Hynautic helm pump "weeping"....

My helm pump is weeping steering oil and I have to fix it. Is it an o-ring or a seal that needs to be replaced?

You can buy a kit, or send it out for rebuild. I did the latter and am very glad I did. I used a prop and hydraulic shop called Scandia Propeller in Fairhaven, MA and got great service and a great price. But I'm sure there are other good local places if you ask around. That was in early March and so far not a drop has leaked and the pressure remains unchanged.

Greetings,
It's Obama's fault!

I bought the rebuild kit and the only thing not in the kit was the O-ring for the shaft. It's a standard size O-ring. On my unit the shaft is 1" and the housing the O-ring goes into is 3/4" so the O-ring diameter is 1/8". I meant to write down the part number but it seems I forgot.

Bob

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
It's Obama's fault!

Click to expand...

Again?

Thanks Bob, I'm guessing that's the only thing I have to change. As a DIYer, it would cause me fiduciary pain to buy a whole rebuild kit when all I need is one o-ring. We are at sea right now with 70 miles to go before we are back in the slip so I'll be keeping a weather eye on the reservoir air pressure.

Got the dimensions reversed, shaft is 3/4", housing is 1".

Bob

A hynautic system uses a quad seal between the housing & shaft, I rebuilt mine & bled the system in about 3 hours. This is a source for parts. http://www.go2marine.com/product/87428F/hynautic-helm-seal-kits-h20-h40-h50-h60-h80-series.html

Where do I find what H series it is? All it says on the label is max. wheel dia. 28" and max. wheel dish 5".

I had the same issue. After I talked to a repair place, they convinced me to try just changing the front seal on the shaft. It fixed the weeping. Still no issues after 5+ years.... You too might get lucky.

I remember doing this fix on my previous boat, a 30' Tolly, besides rebuilding the steering cylinder. Being a dedicated DIYer, I have a ton of boat parts saved up. Another 38 sea miles to go and we will be back in our slip today. Can't wait to go home the next day and start looking into my parts stash.

ancora said:

Where do I find what H series it is? All it says on the label is max. wheel dia. 28" and max. wheel dish 5".

Click to expand...

I think it'll be stamped in the pump body, do you have duel helms? My 3870 has duel helms & uses H-50 pumps. When I rebuilt mine I was traveling on the river & the upper helm started to leak & I lost all steering & had to use the engines & transmissions to maneuver. The parts necessary to rebuild could be had at any hydraulic shop, just take the old seals & orings in & have them match them up if you don't have them in your parts stash. You'll need help & a tire pump or air bubble when you bleed the system, also the correct oil not ATF. Good luck



This is similar to the type of seal hynautic uses.

I might put myself in the same position that you got into. I have a predicted log contest on Saturday and will not have the leak fixed by then. The race is in the harbor so I'll take a chance.

Completed the race, but had to warn the Admiral who does the piloting that the steering could go south at any moment. She likes to pass the marks as close as possible even though the rules gives us a 100 yard leeway. When I got home I ordered two rebuild kits as the flybridge steering pump is just as old as the lower station pump. Thanks for the help guys.