Flush your hydraulic steering!

[Threeweight]

Doing some final updates to my boat before springer fishing gets underway, and I decided to bleed my Baystar steering tonight just in case any air bubbles had gotten into it over the last few seasons.  Glad I did... instead of the nice yellow fluid that comes in the $$$$ Seastar bottles, what came out of mine was dark greenish gray, the color of old, burnt brake fluid in a car. 

Since I had a spare bottle of fluid I went ahead and flushed the entire system and put fresh in.  May be my imagination, but it seems to operate a little smoother, with noticeably less effort now  :biggrin:

[fishorcrab]

Makes sense to me. Steering should be much lighter due to lighter fluid.  :biggrin: Didn't you get one of those Edson spinner knobs that allow spinning the wheel so fast that the fluid overheats?

Otherwise, you'd be worried about how oxygen got to the fluid to degrade it.   

Seriously though, is there a recommended fluid change schedule for the steering fluid?
Paul

[Threeweight]

I had a cheap $15 spinner knob from Autozone  :biggrin:  I upgraded my steering wheel to a nice stainless model, so I am in the market for a new one.

BoatUS had a technical article on power steering that suggested checking the color of the fluid every year at the helm... if it is dark, flush and replace, or replace every 5 years regardless.  Mine was installed in 2012.  My guess is I didn't get all the air out of the system, combined with just using the fluid pretty good (I steer my kicker from the helm, so the old fluid probably had 300-400 hours of use on it.)

[Threeweight]

Here's what color fresh steering fluid is:



And here is what I bled out of my system:

[Kahunanui]

never changed my fluid, is there a trick or tip or instructions you can share with all of us that have never yet done this on changing out the fluid and bleeding any air bubbles ?  Thank you.

[Wyrguy]

Wow Steve that fluid is really FUGLY!!!
I just looked through the Seastar/Baystar manual and it says to check fluid colour (sorry, I'm stuck on Kanadian spelling!) at every 200 hrs or once every year, which ever comes first.

Of course everyone knows ;) that you need to check that your steering is operational and not binding prior to EVERY trip.

(Filling and purging instructions start on page 29)

http://www.seastarsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/964610C.pdf

I've never seen fluid that colour before... How long has your system been in?

Rick


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[StreamFixer]

3WT

May I borrow your 'filler kit'?  Good beer offered as rent  (Shawn left some PBR in the boat last time out and he tells me that is "good beer"    )  I'll probably have to resort to just Widmer's 'inferior' products

StreamFixer

[ak-angler]

Wow... that's just (as my niece would say) .... grrrrody!

[Threeweight]

Since I use my helm steering for the kicker as well as the main, I am thinking the fluid has seen a lot more use than I initially thought.  I have two seasons on it, and with all the trolling I do I'm guessing maybe 400 hours?  I bled the system what I thought was "good enough" when I installed it, but after watching a few Youtube videos on how to do it right, I am guessing I still had maybe half a coffee cup full of air  in the helm pump that was trapped in there.

Here's a good tutorial on bleeding/flushing the system... this is really a two person job to do it right.  The key part I missed the first time was getting that trapped air out of the helm pump.  I spent 10 minutes bumping the wheel back and forth after I had fully purged the old fluid out of the system, and I got a few teaspoons of air bubbles out of the helm each time I did it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/smKMklBQbfo

Russ, I'd be happy to loan out my adapter for the fluid bottles, but you are #2 on the list.  Got to help my buddy with the Stabicraft with his first (his fluid has been in there 5-6 years, and he has developed a small leak on one of his steering rams!).  I'd also be happy to swing by and help you with it sometime... you do really need one guy at the stern managing the valves and bleeding the ram, and one guy at the helm turning the wheel and making sure the fluid never runs out and lets air get back into the helm.  My Baystar takes about 1 qt of fluid... longer/larger hoses, or a Seastar, and you probably need 2 quarts.  It is $$$$$ stuff.

[StreamFixer]

I suspect this will be the first flush since installed in '97.  (1997 not 1897  :biggrin: )

StreamFixer

[R42itus]

Steve,

Thank you for starting this nice concise thread. With the information I obtained I was able to successfully flush my and bleed by my system today. Great group we have. Thanks again.

Ross

[croaker stroker]

Good thing I upgraded to cable steering.   

[Threeweight]

I upgraded to new cable steering to, right after I bought the boat. 

Two years of saltwater later, I needed to do it again 

We flushed the Stabicraft's Seastar system last weekend.  It has dual outboards, but only 400 hours or so of total use.  Fluid was dark, the color of dark tea, but otherwise fine.  The Seastar system did have a lot of air in it when we bled it though (it had developed a soft squishy feel in the steering last season).  Fresh fluid and it feels very tight again.

Russ, let me know if you want to borrow my bleeder kit, or if you want a hand with yours.  Given how the springer run is going so far this year, I have time 

[StreamFixer]

3WT

Wilco. 

StreamFixer