Steering leak

[Honey-Do]

Hello Boaters, I sprung a leak. I have a Hynautic 3 line pressurized steering system on my 24' boat with an outboard. The haudraulic helm pump (H-50) is leaking oil by the seal behind the steering wheel. Is resealing this unit something that should be done by a specialist or is it an easy DIY. Please share any experiences with this problem and your solutions. Thanks.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Steering leak

Had the same problem with my H52 system. After looking at the schematics decided it was going to the pro's. The company that did mine was Southern Charm in Tampa, FL. Their # 800-745-0765. M-F 8 to 5. Don't remember the exact cost but somewhere around $185.00??? + shipping. Works like a charm now. However the bleeding process is a PITA. Removal and installation pretty straightforward. My only regret was staying with ATF fluid instead of the Hynautic steering fluid. Might get a wild hair one day and completely drain and refill. Give em' a call - the lady is a hoot!!

 

[F_R]

Re: Steering leak

It will scare you to death if you have never seen inside of one, but actually are very simple. I can walk you through it if you decide to tackle it. There are some specific do's and even more specific dont's. Charman Enterprises is the national parts distributor charment.com/

I might have built the thing when it was new. Otherwise it was a woman named Evie. I am a Hynautic retiree.

 

[Honey-Do]

Re: Steering leak

Thanks for the responses. I am taking the leaking H-50 off this week and replacing it with a used H-50 I got last year off ebay when I began to notice a drip (should've addressed it then). If that one works I'll experiment with rebuilding the leaky one myself. If not it's going off to Fla. for a rebuild. What about the PainITA thing on bleeding the system? I was reading over the purging instruction sheet from the internet and it does sound somewhat confusing. Are the screws on the thing under the reservalve the place where you let the air out? I want to drain the whole thing and refill it with steering fluid too while it's apart.

 

[F_R]

Re: Steering leak

Purging is not a PITA. Start by hooking everything up and filling the reservalve about 3/4 full and pump in some pressure. A bike pump works fine. Then:

The "thing" under the reservalve is the relief valve. Unscrewing the hex nuts all the way till they stop bypasses the relief valves (2). When you turn the helm with the bypasses open, oil is drawn from the resivoir, to the helm, and back to the resivoir, in a closed loop. As it passes through the resivoir, oil settles to the bottom and air bubbles to the top, thus separating them. Turn the helm a whole bunch of times one way, then a whole bunch of times in the other way, till the air is all separated out. Don't let the oil level get too low or you will be sucking air again. When you are done, retighten the hex nuts, check the fill level and pressure.

Note: the hex nuts are pinned to the relief valve screws. Don't un-pin them. Turning the nut turns the screw. Turning them back in resets the screw to the original position. DON''T tighten them too tight and wring off the brass screw!!! Likewise, DON'T open them beyond the stop and wring off the brass screw in that direction. And DON'T take the larger brass plugs out!!! The valve is set to release at 500PSI on a RV-50, or 950PSI on a RV-60 and you can't adjust it without a very expensive test stand.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Steering leak

Here's your link to bleeding the system - you'll need Adobe to read it :http://www.fishing-catalog.com/hynautics/3linepurge.pdf
And no, it really isn't a PITA to do, just was for me. But then again, I can get a screwdriver confused with a box wrench sometimes !!!!!!!!!

 

[F_R]

Re: Steering leak

Thanks for that instruction sheet. That one was printed the year after I retired in 1999.

 

[Honey-Do]

Re: Steering leak

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the great instructions. I'm going to the marina Wed. to take it off the boat. My decision is to send the H-50 helm and the K-10 cylinder to Southern Charm in Fla. for evaluation and repair. The system was on the boat when I took her in 1993 so service is due. As long as I have it apart anyway I may as well have it professionally done. I will clean the reservalve and hoses with mineral spirits as recommmended in the cleaning instructions, and refill the system with the proper steering fluid. I hope the thing comes apart OK and the fittings and hoses don't leak after I get it all back together. How's that sound? Again thanks for the input and wish me luck.

 

[Honey-Do]

Re: Steering leak

It's fixed. I sent the helm to Southern Charm and got it rebuilt. It was really rusty. They are the nicest people to deal with. I resealed my K-10 cylinder myself and it was real easy. I fully cleaned the reservalve and lines, reassembled it all and it works great. The bleeding thing was no problem, and the system works so easy now. The whole deal was a little intimidating at the outset but now that I've worked with it and understand the system, I think it is a real asset to my boat and a quality steering system. Thanks for the help and advice.