Reply With Quote25 litres/100km, wow, I know V8 landcruise owners that would think that rather high. But let's get back to the thread, giving away a $900 steering system for free sounds suss to me.Originally Posted by CT
Maybe he saved the hoses to siphon some liquid gold thru the saudi arabian sand Digs i have no idea..
The hoses were cut off at the helm
25 litres/100km, wow, I know V8 landcruise owners that would think that rather high. But let's get back to the thread, giving away a $900 steering system for free sounds suss to me.
Owned a v8 xr8 for a while it would cruise on 11-12l per 100 at 110
but that was a well serviced car with under 100,000km
think Gazza car has 400,000 km or some other insane amount of kms
I can think of a number of reasons, corroded ram, O rings stuffed on helm.
Gazza, if you can't nut out a hydraulic steering system, there is something wrong. It's no different to bleeding a set of brakes on a car. Fit a bleed hose to the bleeder nipple, Make sure the reservoir (helm pump) doesn't get low on oil, open the bleeder, turn the wheel, close the bleeder when there is no air coming out. This is typically doable with the three bottles (a total of 3 litres) of oil in a kit. If the hoses were cut off rather than undone, all you need in the way of fittings is 4 new compression olives and the hose itself. If not, 4 complete fittings and some high pressure pipe sealant to seal them in and you are good. The spacers are nothing more than some high density plastic washers - which at a pinch could be substituted for stainless steel - that basically pack out the rod that goes through the tilt tube to stop any sideways movement. If you have a small lathe they could be made from plastic bar stock or a block in no time.
If you can get a bleeding fitting assembly ( a hose tail that screws into the filler port on the helm pump on a length of hose with a cap that fits the oil bottles) it is easier still. I usually cut the base out of an oil bottle and cable tie it up as a funnel and keep it about 1/3 full by adding oil as the wheel is turned.
If you have the time, you don't really have to even bleed the system - the air will come back to the top itself simply by continuing to cycle the steering from lock to lock over a few days. If you can leave the filler funnel and hose attached it is even easier doing it this way. You will see the air bubbles come back up the clear hose between the helm pump and the funnel.
About the only issue that regularly occurs is mixing the hoses up so the steering goes the wrong way. If you leave a small amount of slack in them so they can be swapped over if this happens, it takes about two minutes to sort it out.
In all my time messing about with hydraulics, I have only ever seen one system that had a catastrophic failure that resulted in steering loss. This happened because a plastic hose was run up to a tower helm externally and the UV weakened it so it burst. My own steering has been leaking for the best part of two years now due to a tired ram seal. I just top the helm up every so often - maybe 30 or 40 mils of fluid and carry a bottle with some fluid in my on board spares. An old squeeze sauce bottle washed out and let thoroughly dry is perfect as you don't need a funnel to add a bit of oil if necessary.
Thanks Scott appreciate a helpful post like that, if i can let the system self fill/air bleed that would be fantastic as it seemsa little overwhelming the instructions state to rotate the steering 1rpm for 5mins continous without stopping or u have to repeat the process than while turning the steering wheel u have to maintain the fill bottle too it just comes across as moderatly difficult
I will keep it but itsgoing to be floating on my mind the what if it failed and tore the engine off the transom
The bloke was a top guy lived in a beautiful house he was originally selling the steering kit but no one took it at $200 he relisted it for $100 and no one didnt want it i msg the bloke and he said come take it for free if i picked it up, 900 buck steering was nothing to this nice chap he owned a poded bertram 25 with a 250hp suzuki so no needto pass on judgements Digs
My V8 uses 33 litres of LPG per 100kms about 25 litres unleaded per 100km urban but it kicks ass on the highway or no stop and starts or under 80kph cruisers
If it wasnt for LPG i would have soldthe car a very long time ago i rarely drive on unleaded just to expensive, if it wasnt for my V19 i would be driving a Micra or a Festiva
Scott, I like the idea of the old sauce bottle but on my boat when the pie oven is going some one will have grabbed the wrong bottle.
That's on them if they can't read the label LOL. The "special sauce" is tucked away with the rest of the tool kit under the captains seat. No chance of that happening round here.
I can do it on my own Gazza. It is definitely easier with two though.
If a steering failure rips your engine off, it was coming off anyway - just a matter of time. The only way it would potentially throw the engine to one side is if a hose has a massive rupture. A leaking seal or fitting could result in a motor going to one side but it would be a far more gentle occurrence IMO. You will have more than enough time to throttle down. I've been in cable steered boat that had the cable break out of nowhere and then had to steer back across South Passage Bar with an oar strapped to the engine - they are not immune to failure. In my experience I would say they are more prone to failure than hydraulics.
In short - you are worrying about nothing.
Yeah I'd rather spring a leak in a hydraulic system that can be topped up to get you home, then have a cable or helm break 60km's out...
tiller steer etec2.jpg
tiller steer etec.jpg
I use a auto bleeder. Takes one person and 10 mins.
Hydraulic steering is much better in many ways and protection of the hoses is the most important item. 80% of the boats I built were installed with it and never had one come back with any issues. Replaced many steering cables in boats and can be a painful operations as the steering cable is one of the first items to install when fitting out a boat and most times the wiring follows the same route. Cable is fine if it has nice lazy loops and gets maintained regularly.
I use a auto brake bleeder. Takes one person and 10 mins.<br><br>Hydraulic steering is much better in many ways and protection of the hoses is the most important item. 80% of the boats I built were installed with it and never had one come back with any issues. Replaced many steering cables in boats and can be a painful operations as the steering cable is one of the first items to install when fitting out a boat and most times the wiring follows the same route. Cable is fine if it has nice lazy loops and gets maintained regularly.
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