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Old 14-10-2010, 20:52   #1
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Hydraulic Steering Diagnosticians Needed

Picked up my new old boat in the Marina Seca Guaymas day before yesterday. Motored her up to San Carlos on 3.5 hour jaunt. Solid as a rock, engine ran great. Here's the problem. The boat kept wandering off to starboard, and I had to keep turning to port to correct to hold course. I must have turned the wheel 30+ times to port around the dial. No stops on the wheel. It did respond to port turns, so I had steering but literally had to turn left a quarter turn every five seconds or so to hold course. The PO spent two days rigging the boat with me in the dusty boatyard and going over systems and getting, I'm sure, exhausted answering all my questions. HE fulfilled his end of our bargain but I can probably only remember a quarter of all he said about systems. I saw him topping off the hydraulic fluid in the steering pump in the binnacle, but did not see him do the recommended procedure of turning hard over and holding for a half a minute, then the other way hard over, to let the air rise to the highest point in the system, which is the binnacle pump. I read that today in the boat book that has the manuals for all/most systems aboard.

Any diagnostical thoughts for me before I get at it again tomorrow?
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Old 15-10-2010, 16:56   #2
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If your hydraulics are OK then you should hardly ever have to add fluid ( in theory, never).
The fact that the PO topped it up suggests a leak somewhere which could cause steering creep. Another cause could be the piston seals in the hydraulic ram.
Try winding the wheel hard over until the rudder is on its stops, then continue with a few pounds pressure on the wheel. The wheel should not move any further. If it does, there is either a leak or fluid inside the system bypassing a seal.
Regards, Richard.
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Old 15-10-2010, 18:52   #3
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Thanks, Richard. Thinking about it, I didn't see him adding fluid, but rather he had the binnacle open and we used a piece of paper as a dip stick. Reading further in 'the book' it says to leave the dipstick loose as it is the vent for air in the system to escape. He had put in a plug w/plumber's tape, so perhaps that has a bearing on the matter. Plus I drained a small amount at the ram from one of the two lines hanging down with stoppers in the end, turning a shutoff valve, so it may need a tad of fluid now.

Tomorrow I will check the level again after several hard over holds to bleed any air and see if it hardens up the steering. The book noted that all the air might not be out for a week after servicing, but it would be ready to use after an hour. That conforms with my experience with it on the initial run, ie., works but not right.
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Old 17-10-2010, 19:02   #4
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You need to do some simple inspections BEFORE you start turning the wheel to its stops. Get into the rudder quadrant area where the hydraulic ram is located and see if there are any rudder stops (blocks or external brace that mechanically stops the rudder when it gets to its limit.
- - Have somebody turn the wheel while you watch how the hydraulic ram works/extends the piston. The rudder stop should be set to physically stop the quadrants/rudder before the hydraulic ram piston gets to its end. Banging the piston against the internal end of the hydraulic ram assembly is really bad for the unit and will promote leaking. Do the test both ways, port and starboard wheel turns.
- - If the ram and rudder extend all the way and you can still turn the wheel more then there is definitely a leak in the system somewhere.
- - Normally hydraulic steering systems have a reservoir tank mounted somewhere. This tank holds the extra hydraulic fluid in the system and has an air pressure pump built in. The reservoir tank is normally pressurized to to about 30 psi. This stop foaming and ensures that no "air blocks" occur in the system.
- - If the rudder hits the stops and the wheel keeps turning - and - there is no fluid loss evident anywhere then the pistons in the steering wheel pump are leaking/bypassing fluid. This could account for your 30 turns in one direction over a period of time.
- - Fluid loss is an easy fix. Find the leak and repair it. Piston pump leakage means buying a new steering pump. Hydraulic ram bypass leakage can normally be fixed with a hydraulic ram repair kits of parts and seals. If the piston rod is corroded or rusted due to water then you need a new hydraulic ram and fix the water leak or at least shield the hydraulic ram from getting wet.
- - Try to avoid letting the wheel get turned far enough to engage the rudder stops. Hydraulic steering is extremely powerful and can bend things or pound the stops until they crumble or fall apart.
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