidly to sling the tube was probably too much for my seals. i don't tube with the pontoon anymore, so hopefully i won't have to worry about the hydraulic system for several more years.

[Drago]

Jafo9,
Is this the pdf you refer to?
http://www.seastarsolutions.com/wp-cont ... 0720-E.pdf

Best I can tell, the leak appears to be coming from one of the seal glands (#1) where the piston comes through it.

Carl,
Are you saying that maybe the leak has sucked in air?

Thanks for the help. I'm not planning on taking the repair on just now but later in the short off season.