Hi,
At the beginning of the season, I noted that I needed a small amount of PS fluid. I added a bit, maybe an ounce or two, brought the level up to the bottom of the stick, maybe halfway to the cold mark. I opened up the engine cover a couple of hours after a boat trip
yesterday and found a mess of power steering fluid and water in the bilge. My boat rarely has more than a few drops of water in the bilge and normally nothing other than water. I drained about a quart out of the bilge of a mixture of ATF and water. Probably less, but it is more than I expected.
The boat and steering seemed to be working well, or at least the way that it has always worked over the last 4-ish years. i.e. notchy steering at idle speeds, smooth control at anything over about 1500 rpm.
I've ran my hands over virtually ever inch of the PS lines, the RAM cylinders and the pump itself. I can't find a trace of the oil residue. I did check the cooler unit and it was clean and dry as well. The level in the pump is way down, about half way down the body, I can see the pump core in there.
If I assume that I overfilled it, would it have ejected more than just the excess when running? And where would have it come from? Would it have frothed the fluid so badly that it would have spilled this much? If so, why is there no trace on the engine or hoses?
Finally, as I looked around my shop, I could not find a bottle of Dextron II, but I did find a partial bottle of Dextron III. Uh oh. Would this have caused this type of problem?
Thanks in advance,
Johnbo
At the beginning of the season, I noted that I needed a small amount of PS fluid. I added a bit, maybe an ounce or two, brought the level up to the bottom of the stick, maybe halfway to the cold mark. I opened up the engine cover a couple of hours after a boat trip
yesterday and found a mess of power steering fluid and water in the bilge. My boat rarely has more than a few drops of water in the bilge and normally nothing other than water. I drained about a quart out of the bilge of a mixture of ATF and water. Probably less, but it is more than I expected.
The boat and steering seemed to be working well, or at least the way that it has always worked over the last 4-ish years. i.e. notchy steering at idle speeds, smooth control at anything over about 1500 rpm.
I've ran my hands over virtually ever inch of the PS lines, the RAM cylinders and the pump itself. I can't find a trace of the oil residue. I did check the cooler unit and it was clean and dry as well. The level in the pump is way down, about half way down the body, I can see the pump core in there.
If I assume that I overfilled it, would it have ejected more than just the excess when running? And where would have it come from? Would it have frothed the fluid so badly that it would have spilled this much? If so, why is there no trace on the engine or hoses?
Finally, as I looked around my shop, I could not find a bottle of Dextron II, but I did find a partial bottle of Dextron III. Uh oh. Would this have caused this type of problem?
Thanks in advance,
Johnbo