Seastar Hydraulic Cylinder Repair

J

journey on

New member
I just ran across this topic on the Hull Truth (a general boat blog,) and I thought I'd share it with this site. I've seen this topic discussed on the C-Brats and. I've often wondered what I'd do if the darn hydraulic cylinder started leaking on Journey On. Well, I now know. Hope it helps someone else.

Quote from the Hull Truth:

First: repairing the leak.
"My SeaStar steering cylinder developed a leak last week after 6 years. Being out of warranty I decided I would replace the seals. I priced the seal kits and was a little shocked at the price. I decided I would tackle this myself. I fabricated a spanner wrench to disassemble the cylinder. Once I had it apart I took the end glands to the hydraulic shop I use for heavy equipment service. The gentleman behind the counter took the old seals out and replaced them with new ones in about two minutes. I noticed the SeaStar seals were much more flimsy than the one the hydraulic shop installed. I reassembled the cylinder and put it back on the boat, bled the system and everything seamed to work perfectly. Did not see any leaks and steering felt as smooth as before. I did the entire replacement for $28. Just throwing this out there to try and save you guys a few bucks.

Next, bleeding the cylinder.
Boatdave: I bled it by myself it is really simple. I bought a fitting that screwed into the fill hole at the steering wheel and connected it to a piece of hose about 36'' long and then into a funnel. I then put about a 15'' hose onto each of the bleeder nipples. I ziptied the funnel to the rail over my windshield and filled it up to the top with fluid. I went to the engine and opened one of the bleeder valves and turned the wheel in one direction until I got an even air free flow of fluid out the nipple and into small bucket. I closed that bleeder valve and did the same with the other side. The key is to not let the funnel and hose become empty or you will get air into the system again. Once you get fluid out with no air spurting then close the valve. The last thing I did was to turn the wheel in one direction until it was tight and hold for 3 seconds. You should sea a bubble or two of remaining air flow up the hose towards the funnel. Repeat by turning the wheel different directions to full turn and it will remove any remaining air. Not sure if this is how the dealers do it but this is how I did it and it worked great.

Finally, a reference to youtube. I haven't found this video.
Yes, based on what I have seen on youtube and what you have stated, I will give it a try."

Boris
 
Our new to us c-dory seems to weep hydraulic fluid from the plastic steering wheel shroud against the bulkhead. Its been upgraded in the last couple of years to the seastar hydraulic system. I didn't notice until I started running an electric heater in there 24/7 while refinishing the teak trim. I'm still not sure if its a problem that needs fixing, or if the fluid has just been expanding with the warmer temps in the cabin. Only time will tell I suppose.
 
If I remember correctly, when I did the seals on the 22 there was this kit you could get that attached the jug of SeaStar fluid to the steering resolver. You just screwed it in than poked a pin hole in the bottom of the jug, worked pretty slick.
 
PaulNBriannaLynn":34g70nkx said:
Our new to us c-dory seems to weep hydraulic fluid from the plastic steering wheel shroud against the bulkhead. Its been upgraded in the last couple of years to the seastar hydraulic system. I didn't notice until I started running an electric heater in there 24/7 while refinishing the teak trim. I'm still not sure if its a problem that needs fixing, or if the fluid has just been expanding with the warmer temps in the cabin. Only time will tell I suppose.
Click to expand...

There's a cap on the top of the reservoir that can leak (I think it vents there) and if the warmer air expanded the fluid, it could be coming out of the top and running down the sides to the bottom. Pretty hard to see.

Charlie
 
Good info to have on getting new seals into the old end caps.
I just did the new cap thing and have the two leakers which I will have re-sealed for spares. I looked but found no gold in the new caps. Why so expensive.??
FYI......When taking the holding end brackets off to replace the end caps a liberal douching with marine grease or anti-seize would be helpful for the next dis-assembly.
 
I use a baby ear syringe, one of those bulbous things with a soft rubber "tube" to put new fluid in the steering wheel reservoir. And, look in the seastar/baystar manual, it will list several aircraft brake fluid brands as suitable for use and..they are about 1/3 the price.
 
I have been looking for that leak....I find drips on the fittings but can't figure out what was leaking.....now I will suspect the cap...never even thought about it coming out that cap. Thanks

Joel
SEA3PO
 
Journey On gave me the idea to rebuild my own end caps of the Sea Star hydr. ram.
I just did that and it cost me $28.66 for the new seals/wipers purchased from Alaska Hydraulics here in Anchorage. Part no's.........

wiper......HW-0750N
seal........DPU12-0.75-12

You will need 2 of each and they are simple to replace yourself.

Jack
 
I had leaky end caps early on and found the end plates on the ram were a bit loose. After tightening I used Barry's eye dropper idea to fill up. I still had fluid at the seals after running the boat. I read and re read the manual until I understood I had to only fill till 1/8 to 3/16 inch full below the resevoir cavity top Not the fill tube. I was overfilling and with the pressure these helms build, the fluid had to go somewhere. I have no leaks now the fluid level is correct. As we know fluids can't compress. George
 
I found a neat little plastic oil bottle with a 14" flexible neck on it with a cap. It is at ACE HARDWARE in the automotive section. 4 oz. capacity. Called ZOOM OILER. Comes with lub. oil in it but you can dump that and refill with Seastar Hydr. oil. Costs approx. $2.50.

FYI.
 
I wound up with a noise Auto Pilot, and oil slick in the splash well during my summer trip to Vancouver Island. Over time, and with good help from George, I was able to refill, and eventually tighten the end cap, which was very loose.

I'm not going to try to replace those seals myself, but wonder if it would be a good idea to ask to have a jam nut places on the end of the ram rod, to keep that nut from loosening again.

The leak started about the time I turned 1000 hours, and I'm wondering if that is early, average or late in the SeaStar service live for seal replacement.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

JC_Lately_SleepyC_Flat_Blue_070.thumb.jpg
 
Steve (Constant Craving) and I were discussing this, especially since his last years trip to Powell was cut short by seal leaks at the ends of the rams. He was told that dog hair is a culbpit in damaging seals. I have always felt that the fine dust at Powell, is also an issue. I always leave my hem over to one side when letting the boat sit--even at anchor/or stern to the beach. This means that only one side seal is going to be exposed to the max amount of abrasive material. Before running or even starting the motor, I wipe the ram shaft down with a microfiber cloth, to clean off any dirt, dog hair or fine sand. This seems to help. Same with trailering!
 
With twin engines, twin helms, and autopilot, my SeaStar had lasted 8 years and 3K+ hours when I sold the boat. As far as I know it has still never leaked.
 
I replaced steering shaft seal but still experiencing intermittent leak. Trying to decide whether to replace internal o-rings myself or order new Seastar unit.
Has anyone upgraded to the Pro 2.0 model? If so, do does the quicker steering ratio make for turning the wheel too difficult?
 
I took SleepyC in to the boat doctors to have the SeaStar steering operation. It appears that the internal seals have given up (no dog hair, not Lake Powell sand and no wiping with a micro fiber towel either). It was found that the nut on the end of the cylinder that goes over the shinny shaft, was loose, which I had tightened several times. I asked about having a jam nut placed on that when it was apart for the seals but was told that was not necessary. OK so maybe Loctite is.

The less than good news, because of the way the SeaStar is set between the OB twins, One of the OBs will have to be lifted off the transom to replace the cylinder, which they are recommending due to the corrosion at the fittings, Brass, into the aluminum cylinder. The good news part of that is that I will get both OB's raised one inch, which will put them up to 1/2 below where they should be.

Well, now it will be good for another 10 years, at least.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1867.thumb.jpg
 
Took Two Lucky Fish +1 out for a little shakedown today. Launched in the Ballard ship canal and crossed the channel to Fisherman's Terminal. The point was to "Launch, Run, & Retrieve", hoping everything worked right. Great day for it; it ain't often we get 85° in April!

So all went well, except steering fluid needed topping even though I topped it yesterday. Hmm...weird. And then tonight I took another look and...hey it's low again! So I started puzzling it out, and it didn't take long...you can see the fluid drip out of the end of the cylinder as you spin the wheel. Woops!

So I guess I'll be doing this. Mine's the Baystar HC4600 variant, and the Gland Kit 'A' runs over $80! Whoah! It probably only needs the wiper and shaft seal. Ballard has about half a dozen hydraulic shops. So...I think I'll try to do this the cheap way. Any tips? Wish me luck!
 
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