Cheaper Hydraulic Steering fluid - to find leak?

richiemoe

Member
Nov 1, 2021
30
West Michigan
Boat Info
1988 Sea Ray Seville
Engines
115 Mercury Saltwater
Does anyone know of a cheaper hydraulic fluid that I can use to test where the leak is, without spending $30 for a quart of "SeaStar Solutions HA5430H SeaStar/BayStar Hydraulic Steering Fluid, 1 Quart"? I'm guessing the lines will need to be replaced, but my hope is that it is a slow leak, and I can test the boat around the small Michigan lake, before I decide to go ALL IN with repairing the flooring.... 1988 16' Sea Ray Seville, outboard Mercury 115hp salt water

I'm waiting for "Marine Tech Tools Hydraulic Steering Filler Kit with Swivel - Fill Tube with Swivel - Fits Seastar Hydraulic Steering - Used for All Outboard, Sterndrive & Inboard Seastar Hydraulic Helms" to be back in stock, for about $31. There is a plastic one for $20, but the reviews are horrible....

And last night, bought "Marine Tech Tools Seastar Hydraulic Steering Kit - Bleed Tube - Fits Seastar Hydraulic Cylinders" for $28.
 
What ever you put in while checking for a leak, you will be living with. Unless you then drain, flush, and replace with the correct fluid. I would not put any fluid in that I couldn't live with long term.

I don't have any knowledge about what the appropriate fluid is, @scoflaw shared what he uses.
 
shoot me a PM and I'll mail you a bottle of leak detector dye. You add it to the helm fill, work the wheel and then check for the dye with a black light. I had a leak, and the smallest I could buy quickly was a box of 6 bottles.
 
What ever you put in while checking for a leak, you will be living with. Unless you then drain, flush, and replace with the correct fluid. I would not put any fluid in that I couldn't live with long term.

I don't have any knowledge about what the appropriate fluid is, @scoflaw shared what he uses.
Agreed, I will be replacing the lines, but that costs $200. I'd like to see how the engine runs, etc before I commit to restoring it... But that is my fear, mixing fluids and having issues long term...
 
shoot me a PM and I'll mail you a bottle of leak detector dye. You add it to the helm fill, work the wheel and then check for the dye with a black light. I had a leak, and the smallest I could buy quickly was a box of 6 bottles.
thanks, i'll message you right now. I think I know where the leak is, but I don't actually see an evidence of hydraulic fluid dripping in the area... It did sit for two years, so maybe the rain cleaned it? But this would be helpful, as it is possible that the leak is not in a line....
 
It’s just a little bottle of dye, it doesn’t need much in the system. You just work the wheel full port to full starboard multiple times to mix it throughout and give it a chance to leak.

The gland kit isn’t expensive and if it sat for that long you might want to work the system and see if there is fluid on the stainless ram. There shouldn’t be any but it they sit they might get brittle. it took quite a bit for me to get over the hesitation of doing that myself. Kind of got worried that if I did it wrong a catastrophic failure would be bad at speed. Turned out fine though.
 

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