Sea Star hydraulic steering and "normal" motor play?

[Squire]

I have a 2017 Triton and have decided to be much more involved in maintaining it as dealers are overwhelmed and the satisfaction that comes from DIY brings.

Question: I have noticed I have about 2 or 3/8th inch play EACH way from center on my Sea Star. I bought the reseal kit etc, and have been
watching video's. I asked a couple people, including a Mechanic on just exactly how much play is "normal" or within Spec for the Sea Star systems
and really got not much of an informed answer? This is normal for things that rarely are issues or you don't see much, so hence my reach out.

After watching several youtubbie video's, if there is no leak around the seals, then you can just add fluid and
then bleed the system. The ones in the video's all had lots of play so it was a no brainer. I could then keep the replacement seals for the future when the existing ones fail or maybe this should be an annual process? I actually want to see how much play
I can remove with the bleeding process and then I can judge on how fast the problem returns. This way I also know how much play to expect
with new seals. I have to also drain and clean out the 2 powerpole pumps as I have recently realized this is something that should be done annually
as well. That is my naive logic anyway.

Appreciate any experienced advice here as this will be my first go at this and don't have a refined "eye" yet for how much play is normal. Is there a spec amount?

Thanks

[dabassking]

I recently went through this same thing. I had leaky seals, which were easy for me to diagnose because my hydraulic rod had fluid on it that you could feel. I replaced the seals and bled the system and had about 1/8” of play in either direction. I thought that was too much so I tried bleeding it again several times over the last few months. I never could get all the play out. Last week I had to take the boat to my mechanic for a different issue and asked him to look at it. He bled it with a pressure bleeder and didn’t get any air out of it. He said the play I had was just fine.

With all that being said, if you have 1/4” or more of play, then I’d say you need to bleed the system.

[Squire]

I recently went through this same thing. I had leaky seals, which were easy for me to diagnose because my hydraulic rod had fluid on it that you could feel. I replaced the seals and bled the system and had about 1/8” of play in either direction. I thought that was too much so I tried bleeding it again several times over the last few months. I never could get all the play out. Last week I had to take the boat to my mechanic for a different issue and asked him to look at it. He bled it with a pressure bleeder and didn’t get any air out of it. He said the play I had was just fine.

With all that being said, if you have 1/4” or more of play, then I’d say you need to bleed the system.

Great information. Thank you.

[gonnabe]

Sending a pm

[Thamelau]

I have a small amount of play just like you. Mine didn't come from air in the system or anything like that, but actually worn down spacers/bushings. These parts were the "triangle" bracket where the motor connects to the cylinder itself. I used some spring loaded retaining rings to take up as much slack as possible. It's not perfect, but better.

O, and I was told by seastar that this is not a serviceable part (at least by me), and that they wouldn't sell me parts.

[mrdeath]

It's a sealed system. If you're getting air in it or leaking fluid, you obviously have a bad seal somewhere. Unless it's leaking (air or fluid), there's not really anything that needs to be done to it on any kind of timeframe. Check nuts, bolts and spacers to make sure they're all good and that's about it. Haven't had to touch mine in 5 years.

[PSM207]

In almost any hydraulic system micro-bubbles can form as fluid travels throughout the passages. These bubbles can then collect and form larger pockets of air.

[billnorman1]

In almost any hydraulic system micro-bubbles can form as fluid travels throughout the passages. These bubbles can then collect and form larger pockets of air.

True. Bleeding it occasionally is not a sin. I think he means he has between 1/4 and 3/8" play if the motor is manually turned with the wheel atraight ahead. Sounds to me like normal system slop, and if the system is properly bled, and it works on the water like it is supposed to, I say use-as-is.

[PSM207]

True. Bleeding it occasionally is not a sin. I think he means he has between 1/4 and 3/8" play if the motor is manually turned with the wheel atraight ahead. Sounds to me like normal system slop, and if the system is properly bled, and it works on the water like it is supposed to, I say use-as-is.

I agree

[Unionskeeter]

Anytime you got play in a hydraulic system there is air in it that needs to be bled

[NoZero]

I had the same issue with ours when it was new. Dealer said it was mechanical play - not hydraulic.

I started down that path because of weird chine walk behavior. The relationship to lift, chine walking, speed... was off in a way that didn't make sense to me, and I thought it might be steering play. I bled it the steering again and checked all bolts and fittings. It barely tightened up, but it didn't make a difference in the way the boat flew. Turns out, when I lowered P2P - based on performance and lift (ignoring what everyone else was saying about seat time, chine walk, and P2P, etc.), chine walk became absolutely predictable (and thus manageable), lift matched what my butt and brain said should be happening, and I was no longer concerned about the small amount of play.


I think I was between 1/4" and 1/8" in the end. It felt (and looked) like a lot at the prop/skeg, but was not really moving at the cylinder.

[willwork4fish]

Check to see how much slop you have with the nut and the spacers on the support rod. That nut is held in place by a set screw and if it was loose it could have moved a bit. That can cause some slop.

[Bassfriend]

Check to see how much slop you have with the nut and the spacers on the support rod. That nut is held in place by a set screw and if it was loose it could have moved a bit. That can cause some slop.

This is true

[Squire]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, they all "align"....I am going to use the Hurricane induced wet weekend as project time here in Virginia. I will look for all areas that have been mentioned. The slop I have seen and where I was looking was at the piston on the SeaStar. I am going to bleed it with a kit I bought from Marine Tech just as a learning experience and we will see if it makes any difference. I also got replacement seals and the tools (puller and 3 pin) to replace them from Marine Tech for that day where the seals fail. I will be ready to tackle it. I had a fishing trip to Northern Ontario severely impacted by an Ultrex pedal failure, so for away trips, I now even carry a backup TM (the Fortrex I replaced with the Ultrex) instead of selling it. It recently came in handy when the Ultrex Motor died and it took 6 weeks to get the parts to be repaired at the dealer. It is amazing how many spares of things and variety of tools I now carry in the truck just to go fishing lol...Next in line are spare hubs/rotors for the trailer (I have 4 wheel discs and shocks) and should probably carry replacement light sets too....

[SteezMacQueen]

I think the 1/4-3/& slop is either really good, or really bad. It depends where the measurement is taking place. If my ram was wiggling like that, I wouldn’t take the boat out, if the play was in the steering wheel, that’s very minor.