Play in hydraulic steering

nugent · 16 July 2012, 18:54

As per title bled it again tonight , if I lean on engine I get approx 20mm of movement on the ram,
is it just air or is here sumat worn? There is nothing loose on the fittings and all nylon spacers are in place, it is the ram moving within the cylinder,
Any suggestions greatly appreciated ,
I have checked for leaks none are visible nor are pipes expanding under load!

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whisper · 16 July 2012, 18:59

I would say that's air and if it is then you will need to bleed it as per the instructions

nugent · 16 July 2012, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by whisper

I would say that's air and if it is then you will need to bleed it as per the instructions

I have 4 times'. Going to,leave it to settle forva few days then try again

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Erin · 16 July 2012, 19:09

If you've bled it and your happy that you have got all the air out, then the only thing it can be is lazy non-return valves in the helm.

Does it happen in both directions?

Bigmuz7 · 16 July 2012, 19:21

or a leak in the ram seals ?.. which is impossible to spot I fear

nugent · 16 July 2012, 19:31

Yes moves both ways,
I am going to try full fluid change and if no good oink it out, bloody not cheap tho to replace thingers crossed its only air, fitted many in past with no faults till now very strange,
I know it was on the original setup and was all sealed up when removed so 100% clean internally prior to fitting

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jyasaki · 17 July 2012, 15:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

or a leak in the ram seals ?.. which is impossible to spot I fear

Didn't have much trouble when mine were leaking: oil all over the area under the ram.

jky

Hightower · 17 July 2012, 16:10

If you haven't tried it already, turn hard to Port and keep turning until the non return valve opens then try it the other way by turning to Starboard and do the same. Repeat several times and check to see if your fluid level goes down. If it does that means the fluid is displacing the air or leaking out somewhere.

One thing I found was that when I initially bled one of my systems, I had to recycle hydraulic fluid as I started to run out of new stuff. I made sure I kept everything clean, but did find that the oil that was being recycled have millions of tiny air bubbles in. The net result was a bleeding session a week later.

Hightower · 17 July 2012, 16:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

or a leak in the ram seals ?.. which is impossible to spot I fear

You can check this by turning hard to Port or Starboard and applying constant pressure to the steering wheel. If it's static then there's no problem. If it creeps around then fluid is leaking past somewhere.

nugent · 17 July 2012, 17:46

Cheers guys bag at it tomorrow night, want to launch again exmouth on sat weather looking good

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Chris · 17 July 2012, 18:54

If you have the clear pipe screwed into the helm unit with a bit of oil in the idea is when you turn the wheel from side to side the fluid level in the clear pipe should move no more than an inch. If its jumping up and down a few inches there is still air in the system. There are some dealers out there with a power bleed system it might need to be done with one of those...