Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

[wyocobra]

I bought my boat last year and last winter was my first time winterizing a boat. Long story short, I didn't drain the power steering cooler and (surprise!) now it is leaking. I would like to take my Baja on a trip over the weekend of the 4th, so I need to get this fixed ASAP. Can I just plug the hose or thermostat outlet going to the cooler? How critical is it? If I can't plug it, anyone know where I can get a power steering cooler for a '87 OMC Cobra?

I've also considered removing the whole power steering system all together. Would that be a bad idea? This is the only boat I've ever driven and I don't know how much it actually helps. For that matter, I don't even know if it's currently working. All the parts are there and it's full of fluid, so I'm assuming it works. But ditching a lot of weight and future potential problems doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Can I just plug the hose or thermostat outlet going to the cooler? How critical is it? If I can't plug it, anyone know where I can get a power steering cooler for a '87 OMC Cobra? Thanks!

Well, it was put there for a reason. I wouldn't remove it.

I just sold my previous (OMC Cobra) cooler for about $100. But you could probably take it to a radiator shop and have them fix it. It's copper and will solder pretty easily.

If you remove the power steering, you won't like the way it steers.....

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Thanks! I was kind of afraid that the cooler was a part that I wasn't going to be able to find. I did a quick search and found zilch. Hopefully I can find a shop that can repair it. I guess worst case I could throw some JB Weld on it for a quick fix, right?

 

[dan t.]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

I would eliminate it without a second thought,think about how hard a p/s system works on a 4x4, most dont have a p/s cooler and they work just fine with much higher under hood temps.

Just watch the storm of controversy this one stirs up

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

I'm interested in everyone's opinions. I've owned and driven plenty of cars without power steering and it never bothered me. Even my '79 Bronco was manageable when the pump went bad. I just don't know what to expect with a boat. I guess the best thing to do would be to remove the belt and see what it's like.

I just looked at my parts catalog and it looks like the PS cooler is the link between the raw water inlet and the thermostat, so I'd have to bypass it instead of plugging the water hose. I don't want to bypass the cooler if it's going to destroy other parts, though.

 

[RichRab]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

No power steering is one thing. To have power steering installed that is not working is a diff. story. Imagine driving your vehicle that has pwr steering and it stalls. You have to hang on the steering wheel to turn.

 

[dan t.]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Take the p/s hoses off the cooler,join them together, this is the return line so there is very little pressure, take the cooler out of the raw water hose and join it up, go boating,be happy

 

[Wingnutt]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Not trying to be a smart arse, but google is your friend. In less than a minute I found the following.


http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=100237F&WT.mc_id=gb1

 

[Kainon]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

I wouldn't remove the powersteering, on 21'+ Boats with a V6 or V8 you need the powersteering to help with the torque.

I would also remove the cooler and bring to a radiator shop as mentioned they should be able to fix pretty quickly, usually the end cap solder breaks, easy fix. Some cars & trucks have PS coolers, (usually just a line going under the radiator) and cars & trucks have air flowing but the pump and cooler to help keep the temps down... do you see a fan in front of your boat engine ? or is the air blowing by the engine... I think the right thing to do is fix it.. a lot less trouble than you think ( except if its the one behind the engine that ones a pain in the ... )

good luck.

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

I think I am going to try to get the cooler repaired. It does seem to be leaking from the end cap. I don't think the housing itself is cracked. Am I going to lose a bunch of power steering fluid removing it?

Unfortunately, the cooler is mounted to the transom behind the engine. It is a PITA to get to. That's why it didn't get drained last winter. I was trying to get to the drain plug, but needed a different wrench. I moved on to doing some other work and completely forgot about the cooler. Regretting it now.

 

[Kainon]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Same thing happened to a customer of mine, the hose connections should be high enough not to leak, but have a couple small bolts ( or large golf tees ) handy. Should do the trick ( remember to NOT run the engine ).

My customers, did have a small crack and pinhole in the endcap solder. actually I fixed my self.. if you know a good plumber(at least one that is good at soldeing copper), should be able to take care of it easily too..

 

[Bondo]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

I would eliminate it without a second thought,think about how hard a p/s system works on a 4x4, most dont have a p/s cooler and they work just fine with much higher under hood temps.

Ayuh,.... I'd suggest you Look Closer....
I've Never, Ever seen a P/S system, Without a cooler...
On most trucks, it's a piece of steel return line mounted to the leading face of the frame cross-member....
Right where the passin' Air hits it....

 

[dan t.]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Hey Bondo, obviously you have never owned a Chev 4x4, they didnt use a p/s cooler until about 90 or so, neither did Dodge, I have slogged thru the bush all day with 38 in rubber on and never over heated the p/s system

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Hey Bondo, obviously you have never owned a Chev 4x4, they didnt use a p/s cooler until about 90 or so, neither did Dodge, I have slogged thru the bush all day with 38 in rubber on and never over heated the p/s system

In a auto/truck you have a lot of air blowing through the engine compartment...In a boat...nearly nothing! Unless you know the thermodynamics of the system in a boat and were part of the engineering team that came up with what they felt were the requirements of the cooling, not sure how you can make the comment of "just take it off and you will be fine".

The torque required in an automotive system usually exists only while turning. On a boat, the torque requirements are there even when going straight so a boat system has more loading than an automotive system as well.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Ayuh,... You might be Right Dan,...

I coulda sworn my ole 74 Blazer had a steel loop across the cross member under the motor...

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

You're right that most vehicles at least have the lines running across the front of the k-member. But that style of "cooler", or really any cooler that doesn't have a fan drawing air across it, won't do a whole lot crawling around in a 4x4. So, I can see dan t.'s point. And I'm sure my power steering would probably live through the weekend with the cooler bypassed, but I'm going to get it fixed if I can. I didn't know how repairable the cooler was or if there was a replacement, so that's why I condsidered bypassing it. Now that I know its copper and can probably be easily fixed, that's the way I'm gonna go. Thanks again for all the help everybody!

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Just a little update. I had the PS cooler repaired and reinstalled it before going on our trip. The cooler is not bolted to the transom like I thought, it is bolted to the back of the engine and is a major PITA to work with! At any rate, it doesn't leak anymore. I think I lost more PS fluid than I thought, though, because the PS only worked about half the time out on the lake (I know, it's not good to run it without enough fluid). In my opinion, it wouldn't be that bad with the PS removed, but my wife didn't care for the harder steering so I'm going to leave it in place for the time being.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

I think I lost more PS fluid than I thought, though, because the PS only worked about half the time out on the lake (I know, it's not good to run it without enough fluid).

Um, You didn't re-service the system, run it and check levels before going to the lake?

 

[RichRab]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Fill it to the correct level and bleed it by turning the wheel all the way in both directions. See if that helps.

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Eliminating power steering and/or cooler?

Sorry, haven't been on this forum for a while. The reason I didn't check and refill it was because the PS pump cap went missing! I have no idea what happened to it. I went to check the level and the cap was gone. I know it was there before and I didn't touch it. It doesn't seem to be in the bilge or anywhere else in the boat. And I installed the cooler literally right before we left to go on our 5 hour trip, so I didn't have time to get a new cap. Anyway, it survived and all is good to go now.