TopShot25
Well-known member
My Seastar steering helm pump went haywire so I spent some time checking into what to do about it. This started out very depressing for me. From what I could find on Classic Parker and The Hull Truth it seemed like something you have to send in to get rebuilt. The unit was not working and I did not like the time frame to get it rebuilt. Just like most things, I didn’t think it could be that hard and as it turned out it wasn’t. I did have other issues but the rebuild was fairly simple.
Started off with a THT post that got a response from a guy (Mark) at Seastar. I shot an email to Mark and asked for his help. In a couple of posts that I had seen Mark respond to there was some disappointment from the help that he actually gave. I don’t know what actually happened in those instances, but I can tell you that he helped me get started, sort of. He helped me get the right rebuild kits and was very concerned to the condition of my system. The problems I had with him were that I didn’t want to spend the entire winter working on this and I could not get him to respond to my emails in less than 3 days. Except for the first email I sent him that he somehow got back to me the next morning on that one! Now in fairness to him, he may be very busy, and I could not get a good picture of my cylinder shaft to send him. He really seemed to want to make sure I did not have a problem with the shaft that would just ruin the seals again as soon as I finished the job. Anyway after that I never heard from him again.
So here we go. I ordered and received the rebuild kits and the first thing I noticed was that they are a total ripoff. The helm rebuild kit has a gasket and a few o-rings. Hardly worth the 45 bucks or so that it cost me. Anyway after pulling the unit out of the boat it just takes a few minutes to take out the 6 allen-head screws that hold the whole thing together. All you really have to do here is pay attention to how things come apart. It’s pretty simple inside. From what I read in other posts it seems to me only two things can come into play here. In those other posts I read about corrosion inside the helm. That would have to be because of contaminated oil, and I would guess you should be able to see that without taking the unit apart. The only thing I found was a sledge or grease like build up in the bottom of the reservoir. I’m not sure if this is common or not, but it may be the cause of my real problem. My check valves were stuck. I used alcohol to clean the unit. I had cleaned the check valves once before and it was definitely easier and a much better cleaning having the whole unit apart so I could use the alcohol. After a good cleaning I blew it out real good to make sure it was dry and had no left over alcohol. Then using new hydraulic fluid to lube the parts I reassembled the whole thing replacing the O-rings and gasket. Actually very simple, but having an extra set of hands during reassembly is helpful.
The only issue I had was during the bleeding process. I drained all the oil from my system and it turned into a real process to get all the air out after. Maybe in part because I have two helms and an autopilot, either way steering works like new now, so it was worth it.
6 allen-head machine screws hold the back on.
Under the back you’ll find two flat washers with roller bearings in between.
The back has a round roller bearing also. You can also see some of the sledge buildup around the edge.
After turning it over and removing the keyway and front seal, the cover slips right off.
After removing the cover you can see the bearings. The bearings are in a race so they won’t fly apart.
Under the bearings, the pistons on springs are pretty straight forward. Unless there’s corrosion a good cleaning was all mine needed.
Under the two fluid inlets there are valves, kind of like needle valves in a carburetor. They each have an O-ring. My unit is 5 years old and the O-rings were in great shape but I replaced them anyway since the kit came with new ones. I don’t think you even need to deal with these unless your unit has a bunch of time on it. If you do I read that you need to pay attention to how far they are screwed in and return them to the original position. They are not all the way down to the bottom so I screwed mine in and noted how many turns to bottom.
The last things to deal with are the check valves. My check valve was stuck. There is a small piston like thing that slides back and forth between the two balls and springs you see in the picture. After cleaning with the alcohol the piston slid back and forth easy. It actually would rattle back and forth if you shook the helm. These check valve screws go all the way down tight.
Started off with a THT post that got a response from a guy (Mark) at Seastar. I shot an email to Mark and asked for his help. In a couple of posts that I had seen Mark respond to there was some disappointment from the help that he actually gave. I don’t know what actually happened in those instances, but I can tell you that he helped me get started, sort of. He helped me get the right rebuild kits and was very concerned to the condition of my system. The problems I had with him were that I didn’t want to spend the entire winter working on this and I could not get him to respond to my emails in less than 3 days. Except for the first email I sent him that he somehow got back to me the next morning on that one! Now in fairness to him, he may be very busy, and I could not get a good picture of my cylinder shaft to send him. He really seemed to want to make sure I did not have a problem with the shaft that would just ruin the seals again as soon as I finished the job. Anyway after that I never heard from him again.
So here we go. I ordered and received the rebuild kits and the first thing I noticed was that they are a total ripoff. The helm rebuild kit has a gasket and a few o-rings. Hardly worth the 45 bucks or so that it cost me. Anyway after pulling the unit out of the boat it just takes a few minutes to take out the 6 allen-head screws that hold the whole thing together. All you really have to do here is pay attention to how things come apart. It’s pretty simple inside. From what I read in other posts it seems to me only two things can come into play here. In those other posts I read about corrosion inside the helm. That would have to be because of contaminated oil, and I would guess you should be able to see that without taking the unit apart. The only thing I found was a sledge or grease like build up in the bottom of the reservoir. I’m not sure if this is common or not, but it may be the cause of my real problem. My check valves were stuck. I used alcohol to clean the unit. I had cleaned the check valves once before and it was definitely easier and a much better cleaning having the whole unit apart so I could use the alcohol. After a good cleaning I blew it out real good to make sure it was dry and had no left over alcohol. Then using new hydraulic fluid to lube the parts I reassembled the whole thing replacing the O-rings and gasket. Actually very simple, but having an extra set of hands during reassembly is helpful.
The only issue I had was during the bleeding process. I drained all the oil from my system and it turned into a real process to get all the air out after. Maybe in part because I have two helms and an autopilot, either way steering works like new now, so it was worth it.
6 allen-head machine screws hold the back on.
Under the back you’ll find two flat washers with roller bearings in between.
The back has a round roller bearing also. You can also see some of the sledge buildup around the edge.
After turning it over and removing the keyway and front seal, the cover slips right off.
After removing the cover you can see the bearings. The bearings are in a race so they won’t fly apart.
Under the bearings, the pistons on springs are pretty straight forward. Unless there’s corrosion a good cleaning was all mine needed.
Under the two fluid inlets there are valves, kind of like needle valves in a carburetor. They each have an O-ring. My unit is 5 years old and the O-rings were in great shape but I replaced them anyway since the kit came with new ones. I don’t think you even need to deal with these unless your unit has a bunch of time on it. If you do I read that you need to pay attention to how far they are screwed in and return them to the original position. They are not all the way down to the bottom so I screwed mine in and noted how many turns to bottom.
The last things to deal with are the check valves. My check valve was stuck. There is a small piston like thing that slides back and forth between the two balls and springs you see in the picture. After cleaning with the alcohol the piston slid back and forth easy. It actually would rattle back and forth if you shook the helm. These check valve screws go all the way down tight.
, so I started the subject Dan brough up as a new topic, 
