DayCruiser
Ensign
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2004
- Messages
- 953
Mercruiser 3.0 1989 engine 4 cylinder.
The boat has been hard to steer this year. Not impossible to steer. I check the Power steering reservoir and it is low on fluid. So I fill to proper level. I check it again a month later and the fluid is not visible. So I start looking for leaks. The PS cylinder on the back of the engine has a film of oil on the bottom of it and the hose running toward the steering mechanism(toward the battery) is greasy. Like oil is running down it. Where the hose connects at the base of the cylinder/engine is really oily and the hose is oily. I tried to tighten it down but it was really tight. The hose above it going to the PS reservoir was loose a couple of turns at the cylinder, but there was no oil film present signs of it running down the cylinder to the next hose.
Really hard to see and get to. I don't even know if I can loosen the clamp it is so tight. But if I can get that oily bottom hose off would I create air in the line issues like brake lines on a car? The hose could be cracked under that clamp or the clamp is bad or it could be the cylinder is cracked at the clamp. Looks like the leak is coming from that connection point and then dripping to the bottom of the cylinder and some down the hose. I can't see any oil above the hose connections.
Would the oil leak be effecting the steering or is there another problem? After I put fluid in it was easier to steer but still difficult. The leak is a slow leak. A couple OZes for every 3 hours of riding
Thanks in advance!
The boat has been hard to steer this year. Not impossible to steer. I check the Power steering reservoir and it is low on fluid. So I fill to proper level. I check it again a month later and the fluid is not visible. So I start looking for leaks. The PS cylinder on the back of the engine has a film of oil on the bottom of it and the hose running toward the steering mechanism(toward the battery) is greasy. Like oil is running down it. Where the hose connects at the base of the cylinder/engine is really oily and the hose is oily. I tried to tighten it down but it was really tight. The hose above it going to the PS reservoir was loose a couple of turns at the cylinder, but there was no oil film present signs of it running down the cylinder to the next hose.
Really hard to see and get to. I don't even know if I can loosen the clamp it is so tight. But if I can get that oily bottom hose off would I create air in the line issues like brake lines on a car? The hose could be cracked under that clamp or the clamp is bad or it could be the cylinder is cracked at the clamp. Looks like the leak is coming from that connection point and then dripping to the bottom of the cylinder and some down the hose. I can't see any oil above the hose connections.
Would the oil leak be effecting the steering or is there another problem? After I put fluid in it was easier to steer but still difficult. The leak is a slow leak. A couple OZes for every 3 hours of riding
Thanks in advance!
