Seastar power steering oil resevoir??

[PasadenaPhil]

I am relatively new to the boat. I purchased her back in September 19 and have spent the winter under the shrinkwrap sealing and sanding the teak, replacing the impellers and engine anodes, gen-set fuel pump and impeller. some other minor maintenance issues. I now need to check the fluid level and pressure on my power steering. I see it says between 25-30psi and I can see where I attach the air line. What I don't see is the fill cap? do I unscrew the valve-stem and fill there? and then re-pressurize?

 

[GregBrannon]

A picture would help, but on mine, the large aluminum nut that the valve stem attaches to unscrews to open the fill point. It's a 1-inch nut, I believe.



Greg

 

[Bkay]

Take this with a grain of salt...I'm not very bright.

I believe it depends on whether your reserve tank is below the helm pump or above. In my last boat I had a pressurized system (for shaft oil, not steering, but same principle) that was above the item it serviced. In that case, I would unscrew the large nut that the valve-stem was screwed into and fill there. In my system, the reserve tank was the highest point in the system and gravity did most of the work. So very little pressure was required - around 2 pounds pressure required.

I've seen a similar system on a friends boat where the reserve tank was BELOW the helm pump. In that case, to fill it he would release the pressure and fill the tank from the helm pump and gravity would in turn fill the reserve tank until the system was full. Then he pressurized the reserve tank to force hydraulic fluid up to the helm when it was needed. Since pressure did the work it was much higher pressure level (closer to the 25 you mention, but I honestly don't remember).

Hope that helps.

 

[rslifkin]

For mine, the schrader valve for air pressure is on a big nut. That nut is the fill cap. To add fluid, you let the pressure out, then remove the big nut. After filling, if you had the system open for anything, there's a bleed procedure (google it, it'll come up). 25 - 30 psi is normal operating pressure

For what it's worth, these systems are hydraulic steering, but they're not power steering. As far as I know, the pressure is just to avoid fluid cavitation.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

My system leaks. It is a very small amount but since it is under pressure it makes a mess. I'll find the leak eventually!

In the mean time, although it looks like I am leaking gallons it is actually only a teaspoon which escapes over the course of every two years. If for whatever reason you need to top yours off, it will be a tiny amount. A small syringe or a squeezable ketchup or mustard dispenser with a small tube on the end will usually work. Don't look for a reservoir with a big cap like on your car. It will probably be a half inch aluminum bolt.

However...if it is holding pressure and your steering and auto pilot are working, don't bother with it. You have other projects to mess with. "If it aint broke, don't fix it"

pete

 

[rslifkin]

On the systems with the big, cylindrical reservoir, there should be a way to see the fluid level. That reservoir holds more than a quart, so no need to use a syringe or anything small to add fluid, just pour a little in until the level is in the correct range (anywhere from about 1/2 to 3/4 full is fine).

 

[Keysdisease]

Just to be specific, because it will help you find information for your system, it sounds like your steering system is Hynautic. Technically you are correct in the title of your post, Seastar, because Seastar bought Hynautic many years ago. Here's a link to the owners manual, and this is what a new reservoir looks like.

To my knowledge Hynautic is the only "small boat" manual hydraulic steering system that is pressurized. the other 2 most popular systems for this market, Seastar (formerly Teleflex) and Wagner are not pressurized but vented systems.



http://www.boatsteer.com/assets/Hynautic_1987.pdf