1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

[aayjay]

I just bought it and the steering is a little tough, and i don't know enough about these systems to guess what I need to do. I filled the filler in front of the wheel and it took out most of the play, but I remember these steerings were like glass, this one felt rough, like a teleflex system that needed lubed. Is there a cable or is this a fully hydraulic steering? Is there a pump somewhere that is in need of repair/replacement? What are my options? Compression is at 120 per cylinder (all six) how is that? Boat ran without a hiccup for two hours and burned 13 gallons in about 45 miles is that normal? what should I do to tune it up (aside from spark plugs (NGK Right?) Any advice welcomed.. Including things to do as preventative... Thanks. AJ

 

[Maxz695]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

Nor firmiliar with power steering but you may want to disconnect the linkage from cable or coables if double on the engine and turn the engine back and forth to see if it is loose or tight. If it is tight there is a problem thats not related to the steering Old greese can build up in the swing arm and harden making it hard to steer this will get worse over time. Heat is the cure but a dangerous one Torching the swing arm melts the old greese somewaht but it can damage motor mounts as well as start your engine on fire due to Gas. Refer to a profesional for help in this matter Just a sugestion thats all

 

[aayjay]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

Right, and I looked around and it seems this ole motor runs and consumes like the thirsty little black max it is.... but all numbers coincide with OEM (like new) These seem to be bulletproof as long as they are cooled and lubed. (New H20 Pump, clean carbs, Pri-G) I am psyched! What is the best 2stroke oil for this motor? what do u use in your lower end?

 

[aussieflash]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

Never over fill the pump at steering or you will probably blow a seal.Brand should be on steering cylinder.It's probably Hydrolic.I'm guessing a Hydrive system.I hope you got the manual with boat,if not your going to need one.Ive got the 88 135HP V6.

 

[Maxz695]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

I would buy the recomended outboard lower end oil for a mercury. 80 weight to 90 weight. They also sell better gades or oil for mixing and recommend using a better grade oil as apposed to the cheap stuff/ On 2 cycle engines poor qulity oil in gas can cause ash build up and do damage to the engine over time. I would figure the same might be so with a 4 stroke (Maybe) your engine will only be as good as you treat and maintain it. Check all fluids are full. all fittings are greesed engine is tightly secured to your boat so that your engine dosn,t end up going faster than you

 

[aayjay]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

It was hydraulic steering, and the guy that had it before me did not do any maintenance at all. There are oil (zerts?) fill nipples all over the place and I hit every one i could find, and now the steering, trim tilt are finally starting to act and sound normal. I have had to go over this thing to catch up on years of neglest, but in all it is a stron motor. after 15 uses it keeps amazing me. There is still a little slop in the wheel, and I was wondering if there is an adjustment for that. It is a Teleflex hydraulic system.

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

If it was low enough to cause a lot of slop in the steering, and it was turned lock to lock, it might have gotten some air in the cylinder. There's a bleeding procedure for it. Can vary with the system.

Use the right fluid. SeaStar, for instance, takes either SeaStar fluid or a mil spec. aircraft hydraulic fluid.

 

[aayjay]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

There is fluid in the system, (it might even be transmission fluid for all I know) but as for the play, it could be air? I thought that i read the bleeding of hydraulic systems meant turning it lock to lock 10-12 times with the filler open? The steering cylinder has a T on it with brackets][on either side of the "T" Is that Teleflex or SeaStar? Should I empty the system and chang the fluid to make sure it is right? There are two connectors which appear to be like an air chuck fitting beside the oil lines on the cylinder, would these be used for bleeding? Not sure of their function, please advise.Thanks for your input.

 

[aayjay]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

Figure out exactly which system you have, then RTFM.

 

[capslock118]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

It was hydraulic steering, and the guy that had it before me did not do any maintenance at all. There are oil (zerts?) fill nipples all over the place and I hit every one i could find, and now the steering, trim tilt are finally starting to act and sound normal. I have had to go over this thing to catch up on years of neglest, but in all it is a stron motor. after 15 uses it keeps amazing me. There is still a little slop in the wheel, and I was wondering if there is an adjustment for that. It is a Teleflex hydraulic system.

oy this sounds like what I went through when I bought my boat...3 years on and I am still trying to catch up...

I have a teleflex hydraulic system as well. I don't know the best practices for this system, but once a year I open up the fill cap, fill, turn the engine end-to-end a few times to drain air, repeat, and it does the job well enough. I fill once per year because the system is leaking at the engine side and it's a low priority fix relative to everything else on the boat.

I don't do anything extreme, light left and right turns, straight on for the most part - so - ymmv.

What is the best 2stroke oil for this motor? what do u use in your lower end?

For the engine oil I use mercury high performance. Some swear by it, as far as I know it does the job. west marine sells their el cheapo 2-stroke oil that costs half as much; I used to use this stuff. el cheapo is still tc-w3 compliant, so take that as you will; I switched to the more expensive stuff anyways "just to cover my basis".

i use mercury high performance lower unit oil as well, and since you only need a quart, penny pinching does not make sense to me here. But again, it works well as far as I know

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

oy this sounds like what I went through when I bought my boat...3 years on and I am still trying to catch up...

I have a teleflex hydraulic system as well. I don't know the best practices for this system, but once a year I open up the fill cap, fill, turn the engine end-to-end a few times to drain air, repeat, and it does the job well enough. I fill once per year because the system is leaking at the engine side and it's a low priority fix relative to everything else on the boat.

That works as long as the intruding air doesn't get into the cylinder. Whether that happens or not depends on the amount of air, and component orientation. If there is no air in the cylinder, filling the helm and gently rocking the helm will usually purge it.

The instruction manual (free download) had tools and procedure for purging the entire system.

Assuming it's SeaStar steering, the fluid is SeaStar ($20/qt), MIL-PRF-5606 aviation hydraulic fluid ($12/qt) or in a pinch Hiniker ColdFlow snowplow hydraulic fluid. The first 2 are certified fluids. Snowplow hydraulic, though not certified, is about the same. Not all snow plow fluids are equal, either. The right ones have a pour point of -60? F. Automotive ATF or power steering fluid is a poor substitute, and is quite a bit heavier than the right fluid.
Seastar it clear, 5606 is red, and plow fluids are various shades of blue.

Steering on a boat is life and death. Do it right.

hope it helps.
John

 

[capslock118]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

Steering on a boat is life and death. Do it right.

I totally agree, I can only keep some many things in focus at one time though .


I did find that teleflex gives free downloads of all their manuals moments ago; looks like they have very specific instructions on fluids.

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

I totally agree, I can only keep some many things in focus at one time though .


I did find that teleflex gives free downloads of all their manuals moments ago; looks like they have very specific instructions on fluids.

Fluids change over time, for instance the Mil spec I gave supersedes the one in the manual. I researched the specs and found it is a very thin dino oil with about 15% vi added. It pours like water.

That steering is very, very nice when it's working right.

 

[aayjay]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

I will get the fluid and remove the old and replace it with the correct fluid during the bleeding process. The compression fittings on the back to bleed are like air chuck fittings, will that type of hose work to bleed the cylinder? I guess i need to buy a filler tube to screw into a bottle, any ideas where to find?

 

[capslock118]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

I guess i need to buy a filler tube to screw into a bottle, any ideas where to find?

You could use the same type of tube pump you would use for your lower unit:

http://www.iboats.com/Lubrimatic-Lower-Unit-Quart-Pump/dm/*******.709330839--**********.542594900--view_id.47675

I have a couple of these pumps, one for the lower unit and one for the steering; they work well but are hard to empty all the way.

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1989 Mercury 135 power steering a little sticky..

No, the LU filler is not the right fitting.

The hole in the top of the helm is 1/4" NPT. You can buy a barbed adapter at any hardware store plumbing department. From there you need a short piece of clear plastic hose. I used 3/8". That goes to some setup for adding oil to the system. It must be gravity fed. If you cut the bottom out of an oil bottle, put a top on it like comes on gear lube (or plow oil) bottles, and jam it into the end of the hose, you have what's needed. If you're just adding a small amount of oil and "burping" the helm, a small funnel will suffice.

You need to be able to keep oil against the filler hole without introducing air, and also see any air coming out of the helm.

hope it helps
John