Troubleshooting Hydraulic Steering

[eliteangler]

Anybody know a good way to find a pesky leak in the hydraulic steering system? End cap seals on steering cylinder are good. No leaks at the helm. Had system bled with a power purge unit a month ago and now has air in the system again. Can't figure out where the air is getting in. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[RangrSkipr]

Are you losing fluid or is the piston bypassing internally and you lose steering? Easy to reseal if the latter is the case

[eliteangler]

Are you losing fluid or is the piston bypassing internally and you lose steering? Easy to reseal if the latter is the case

I hadn't lost steering... not sure if the piston is bypassing internally or not. I was doing some cleaning in the boat and I grabbed the steering wheel to clean it... turned it a little (maybe a 1/4 turn) and the helm burped a good amount of fluid out of the vent/fill cap. Called the shop that bled the system recently and he said air is getting in somehow. I figured if air is getting in, fluid must be getting out... but I dropped it off today to have them take another look at it.

[RangrSkipr]

Or they didn't bleed it properly

[bgibson]

Or they didn't bleed it properly

THIS!

[eliteangler]

Or they didn't bleed it properly

Could be... we will see what they say. I will report back with results.

[billnorman1]

Don't turn the wheel with the cap off and the system full.

[chad202]

I was told this long time ago and still do it religiously. Turn the wheel full left, hold pressure, and crack the fill cap then retighten. Do the same thing to the right. Repeat until you don't hear air bleed when you crack cap. Steering will stay tight unless you have leak or internal check valve leaking by.

[eliteangler]

Could be... we will see what they say. I will report back with results.

Funny you say that... the o-ring on the fill cap was bad. I thought it had a vent. Shows what I know.

[DrewFlu33]

The fact that fluid burped out could indicate that it's overfull as well. I thought mine was leaking or needed to be bled again after I replaced the whole hydraulic cylinder and had occasional fluid coming out at the helm, turns out I just put too much fluid in it.

The temperature change as things warmed in the spring is probably why mine was intermittent, though I can't say for sure. What I do know is that it eventually just stopped being an issue, presumably after enough fluid had come out that it was no longer overfilled.

[eliteangler]

The fact that fluid burped out could indicate that it's overfull as well. I thought mine was leaking or needed to be bled again after I replaced the whole hydraulic cylinder and had occasional fluid coming out at the helm, turns out I just put too much fluid in it.

The temperature change as things warmed in the spring is probably why mine was intermittent, though I can't say for sure. What I do know is that it eventually just stopped being an issue, presumably after enough fluid had come out that it was no longer overfilled.

Interesting... I'll be keeping an eye on it for sure.

[DrewFlu33]

Are you noticing play in your steering or is it otherwise "jumpy?" To me that's kind of the foolproof indicator that it needs to be bled. If you're not feeling it skip or turning the wheel with nothing happening, I'd take a wait-and-see approach.