Volvo Penta 270 5L V8 power steering issue

[bongoray]

Hello all,

First time boat owner here. I purchased a used 2014 Monterey 234 SS with a Volvo Penta 270 V8 engine. Everything has been working flawlessly until a couple of weeks ago. I docked the boat like normal and the next time out, I had barely any power steering. It seems to have some at slow speeds, but it's basically non existent. The fluid reservoir is full, there are no leaks. The serpentine belt is in great shape at proper tension. There are no odd engine noises. The power steering pump pully spins smoothly with no noticeable issues. I removed the pins holding the actuator and outdrive steering linkage and the outdrive moves side to side by hand smoothly. The steering cable moves freely with the wheel input. It's a gear driven single cable. I removed the cable from the helm and I can push/pull it by hand relatively freely, but I don't have any reference. The helm helm gearbox rotates smoothly with no odd noise.

Any thoughts on the next step for trouble shooting? Maybe install a pressure gauge on the power steering pump to see if it's making pressure? The actuator appears to be moving as it should. The shuttle valve (I think it's called) moves side to side with steering input. There's no obvious signs of an issue.

Thanks,
Ray

 

[Scott Danforth]

Start with a fluid change. Pull the PRV valve, remove the clip, pull apart the stack, clean the parts and reassemble.

Will cost you 2 hours and a few quarts of oil

 

[bongoray]

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I’ll try that. Stupid question. Where is it located? Is it part of the power steering pump? Or somewhere downstream?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Back side of the pump. It's the hex shaped thing the pressure hose is screwed in

Google Saginaw can of ham pump prv

 

[Donald0039]

There is not a lot of wear that happens in a PS system. While a change of PS fluid can never hurt, in this case I doubt it's your problem.

The PS pulley is on tight?

 

[bongoray]

There is not a lot of wear that happens in a PS system. While a change of PS fluid can never hurt, in this case I doubt it's your problem.

The PS pulley is on tight?

Yup. Pulley is fine. No slop. No axial or radial movement.

 

[bongoray]

Back side of the pump. It's the hex shaped thing the pressure hose is screwed in

Google Saginaw can of ham pump prv

So I took out the PRV and it looked super clean. I didn't bother taking it apart to clean it. I did get the genius idea to see if I could get the spring to move by tapping it lightly with a hammer and bent the pin slightly. Ugh, then I must've galled the OD of the valve body, because it would not re-install smoothly. Now it's stuck and I've had to order a new power steering pump. So at least I'll know if that's the problem. Should be here tomorrow.

 

[Scott Danforth]

just spend $11 on a new PRV

 

[Scott Danforth]

or $65 on a new pump insert (was $35 just a year ago)