250 sho seastar steering

[sask]

please see post #9

Is this too much play - boat on trailer....first time hydraulic steering owner.
thanks

I can measure...maybe quarter inch...the gif isn't the easiest to tell, but can't load a mov file.

thanks

[printman71]

Looks like air in the hydraulic line that needs to be bled out and replaced with fluid.

[sask]

thanks!

[sask]

I saw online where a guy hooks a hose between the two sea star fittings on the steering....then runs a hose from a bottle to the helm....has anyone tried this...or is it better to go with the 3 hose method? thanks...have never bled hydraulic steering before...

[javelin90]

I did this setup after replacing my seals.
1. Ran clear line from each side of the Bleeder screws on ram, then ran the two lines into a 3 way Barb. Then the like to the top of an open container filled with seastar fluid. On the bottom of the container a hose feeds into the fill Port onto the helm. The container is zip tied to the top/side of the ladder. It makes it easy for a one person bleed process

[sask]

great set up...the video I saw eliminated the 3 way barb and just had the hose hooked up without it....think that would work?
thanks for the share javelin!

[javelin90]

I have not tried just the hose hooked up. Reason i used this setup is it keeps fluid flowing in the helm and being that it is raised up high the air bubbles work out easier.

[tracer1]

Got tired of the sloppiness of Seastar. Went with Uflex

[sask]

So got the boat out for inaugural run finally. Had quite the scare...

- is this steering slop/play problem
-or is this driver error
-or a prop blowout situation that allowed motor
to hook in relation to how much play in steering?

Ran boat up and down small lake number of times, all great...trim is much faster than my old XR6 150 hp
One run, was doing 47 mph- noticed
very stiff steering to edge to a right slight turn, small wake wave, very small In front of me, so pulled back on throttle, saw gps at 43
and all of a sudden boat takes a major hook to the left, enough to scare
the $$$$ outta me, i may have done a slight left turn on steering, which had some play in it as
mentioned above

stupid, should have bled system before driving but no oil in my area so is still on order but wanted to run boat.

thoughts - thanks ��

[Tx Champ]

Air in the system or low hydraulic fluid can cause lethargic steering. I had a seal leaking on my steering cylinder on the front of the motor and I let it get to the point that I could not keep the boat running in a straight line. I'd put in enough steering input that it would eventually make an abrupt change. Look for evidence of leaking around the steering cylinder shaft and in the floorboard under your helm for signs of leakage. If you find that, address the leaks before you fill/bleed the system.

[sask]

It was an abrupt change that is for sure....so sounds like you feel it was steering vs prop blowout or something of that nature - thanks!

[Hawglip]

Outboard Specialty Tools makes a bleeder kit that works very well. I just bled mine and it makes it as good as new.

[sask]

thanks for the feedback guys..no leaks to be found..boat has roughly 50 hours, so maybe from original was not bled perfectly???

I gave it a try today.....
worked nothing like the video
-first time, it leaked a great deal at the fittings, so took it off, readjusted the hose clamp, and tried again...I can see why the outboard specialty tools kit fitting would work nice as twisting the hose with hose clamps is cumbersome...
-as soon as I moved my wheel, the motor turned...unlike the video..and maybe that was because he had so much air from a new fill???
-Also, when I would go end of end on wheel, as I would get to past the it would get extremely hard to turn...
-I did see a couple big bubbles come out of the helm..so something was working!
-in the crossover tube on the back cylinder, I had one big air pocket that I could never work through...it seemed like my fluid was not really pushing side to side like in the video??\
-I tightened the back off and kept going end to end on wheel, and then would hit the end lock and would hold it a bit then turn back..I would get a rough feel and noise in the wheel, and for the first part a couple bubbles developed and floated up into the oil container.
-did this multiple times.


-I have never had hyd steering so do not know what to expect...but what I do know is that I had half a steering wheel of no turn/catch up to turn in opposite direction and now I have none....


-At very ends of steering wheel travel I hear some growl - is that normal?


-Kick test/push motor by hand and shake by cavitation plate...measured and just over an 1/8 th of play..and it seems that is a touch more in one direction than the other..
(kicking a 250hp engine seems to have a bit of power in the weight of the motor in regards to movement..but before I had over a half inch play...




I read about the lock spacer..will play with that.


Thanks for any feedback!

[sask]

Update - ran the boat today..steering was very responsive and tight at high speeds....only complaint..and again, never had hyd steering before so maybe normal...when loading boat, bit of wind, trimmed motor up and had to do a lot of hand over hand wheel turns to stay away from dock and get on trailer..and as the motor was trimmed, it was making that noise of roughness or skipping or what I assume is air as I turned fast, but the motor turned responsively.....


doesn't seem normal but would like to hear if others have that or not?
(PS did not check that lock collar before I went out today)

[gr8basser]

If you are getting a popping sound as you are trimming or tilting there is air in your trim/tilt mechanism and either needs fluid added or likely needs to be bled by the dealer. Unfortunately these motors are too heavy to bleed on your own. (I am in need of the same thing but the line at the dealer is pretty tall right now as season in its prime.) But I can delay it by tilting motor all the way up and opening the valve(flat screw on Port side of motor trim/tilt unit) to manually tilt motor down. Do it several times to see if the cracking/popping noise goes away when tilting/trimming motor.

[sask]

Sorry, for not being more clear....the sound when tilted is in the steering, not in the tilt/trim cylinder.
thanks!