sea star hydraulic leak

[tlingitwarrior]

Noticed several ounces of fluid leaked from the sea star system, oil accumulating on the swim step. Going to do some research tomorrow on trouble shooting. Bad seals perhaps?

[potbuilder]

might it be oil leaking out of the rams for your drive or outboard ?? Isn't the steering ram more on the inboard side of your stern ??

[Trakn]

I'd say you got leaking seals. I changed mine last year. It's pretty easy to do and the boat dealerships should have everything you need. You tube has demos or videos on it.
Basically there's a pack of rubber O rings you need a seal wrench came with my O rings. Then the correct hydraulic fluid and fill tube and bleed the air in the back and fill from steering column. River and Sea Marine in Soldotna has evrything you need so you can always try them.

[T.R. Bauer]

might it be oil leaking out of the rams for your drive or outboard ?? Isn't the steering ram more on the inboard side of your stern ??

I agree he is talking about the rams. Those seals are not terrible to change out.

[Trakn]

Yes,,, his Sea Star rams are dripping fluid one of his rubber O rings is probably weathered and has a crack or break.

I agree he is talking about the rams. Those seals are not terrible to change out.

[tlingitwarrior]

$138 for a seal kit at Deweys. Yeesh.

[potbuilder]

$138 for a seal kit at Deweys. Yeesh.

Alaska rubber or Alaska bearing on international would have all the orings you'd need.

[Sobie2]

Before going that route, open and close the bleeders on the ram. Sometimes those little buggers leak.

Sobie2

[kevin476]

Alaska rubber or Alaska bearing on international would have all the orings you'd need.

Yes sir I will second that. We only handle the hydraulic repair out of our valley store right now though. 907-373-1345 ask for Brian Maack. He may be able to get you fixed up.

[JOAT]

The sea star uses a special packing gland on each end. It's not just an o-ring. You have to buy it from a sea star dealer. The kit is available online or at many marine dealers. RSM has them on the shelf for about $130-ish. You can find them online for under $100 if you want to get a set to put on the shelf. Note that you can buy just the packing glands next time if you keep the special spanner wrench and the little plastic guide that comes with the full kit. These seals are notorious for failing, especially when cold stored over the winter in sub-zero temperatures.

[Garyak]

Noticed several ounces of fluid leaked from the sea star system, oil accumulating on the swim step. Going to do some research tomorrow on trouble shooting. Bad seals perhaps?

Wondering if you were able pin point and resolve the problem? I'm thinking about hydraulic steering for my project and found this thread doing a search on same.

[excav8tr]

amazon carries the complete kit with wrench also for fluid you can use the aviation equivilant & buy a gallon for what they want for a quart of the seastar stuff

[Rob B]

I've found one key way to keep these deals from leaking is to wash all the fish scales off the Rams after each trip. The scales dry almost clear and stick to the ram then get stuck in the glands. Easy to replace but expensive for what they are.

[Frostbitten]

Good point Rob. When I picked up my boat from the dealer, the dude who went through the boat with me mentioned that several times.

[Nunya]

There is a wiper ring and a lip seal inside the nut. Remove the nut, remove the lip seal and replace with a #210 "O" ring. Costs about ten cents. The wiper ring doesn't seal anything it just wipes the rod as it travels. The lip seal does the sealing and that's where the problem is, they don't last. The "O" ring is more robust and will last longer. If you insist on going back with the original seal here are the part numbers. You can get any of these at any hydraulic shop, I only use the #210 "O" rings myself. I also use it in the helm reservoir instead of the "Quad ring".

210 'O' ring - use this instead of U seal below.
DSU 12-0.75-12 - this is a U seal
HW- 0750N - wiper ring