power steering fluid loss

jontmiller · **Joined:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:16 am **Posts:** 296

So over the last year I have put in about 2/3rds a quart of power steering fluid into the reservoir. No obvious leaks around the pump or steering unit from what I can tell with a flashlight. No abnormal noises (screech when reaching the limit like a car)

If I were a mechanic I would say get it looked at before it gets worse....as a cheapskate boat owner I want to dump some stop-leak in and forget about it. (I know I know I kid....mostly)

I am reluctant to dig too much as I don't know much at all about the power steering, and it seems so be on a pretty remote location.

Any thoughts what I can eyeball or take a look at? how long do you think I can get away putting in some fluid every 10 hours, other thoughts. (other than why did they design this with power steering in the first place)

98 H200, Volvo 4.3, SX drive...500+ hours on the clock but that's unverified...about 200 since ownership.

Thalasso · **Joined:** Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:45 pm **Posts:** 333

Does your boat has a power steering fluid cooler?
If it does, that probably has an internal leak, so the fluid is being sucked out through the cooling water section.

Biggest culprit is the steering rack assy.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3649

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

Don't feel alone....i too have been adding fluid every few uses of the boat. Mines not leaking from the ram that I can see and I have fluid pool in bilge when boat sits for a whole. Never leaks when I run the boat, so guess it's leaking from the cooler too.

Of course the cooler is mounted in secret location that can't be seen or touched. After pondering it...i just keep fresh fluid in system by refilling. When I look at low level, I drink a beer and refill....i adopted the hell with it approach cuz there's zero chance of me getting to cooler without pulling the motor I guess.

jontmiller · **Joined:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:16 am **Posts:** 296

We would get along well.....the small amount of liquid in the bilge certainly isn't clean so maybe that's the issue ( cooler )

Guess I'll make a list of things to get done when I pull the motor after running out of beer ( hopefully many years down the road)

zims1993 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 10, 2017 8:28 am

Mine did the same for the first year I owned the boat. I dumped my cooler water down the hull one day and then pulled the plug and a nice clear oil sheen came out. I ended up replacing the high pressure and return line, and my issues were solved.

jontmiller · **Joined:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:16 am **Posts:** 296

was it obvious the lines were leaking ? As most things in my life I know just enough to get me in trouble.... but this boat...being a pretty simple carbureted V6 with lots of help on these forums has proved to be a pretty easy machine to work on. I don't know much more about power steering than is squeals when turned to the limits and uses fluid..<<sigh>> while I exaggerate slightly its really not something I am too comfortable diving into which brings me back to the just add fluid and drink beer plan. But I do successfully pull the drive/winterize and all other mx to this point so far so maybe this is just a step or so beyond that.

I read so many horror stories on the different internet groups about major failures that would lead me to leave the boat on a dark road some night. I am hoping continued preventative mx will keep the small problems becoming deal breakers on my craigslist experiment.

zims1993 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:43 am

Couldn't spot the leak but I was using fluid and it always ended up in the bilge. Could only be a couple things so I started with the cheapest and most likely,

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:35 am

On mine there was a small leak that I fixed by looking with a really bright LED flashlight, it was one of the nuts holding the line to the actuator. After I pulled out the rear seat and battery on that side I was able to get at it and carefully tighten it with a flare wrench. I would not use an automotive stop leak in one of these systems because the actuator is different than what you typically see on an automotive P/S system (but it looks similar to those used a long time ago on unibody Fords like the old Mustangs, Fairlane/Torino, etc.

jontmiller · **Joined:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:16 am **Posts:** 296

Thank you all, I will e a closer look when I am digging through my other motor problems...hope its a simple fix.

zims1993 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:41 pm

Well looks like I have another leak that I just discovered. Found oil running down the transom bracket between the hull on the outside of the boat, and found the power steering resevoir only half full of power steering fluid. Guess the cooler has now failed and fluid is going out the exhaust.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:00 pm

zims1993 wrote:

Well looks like I have another leak that I just discovered. Found oil running down the transom bracket between the hull on the outside of the boat, and found the power steering resevoir only half full of power steering fluid. Guess the cooler has now failed and fluid is going out the exhaust.

check your trim lines and fittings inside the transom bracket, those might be leaking instead of the P/S cooler. If the P/S cooler was leaking you might see either water in the p/s fluid in the reservoir or sheen in the water behind the boat. Check the level of the fluid in the trim pump.

zims1993 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:10 pm

I ran the trim up and down several times hitting the stops while a friend watched for any signs of leakage, none to be found.

www.iFourWinns.com

power steering fluid loss

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