steering is stiff

[Bertramp]

The wheel on the flyingbridge is getting harder and harder to turn .... I'm out of the water for the winter, but it gradually throughout the season got worse and worse.
Any ideas ??
thanks

 

[Avenger]

Since I never got to see the inside of the boat, do you have a lower station? And if so, is it stiff too? If not at least we can eliminate the ram and rudders as a cause.

 

[Mike36c]

Just a thought.... If something other than searstar fluid was used(Automatic transmission fluid?) your steering will become stiff when the temperature drops. Seastar fluid or Milspec-5606 is a direct replacement for seastar fluid but the 5606 is tinted red and handles the cold weather much better.

 

[luckydave215]

My steering has always seemed stiff to me as well, but I checked everything, (including dropping the rudders and replacing the cutlass bearings and inspecting the upper ball bearings) and can't find anything wrong. If here was something wrong with the ram, (it looks fine, not bent or anything, and the movement isn't "notchy" etc) I think it would leak, and it doesn't. I just chalked it up to there being 13.3 million feet of hydraulic line between the bridge and the lazarette, with the expected viscous friction. Both steering stations feel the same.
Also, the rudders weigh several hundred pounds each, and there has to be some load induced friction in the cutlass bearings as a result.

 

[mike]

From my expercience with same problem, mike36c is right on the money. I changed the fluid to the mil5606 and the problem went away. However I had to change out all the fluid.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I have always used MIL 5606 hydraulic fluid. We had it in 55 gallon barrels at the airport. I managed to get a couple of gallons. Our steering is very free at both stations on our 36C. I guess it could be the fluid. I do know there is nothing better for these systems. The only problem with this fluid is that it gets too stiff at temps. below -30 centigrade. I hope none of us have to deal with that on these boats.

 

[Bertramp]

Both upper and lower are stiff. I didn't really even think about it until a friend ran the boat and commented.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If not the oil, what about rudder packings. I tightened mine a little too much once and noticed the drag in the steering immediately. I had to back them off a touch to free up the steering. You might also take a look at the linkage from the ram to the rudder posts and make sure there is no binding or rubbing.

 

[Bertramp]

Rudder packings are a definite possibility. They were repacked and I "clutch steer" when docking, so wheel is not usually a big deal. I thought nothing of it until a frien commented.

 

[Avenger]

I'm going to assume that your setup is similar to mine, just larger. So I'll base my diagnostic procedure on that.

Disconnect the ram at the rudder arm. It should be matter of removing just one bolt. This isolates the hydraulic system from the mechanical. Try to move the rudder arms by hand. They should move with a little resistance, but should not require a lot of grunting. If they are very stiff I would disconnect the tie-rod (again, one bolt, two if you want the whole thing out of the way) and try the rudders individually by hand. If you can isolate one rudder as being frozen you can try easing off on the packing, if that doesn't do it you'll probably have to pull the rudder. Ditto if they're both stiff. Remember also, any of the joints in the linkages could seize and cause the problem as well. I would also clean and grease them while you've got them apart.

If the rudders move freely then the problem is probably in the hydraulics. Test the wheel with the rudders disconnected. If it's still stiff I would suspect a problem with the ram, or the aforementioned fluid issues. It's unlikely that both helm pumps would fail at the same time. My bet is, it's on the mechanical side of the system. You can call me if you have any questions.

 

[67hat34c]

If the steering is stiff, you may have dropped a few of those blue pills in the water when you were loading the boat.....................................Aw come on you know that was pretty good.

 

[Avenger]

 

[Trojan]

Where can you get the Mil5606? I think that I have just tranny red pop fluid in mine. It steers a little stiff.



BILL

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Any aircraft supply house sells MIL 5606. If you go to your local small airport and ask a mechanic, you will have your answer for your area. There are plenty of mail order places also. Aircraft Spruce & Specialty telephone # 877-477-7823 lists it in pints, quarts, and gallons. Their quart is P/N 09-27000 $5.40. The gallon size is P/N 09-27100 $13.95

 

[Trojan]

Thanks. I'll check around. Changing the fluid sure will not hurt anything.



BILL