Hydraulic steering

C

C Suskowicz

Active member
Anyone have trouble with their hydraulic steering freezing up on their boat. This is my 1st winter in a boat with hydraulic steering. Is this common. It was cold and windy and when I put the boat in the steering wouldnt work for a little while.

Any suggestions?
 
What froze up? Was it internal , the lines or did water get on your slave or head. It may get hard to turn in very cold weather, but oil cant freeze in any temp we'll see around here.
 
all of the OLD Lobster boats, and OLD tractors at the farm, that have hyd. steering are real stiff or slow when you first start them in the winter. I dont know if it is condensation in the oil or not, they are fine once they warm up.
 
It's just physics. Temperature affects the viscosity of the oil. The oil will not flow as freely when it is cold as it will when the oil is warmer. The oil will warm up from the friction of being pumped thru the system so after the oil pump has run awhile, the system responds normally.

Check with a dealer for your particular system. A good quality synthetic oil may be less affected by colder temps.
 
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