steering

[Mystical]

Just curious if anyone has ever had the oil from the steering at the helm come out of the vent. Had this problem pretty much all last season and its back again. Every Friday when we go down, there is a small puddle on the floor under the wheel. After driving the boat for about 20 minutes, the wheel makes a kind of dry bearing noise. Had it looked at over the winter, was fixed, but mow its back again. Any insight would be great

 

[Andrew Custis]

Hey there Brian,

Sorry I missed your call, I was on vacation and returned today.

It is pretty normal for oil to come out of the helm unit when the temperature rises and the fluid expands. The dry bearing noise is pretty common. I don't know if its an actual issue since it has never created any for me on the boats I have heard it on. If someone worked on your steering or bled the system, it fills the reservoir back up and you simply need to suck some out of the top with a turkey baster to allow for expansion room.

I have a feeling this is what happened and why you see the oil again because Peter probably bled the system.

 

[baz]

Brian: I had this problem on a new R-25 back in late 2009. It was very slight but the hydraulic oil was a nuisance and to this day I hang a small rag on the help foot rest to catch any drips which have long been non existent.

What we had done was to have the auto pilot's hydraulic lines bleed for air pockets as part of an Garmin Auto Pilot issue we had and in the process the steering wheel tank's fluid was replaced. The small thumbwheel with serrated edge has a small air hole to allow for expansion as Andrew explains and this was where the original fluid oozed out. After our Auto Pilot's issue was resolved we've never seen or had fluid ooze out of that hole since, and presumably the Garmin technician was careful to not over fill the helm tank.

BTW, I've never head a 'dry bearing sound' coming from the helm as you've described. I have however felt the wheel will slightly resist my inputs at times and I believe this is related to the Auto Pilot's shadow drive feature engaging and disengaging briefly at times when the Auto Pilot has control for steering the boat.

 

[Mystical]

Guess as long as it is normal, all I well then. Must say it is quite the nuisance though.

 

[baz]

Guess as long as it is normal, all I well then. Must say it is quite the nuisance though.

Yes, nuisance for me translated in having a very slippery helm foot rest... which is actually dangerous IMO. You should get the fluid dripping issue resolved before you land on your nose. 😉

 

[Mystical]

I would love to get it resolved, just do not know what to do to resolve it

 

[knotflying]

Perhaps, Peter can look at it at the Rendezvous in Greenport.

 

[baz]

I would love to get it resolved, just do not know what to do to resolve it

Read Andrew's post above, as it describes how to resolve the fluid ooze/drip issue.

 

[Mystical]

Peter did address the issue over the winter. The first part of the year there was no problem and no noises from it after running the boat for a few months. the last trip we made, the noise is very loud. Just doesn't sound good, but if it is normal, so be it

 

[baz]

I have to say the "noise" is not good. That part of the issue you raise should be looked into IMO.