Hydro steering

[nugent]

I am having on going issues with my steering,


It originally came with out bleed nipples, unusual first to me, either way bled it well more than once , but I keep getting to a stage where it does not lock out,
Steering works fine and is light , but on full lock I can still turn wheel slightly all be it with some resistance, is this still air in the system?
Run 3 ltrs fluid through it and still same problem,

Is my only solution to fit new t pieces on the ram with bleed nipples, thinking that with my only option of bleeding through the loosening of pipes is drawing air in before I nip them back up,

Last question any one point me in right direction to purchase a couple T pieces with nipples on?


Many thanks in advance for any input given

[Nos4r2]

What steering is it?


I suspect you're ok with it as it is, but it might be worth trying to push the air back up the pipe a bit by holding the ram so the inlet on the side you think the air is in is the highest point, then pumping all the fluid out of that side of the ram.

It should be easier to get air out if you can get it into the lines rather than the ram.

[Smithyyy]

I'm not sure it's a problem, isn't there often a little "creep" in a hydraulic setup, are you just finding that bit of movement at the end of the travel? And you say it's working fine over the normal steering range.

If it's a Seastar/Baystar system, I'd suggest checking with them -they're very helpful, there's a customer query form on their website, a guy called Marc has helped me out a couple of times after I've raised queries through that form

[nugent]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

What steering is it?

I suspect you're ok with it as it is, but it might be worth trying to push the air back up the pipe a bit by holding the ram so the inlet on the side you think the air is in is the highest point, then pumping all the fluid out of that side of the ram.

It should be easier to get air out if you can get it into the lines rather than the ram.

http://www.lowcostboatingstore.com/U..._p_465.html%23

Genuine mercury job,, but no bleed nipples

[nugent]

Any one advise where to get the proper t piece from, ?

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by nugent

Steering works fine and is light , but on full lock I can still turn wheel slightly all be it with some resistance, is this still air in the system?

SeaStar has an overpressure release: You hit lock and can force the OPV to open by cranking harder (takes a bit of force on my setup.) Nothing gets damaged.

Air in the system is usually evidenced by a very notchy response of the motor to the turning of the wheel. If it's really bad, it will be no response to a turn of the wheel. I have not seen a "creep" or anything like happens with a brake pedal on a car, for instance.

Run 3 ltrs fluid through it and still same problem,

Is my only solution to fit new t pieces on the ram with bleed nipples, thinking that with my only option of bleeding through the loosening of pipes is drawing air in before I nip them back up,

Bleeding through the hose connections will not get any air out of the ram. The ram itself should have bleed nipples on it; that should be all you need to bleed the system. Any air in the hoses will be forced through the ram to the bleed nipples.

One other note: On SeaStar helms, once you get the ram and hoses bled, rapid, near violent alternate helm operation (quick half-turns in either direction) often brings up air from somewhere in the helm unit. Not mentioned in the SeaStar directions, but someone mentioned it on some other forum, and it seems to be true.


Luck;

jky

[Burtox]

Originally Posted by nugent

Any one advise where to get the proper t piece from, ?

Hyphose in poole will do all of the pipes and connection as well as the t pieces

[nugent]

sorry i did manage to bleed it more, still a very small amount of creep, normal i guess but i am a fussy sod,,
so as i was not 100% happy, went and purchased a new sea star kit,

job for sat,

[Dirk Diggler]

Uflex is distributed by Aquafax.

Aquafax Catalogue

[nugent]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

Uflex is distributed by Aquafax.

Aquafax Catalogue

Wanted £32 each nipple kit Cough

[Dirk Diggler]

Generous discounts are available! lol

[nugent]

£460.00 deliverd

[yorfuoj]

When the lines from pump to motor are not straight, but with highs and lows - like snake - it is impossible to bleed the air out.

My solution is to bleed them out of the boat :
- it needs good stoppers to close the lines before they are attached to the jack, this is a must

- fill the lines from the top level (pump not attached) with both jack ends into a transparent bottle (coke) to check
- close the motor side ends when lines are full
- attach to pump and fill the pump which must stay in charge
- open motor side ends and rotate wheel clockwise while checking for no bubbles
- when no bubbles, rotate counter clkwise until ...
- now there is no more air into pump and lines, and you can install the lines on the boat after they are safely closed.

Get the jack in hands - not attached to engine ...
- push the jack fully in one direction in order to get one chamber at zero volume. Attach the right line, then rotate the wheel to fill this chamber to maximum
- Attach the other line and rotate ...

Now - and only now - you can attach the jack to the motor ! Why not before ?
Because if the available jack travel is more than the motor end travel, it is impossible to remove the air trapped into the chambers.

Now there is no more air staying into the whole circuit - say a minimum !

[nugent]

Fitted new seastar kit today 45 mins start to finish

It bled with ease as has every other installation I have done in the past, I beleive I had an air leak on the threaded inserts,

[whackywoody]

Morning peeps,

I want to bleed my seaster hydraulic steering and have just looked at the manual. Do I need a proper bleed kit (i.e. the screw and tube that connects to the helm pump) or do I just ensure that the fluid is always full to the brim at the helm pump?

If I need the proper bleed kit is it the same as the quiksilver gear leg kit?

Thanks

[whackywoody]

Bump to put this to the top as I need some help please

[Nos4r2]

No it's not the same kit.

I did mine by lashing up a reservoir on the top with a turkey baster. It takes 2 people to do it like that though as one has to hold the lashup upright while the other stays down by the ram.

[whackywoody]

Thanks Matt had a similar idea planner just didn't know whether or not the reservoir in the helm was big enough to maintain fluid without an air gap

Ta

[Nos4r2]

You can do it with just what's in the helm, it takes a lot of topping up though.

The turkey baster idea was a bit messy.

Tip. Don't use plasticine or blu-tack to seal the reservoir in.I tried it and found that the oil slowly dissolves it.

[nugent]

I have used a small end funnel and plasticine before, But so much easier if you have athe pipe