water in power steering fluid?

[jafo9]

in my merc 3.0L I/O in my pontoon the previous owner had a problem with a leaky boot. he would let lots of water in the bilge before turning on the pump to empty it. i suspect that as the belts were flinging water about, it got in the reservoir. i surprised from what i've heard that the starter has survived intact. i've used my oil change pump to empty the reservoir and refilled it with new mercruiser power steering fluid. after running for a few minutes, it turned watery again. i'm assuming i'll just have to repeat this procedure till it stops turing watery. is there a better way to drain the system in the water?

i bought a gallon of Dex III ATF fluid from an auto store to use as the merc stuff is pretty spendy.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: water in power steering fluid?

Howdy,

You can use just about any petroleum based light oil in a trim system.

Unless your trim pump is submerged frequently, your water intrusion is probably not due to water flinging around in the bilge from a wet pulley. It's most likely a trim cyl or connection leaking that is allowing water into the system.

I would inspect the trim cyls, hoses, and connections that are under water.


Regards,


Rick


I'll also add that if he has a leaky "boot" he has far worse problems brewing! That drive needs to come off and the yoke, U-joints inspected, drive oil inspected/changed, and the "leaky boot" (bellows) replaced pronto!

 

[Zackman]

Re: water in power steering fluid?

I would be surprised if water was getting into the resevior if the cap was on. I would think a more likely suspect is the power steering cooler is leaking. You may want to take off the cooler and pressure test it to see if it leaks.

Also, what Rick says at the end of the post, if this has not already been corrected.​

 

[Don S]

Re: water in power steering fluid?

Power steering guys, not trim

The only place water can get into the power steering is either the cooler, or the cap is off the reservoir.
If the caps on, take the cooler to a radiator repair shop in your area for testing and repair.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: water in power steering fluid?

I would be surprised if water was getting into the resevior if the cap was on. I would think a more likely suspect is the power steering cooler is leaking. You may want to take off the cooler and pressure test it to see if it leaks.

Also, what Rick says at the end of the post, if this has not already been corrected.​

Aaaagh! I was going to tell you read the post again (trim)

So I read it again!!!

I think I need to go back to school and brush up on my reading skills!!!


That's what we get when we don't read carefully!!!

Edit: I can't even correct my own errors without Don beating me to it!!!!

 

[jafo9]

Re: water in power steering fluid?

sounds like i may have a worse problem than i thought. the leaky boot was a through hull fitting that is a bad design on this era of suntrackers. its not part of the alpha drive. i'm hopefully going back up for a work day this weekend and i'll look a little close at the power steering loop.

 

[Zackman]

Re: water in power steering fluid?

If you have not already, you may want to download the mercruiser manual for your engine and perhaps your drive.

You can find the manuals located in the Adult Only Section of this forum (look at the top "sticky" post)

Here's a quick link to take you to the page http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=251571​