steering system bleeding procedure

Status
Not open for further replies.

dhdmorrison

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
6
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Cutwater 30CB
Vessel Name
Luna
I took delivery of a new 30CB Nov 2016. Nothing but problems with the autopilot and steering since the day after delivery. Garmin came out and replaced the autopilot pump - the tech was far from great, actually reconnecting the lines backward at first - it was a miracle that I did not run into other boats or the dock as I pulled out of the slip and tried to figure out why turning to port made the boat go to starboard. The thrusters saved the day. Anyway, after he corrected this mistake it was getting late and we were only able to take the boat out for a brief trial run in the bay - seemed OK. He told me that he did not know how to get the air out of the system and that it would need to be via bleeding the air out at the helm station.
The next day a hard freeze was predicted so I had to winterize.
Just dewinterized and the air problem remains - the steering is jerky and irregular.
How do I bleed the air from the helm steering cylinder. I only see instructions for filing the cylinder in the manual provided when I took delivery.
Dan Morrison
 
If your boat is still under warranty which it sounds like it is I would contact your dealer first, then Ranger Tugs.
Let them correct it then no one can come back and blame you for whatever reason.
 
I did that - and got a prompt reply from the dealer directing me back to the Garmin warranty person - who put me in touch with the local Garmin outfit - who told me that their people will probably be busy until May - and suggested that I bleed the air from the helm station as that is what they would do (as opposed to bleeding it from the autopilot pump end of the system!!
Feeling more than a little frustrated. I have not had all systems working properly on this boat from the 2nd day I have owned it.
 
Our 2017 R27 was fine during sea test but after we got it home we loss steering. The couplers on the autopiilot were loose and we ha loss all steering fluid into the bilge. The autopilot motor was also defective and replaced twice! The Garmin was hot wired into the fusion instead of directly into the NMKEA 2000 backbone and that caused all kinds of erratic problems. Fortunately We live in Newport,OR and Robert from Garmin is here also and came to the rescue for us.He bled the system and replaced the fluid.Had to pull the fridge and connect to the backbone. Everything has been fine since. Call Ranger and have a competent Garmin tech take care of it
 
Herky":12y30dla said:
Our 2017 R27 was fine during sea test but after we got it home we loss steering. The couplers on the autopiilot were loose and we ha loss all steering fluid into the bilge. The autopilot motor was also defective and replaced twice! The Garmin was hot wired into the fusion instead of directly into the NMKEA 2000 backbone and that caused all kinds of erratic problems. Fortunately We live in Newport,OR and Robert from Garmin is here also and came to the rescue for us.He bled the system and replaced the fluid.Had to pull the fridge and connect to the backbone. Everything has been fine since. Call Ranger and have a competent Garmin tech take care of it

I will be taking delivery of our 2017 R-27 at the end of the month. Hopefully our parts are a different batch than yours, but this will be very helpful. Will do some extra due diligence when checking out these components! Thanks again.
 
Hello Dan,

First of all, sorry for the issues with the autopilot on your boat. Garmin has found a bad batch of pumps that were causing a constant pull in the steering and has since addressed the new pumps coming out of the factory. Don at Winter's sailing notified me of this issue on Tuesday which within five minutes had contact to Garmin looking for assistance. Garmin had made contact with Viking Marine who initially did the pump swap (and sounds like they didn't bleed it properly). Viking was backed up in repairs on other boats and sent a note to you asking if you would like them to get in touch with another service company which they are prepared to do.

I will place another phone call to Garmin seeing who else they can locate to bleed the steering properly. This is not a task you will want to try and do if you haven't done this before. Quite a few steps to properly bleed steering so lets let them handle this part. I will forward this note to Garmin as well as Winter's Sailing where you purchased the boat from to see the process you have had to go through. Hang in there, we will get it resolved.

Best regards,
 
Just wondering, if there was a bad batch of pumps would it not be helpful to post some info in regard to how to identify the bad pumps, serial numbers, years of of installation in ranger/cutwater tugs
 
If you can find someone with the power purge, that will take care of removing all air in the system. A little too expensive to buy just for yourself.

Stuart
 
Thanks for all of the input and comments.
Andrew: I will refrain from trying to bleed the system on my own. Garmin has contacted me and I just received a call from another local Garmin repair facility to set up a time next week to get the system up and running.

To Stuart, Baz, Herky, Admiral and the rest - many thanks for your replies. This is my first large motor cruiser. I previously was a sailboat guy - so I am used to the need to constantly repair and work on the boat. But - I did not expect to have these kind of issues right out of the box. I think that maybe the sailboat gods are punishing me. :twisted:

Dan
 
Hey there. The bad batch of pumps I do not think can be identified by serial numbers. If you notice the steering on your boat pulling to one direction and the pump seems to be working overtime to keep the boat going straight, chances are you have one that needs replaced. It was all due to a material that was being used on the fittings installed into the pump by the manufacturer. The material was getting inside of some check valves causing them to stick open. Keep in mind that if you notice this issue, you can easily rectify the steering by closing the bypass valves on the pump. There are three flathead screws that you simply turn all the way in. Careful by loosening them out too far if you open them back out and stop when you feel resistance.

Thanks all,
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top