mustang190 Posted November 12, 2019 Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 I have a 2013 22TE. the steering has become very erratic. I have purged and bled the system and the steering actuator is in good shape. But, the helm can sometimes be unresponsive. If you turn the wheel fast or sharp, the steering cylinder will work fine. But if you slowly turn the wheel there is no response, some times you can feel it catch and the cylinder will move. I am thinking the helm is bad? There are no leaks anywhere. and the helm is full of fluid . Can anyone recommend a place that rebuilds helms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brew1891 Posted November 12, 2019 Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 Could be the check valves in the helm. Could be the internal seal in the cylinder. Does the boat track straight when under power or does it constantly veer to starboard? call this place: http://www.boatsteer.com/index.html Very helpful when mine was acting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang190 Posted November 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 Boat tracks straight while underway. The motor does not fall over while tilted up either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin-addict Posted November 12, 2019 Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 Had to bleed several times over a few days to purge all air from system using electric bleed unit. But I had dual stations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brew1891 Posted November 12, 2019 Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 1 hour ago, mustang190 said: Boat tracks straight while underway. The motor does not fall over while tilted up either. Does seem to point towards check valves in helm. You can try removing and inspecting/cleaning them. Lots of threads on the internet about this. Call boat steer and see what they think. Really nice people and good customer service. After changing my cylinder I had to bleed numerous times waiting a day or two in between per boat steers instructions before all the air was out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted November 12, 2019 Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 How old and dirty is the fluid? A smart move is to remove the old fluid. Then get some Phillips 66 aircraft hydraulic fluid to replace it with. The process is fairly straightforward and the price for the aircraft hydraulic fluid is relatively cheap compared to sea star fluid. If interested I will post how to do with some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang190 Posted November 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2019 23 hours ago, smilemaker said: How old and dirty is the fluid? A smart move is to remove the old fluid. Then get some Phillips 66 aircraft hydraulic fluid to replace it with. The process is fairly straightforward and the price for the aircraft hydraulic fluid is relatively cheap compared to sea star fluid. If interested I will post how to do with some pictures. It is kind of dark. I replaced the steering control about two years ago, replaced all the fluid. You can use aircraft hydraulic fluid? I can get plenty of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 Many people claim it is better. As far as quality and specs if it is for a plane I figure the quality control is on the upper end. I get mine at a small plane local airport. It is made by Phillips 66 I believe. I looked it up and the common spec is 5606. Seastar and Phillips appear to be the same. Some people advocate using ATF but I have more confidence in aviation's products. Unde $ 5 a quart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted November 15, 2019 Report Share Posted November 15, 2019 On 11/11/2019 at 8:38 PM, mustang190 said: I have a 2013 22TE. the steering has become very erratic. I have purged and bled the system and the steering actuator is in good shape. But, the helm can sometimes be unresponsive. If you turn the wheel fast or sharp, the steering cylinder will work fine. But if you slowly turn the wheel there is no response, some times you can feel it catch and the cylinder will move. I am thinking the helm is bad? There are no leaks anywhere. and the helm is full of fluid . Can anyone recommend a place that rebuilds helms? The symptoms you are describing indicate that the valves in the helm are dirty. I don't know where the particulate matter comes from or why it's attracted to the valves, but the valves are sticking because of an accumulation of crud in the bottom of the helm. It's not a job that requires any special skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted November 15, 2019 Report Share Posted November 15, 2019 as SCFD said Rebuilding the helm is not difficult, you just need a clean bench to work on. The inside of the helm looks like an old rotary phone dial. Each number is a piston that gets pushed down as the dial goes over it. In a dirty system these valves get stuck down and don't move fluid. When you turn the opposite direction a switch valves redirects the fluid. Not difficult to do but as in all hydraulic work always use new o rings and keep things clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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