tha5150 Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 New to me 99. slow turn to the right and it doesn't grab but slow turn to left and its working properly. i got a bottle of fluids in there, flushed it all out from black to clear and problem persists. Unsure what parts to start throwing at it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 Sounds like AIR or the helm valves are malfunctioning. Google Bubble Purge. That will help you understand how to and the best way to flush and BLEED the system. IF there is no air you likely have a sticking value in the Helm unit. The valves usually make a clicking noise if not working. IF you are handy you can buy a kit and do a rebuild. IF not you can have a rebuilder take care of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanjj Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 Take the screw plug out of top of helm unit....turn the motor full left / full right several times....sometimes that will push the air out of lines and into the helm unit....if it’s low refill while you have the screw plug out. This technique seems to work better for me while in the water...maybe because of the pressure from water when turning wheel or maybe it doesn’t matter. Damnifino. JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 in order to understand the symptoms you need to know how it works. there are basically 2 mechanisms involved. the first is the way that the heim creates hydraulic pressure. it has numerous domed cylinders in a circle like a rotary phone that go up and down as you turn the wheel. it does not matter which way you turn the wheel it pushes the cylinders. as the system gets old and dirty these pistons get stuck and don't move fluid as efficiently. the other part is the reversing valve that directs the fluid to turn the boat right or left. this valve is controlled by ball bearings and when dirty does not shift from left to right efficiently. so in brief as thigs get dirty the flow of fluid decreases and the valve works poorly you can buy a rebuild kit and with basic tools and patience do it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha5150 Posted March 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 Thx guys I’ll look into the rebuild for sure. When we bleed and refilled I put the hose in the helm hole, turned all the way in one direction and a buddy loosened the valve on motor. Tightened and did the opposite kept doing that until there was no more new fluid in the bottle and all was clear. I’ll fire sure open the helm port and turn as suggested and hope it goes away. It did seem just a tad better that before doing all of this though a buddy drove it last week and freaked out and said it was broke. So I know it’s not just me. You just have to turn more quickly or maybe “abruptly” to get it to work. By no means is it near bad enough to not use it, just that you know it’s there and happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 sounds just like mine before I rebuilt it. not hard but maybe a 7 on a skill level of 10 what are you using for fluid. phillips aviation fluid is probably the better and cheapest to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin-addict Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 17 hours ago, smilemaker said: in order to understand the symptoms you need to know how it works. there are basically 2 mechanisms involved. the first is the way that the heim creates hydraulic pressure. it has numerous domed cylinders in a circle like a rotary phone that go up and down as you turn the wheel. it does not matter which way you turn the wheel it pushes the cylinders. as the system gets old and dirty these pistons get stuck and don't move fluid as efficiently. the other part is the reversing valve that directs the fluid to turn the boat right or left. this valve is controlled by ball bearings and when dirty does not shift from left to right efficiently. so in brief as thigs get dirty the flow of fluid decreases and the valve works poorly you can buy a rebuild kit and with basic tools and patience do it yourself. What’s a rotary phone. Please explain in detail. Thank you sir. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 the nicest thing g about a rotary phone is that you don't have to carry it with you. there is no star or lb sign or is it a hashtag. you get to move the numbers in a circle slowly and listen to it make a neat noise. after a pleasant minute you will have dialed the phone number and can talk to the other person clearly without other phones interrupting you. It is an enjoyable way to make a phone call. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted April 7, 2021 Report Share Posted April 7, 2021 The symptoms you describe sounds like dirty valves as jh141 said. I don't know where the stuff comes from, but the sediment always ends up attached to the valves in the bottom of the helm. You can rebuild or just take the helm apart and clean the valves. U-tube has some videos that show how to disassemble and clean. I used a Drimmel Tool with a brass brush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha5150 Posted April 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2021 On 4/7/2021 at 12:05 PM, SCFD rtrd. said: The symptoms you describe sounds like dirty valves as jh141 said. I don't know where the stuff comes from, but the sediment always ends up attached to the valves in the bottom of the helm. You can rebuild or just take the helm apart and clean the valves. U-tube has some videos that show how to disassemble and clean. I used a Drimmel Tool with a brass brush. Thanks, ill look into finding a video to get an idea of what this process looks like. For sure it is something i want fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted April 10, 2021 Report Share Posted April 10, 2021 The important thing about cleaning the valves is to work on a very clean surface and make sure you don't leave any brass wire pieces from the brass wire brush. It's really not that complicated, just lay your parts out in some kind of order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted April 10, 2021 Report Share Posted April 10, 2021 I went through this whole process on my pathfinder. Took it apart cleaned it and fixed it about 50% but I still wasn’t satisfied. I couldn’t get the little balls in the valve to move smoothly. Took it off the boat again and sent it to Five Star Marine on the west coast. They rebuilt it for around $250. Well worth the money. It was flawless. Those guys are pros. When you get to bleeding it look on you tube for the video showing a return line to the bottle. Works great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha5150 Posted April 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2021 is it the "seastar helm" that you had rebuilt? if not, what is the proper name of this or these parts you had rebuilt? i will attempt the proper bleed again, i have seem some pretty good looking solutions with all sorts of hoses going form here into there and ending up in a central bottle that collects all the air with the new fluid going into the helm fill port. seems much easier to do it slower and use gravity and by yourself. previously i bled it by having someone in rear open the bleeder valve on the steering while i turned one way or the other. i believe this leaves a lot of room for error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted April 13, 2021 Report Share Posted April 13, 2021 I doubt that the problem is just air in the lines. Odds are that for the age you have a couple of the plungers stuck and you will have to go through a lot of fluid to have just a chance of them unsticking. If you are going thst route I would recommend 2 things. switch to phillips 66 aviation hydraulic fluid. your pocket book will like it and it surpasses all specs needed. for bleeding go to hardware store with the helm cap and get a brass nipple the same size with about 5 feet of clear plastic hose to fit. then get a deep funnel with a valve feature to cut the flow off and on. attach to helm and keep it full. use the majority of the hose to put on the fitting in the back. put some fluid in a jar and the end of the hose. DO NOT LET END OUT OF THE FLUID OR FUNNEL RUN DRY. keep turning wheel unti things look good with no air coming out the back. after a while you will appreciate using phillips 66 fluid. if you put a lid on the jar the crud will settle with clean fluid on surface to be reused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted April 13, 2021 Report Share Posted April 13, 2021 4 hours ago, tha5150 said: is it the "seastar helm" that you had rebuilt? if not, what is the proper name of this or these parts you had rebuilt? i will attempt the proper bleed again, i have seem some pretty good looking solutions with all sorts of hoses going form here into there and ending up in a central bottle that collects all the air with the new fluid going into the helm fill port. seems much easier to do it slower and use gravity and by yourself. previously i bled it by having someone in rear open the bleeder valve on the steering while i turned one way or the other. i believe this leaves a lot of room for error. Yes, sea star helm and Five Star did the rebuild. They are in Port Rickey, 727-346-6912, Devon is the owner. Check them out at TrimandTilt.com. As I said earlier, YouTube has a great bleeding video that adds a return line from both connections into a tee and then back to the fluid bottle suspended over the fill. Make sure the fluid bottle remains full, open both valves on the cylinder and crank the helm 20-30 revolutions each way or until all of the bubbles disappear from the drain line. mine came out perfect when I was done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadd Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 FYI, the first time I rebuilt mine I missed the valves under the hose fittings Seastar Schematics 2.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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