Sea star stiff steering bleed question

I have a 2014 Ranger reata with some stiff steering from the sea star hydraulic steering. This is a new to me boat but low hour . Steering isnt mushy, or jumpy, just seems overly stiff for the year and condition of the boat. Any one else disappointed in theres? My last boat was 10 years older with hydraulic steering and it steered way better. I cant turn the wheel with one finger in the spokes, and could today on the cabelas floor with units with much bigger outboards and sea star steering.

This leads me to believe I have air in the system – Do I need the bleed kit or can I just shove some 3/8s diameter hose over the bleed fittings and crack em open? Or is there too much pressure that’ll blow them off the fittings?

Thanks

Besides air, check for moisture/water in the line. Had similar issue with a lot of equipment that stays outside

Randy Wieland wrote:

Besides air, check for moisture/water in the line. Had similar issue with a lot of equipment that stays outside

Well to add to that – when the garage dipped down way into the negatives one night there was oil seeping out of one of the seals. Not a drop since …

Does it turn hard both ways? Because of the torque of the motor it will turn harder to the left under power.

I had to bleed mine on my new Alumacraft Competitor when I first got it. It did make quite a difference and it was really simple to do.

Matt Moen wrote:

Does it turn hard both ways? Because of the torque of the motor it will turn harder to the left under power.

Turns hard either way . This is off with it titled down in the garage . It’s not awful . But it’s worse than my 2004 and the rigs in cabelas today by quite a bit .

Dan Baker wrote:

I had to bleed mine on my new Alumacraft Competitor when I first got it. It did make quite a difference and it was really simple to do.

You buy a kit or just shove some hoses on bleeder fittings ?

You say it’s new to you, how new? Was it tough when it was warm out too, or have you only had it in the cold??

It’s normal for them to be stiff when it’s really cold out (the fluid is thicker and the grease is stiffer, just like motor oil is in an engine or pulling maple syrup from out of the fridge)

As Bman said have you only tried it when it’s cold out? If it’s stiff when your up on plane it could be your not trimmed up enough. There’s a noticeable sweet spot where you’ll notice your steering is very light. Trim down to much or in situations when you have to and your notice the steering gets much stiffer. Generally if you have air in the system the steering will be very sloppy and slow to respond. To check this grab the motor and try to move the motor side to side. If there is more that just a slight amount of play you have air in your system. If you have a seal that’s leaking you will probably have air in there sooner or later. It’s a super easy job, replace both sides and be done for years.

Yeah, I’d wait til it’s warmer and test it. You also can’t compare the steering in a tin boat to that of a glass boat. If I remember, you had a tin boat before this one?

When I went from tin to glass the first thing I noticed was the steering.

Matt???? The boat material has nothing to do with it how the hydraulic steering works.

However, a 70° showroom and a -10° garage makes a HUGE difference in viscosity.

Not only with the steering fluid itself, but the grease where the outboard pivots gets stiffer as well (and make sure it gets a few shots of new grease at least once a year)

B-man wrote:

Matt???? The boat material has nothing to do with it how the hydraulic steering works.

However, a 70° showroom and a -10° garage makes a HUGE difference in viscosity.

Not only with the steering fluid itself, but the grease where the outboard pivots gets stiffer as well.

The weight of a boat sure impacts it, though. So does the hull design.

If you go from an 18’ tin boat to a 19’ glass boat it will steer and handle differently. Maybe I needed to spell that out more clearly?

isu22andy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
Besides air, check for moisture/water in the line. Had similar issue with a lot of equipment that stays outside

Well to add to that – when the garage dipped down way into the negatives one night there was oil seeping out of one of the seals. Not a drop since …

If you are seeing oil it sounds like you need a new seal kit and bleed. The seal kits comes with or without the wrench to take the end caps off. Other than that, there is nothing special needed. I bought an adapter fitting for the helm fill port, a short piece of tubing and a funnel. Attached them all together. As far as the cylinder goes, just use a short piece of hose that can be pushed over the fitting.

I would fill the funnel part way up and move the oil container to the cylinder hose to catch the fluid. Repeat as needed. If you suspect water or other contaminates in your system, obviously you will not want to dump the old in the new bottle and will want to flush the system.

In my experience, if the current seals are ten years old, you are on borrowed time.

Matt, we were thinking two different things.

I completely agree that different boats of different sizes and materials will handle different in the water (what you were getting at).

But out of the water or at the dock you or I probably couldn’t tell the difference from a 16′ Lund with a 40hp or 20′ glass boat with a 200hp by steering the wheel (that’s what I was getting at)

That said, I can steer my big glass boat with the tip of one finger in the summer, but when it’s below freezing it definitely takes more effort.

I’ve owned the boat since October . Steering’s always been stiff on plane on the trailer idling all the same . It’s not un useable just pretty disappointing going backwards on that asset . I would say it’s 50 percent stiffer than what I messed with on cabelas today in their nitro with a 225 .

Andy,remove the bolt that goes from the cylinder to the motor,from there try to pivot the motor by hand,it should be effortless.
If not the shaft my be bent from striking something,or it has never been greased and is full of rust or corrosion.

If you find nothing there,try turning the steering wheel,if its still turns hard the rod may be bent,or,something is binding in the pump.
And yes,the cylinder shaft could be bent and not leak,,,,yet.
Last thought would be that someone put too heavy viscosity oil in it to slow down a seal leak at the cylinder.

Very easy to bleed that system,spend the money for that kit on amazon,lot less messy than simply putting a hose on and they will blow off, trust me I know!!
I have Mike to thank for the kit I have!

Call me at the shop if you need help.

I have a sea star on mine and as previously mentioned it will steer hard when on plane and not trimmed properly. When I had excessive air in the system I had the opposite problem to what you described. I could turn the wheel with little effort but the motor wouldn’t turn at all! I took the bleeder plug off on the dash idled around and turned full lock to full lock many times and then added fluid with a kit I found. It has gotten better but acted up a bit last summer again but nothing like the first time. That was dangerous