Absolute easiest way to bleed seastar uflex hydraulic steering system
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- Опубликовано: 20 сен 2024
- Bleed your seastar or uflex system by yourself quickly and easy. I never have help so I have to figure out ways to do things that normally take a couple people but by myself. You will need a roll of clear tubing, some way to hang a quart bottle, and of course a quart bottle you expect to throw away. After a few minutes of turning the wheel in 1 direction I locked the bleed valve and went to the other side, open the valve and turn the wheel until no more bubbles then lock it down. That was it, nice tight steering with no slack or soft spots.
Went to Home Depot. Bought the 5/16 tubing and everything I needed to make the bottle stand, and it worked like a charm! Steering system works flawlessly! This is most definitely the answer!!!
Worked exactly like showed here. Bleeding was super simple. Thank you so much for for this video. Best of all, my steering is flawless now. No more constant struggling to keep my rig running straight.
I use this idea with great success . Thank you!!!
One little tip. In your reservoir tank, I couldn't find a bottle cap that would work very well.
I went to a tire shop and ask if I could get a old tire valve stem. he gave me 2 brand ones for free.
Remove/unscrew the valve from the inside the stem, find any cap that will screw onto your reservoir tank.
Drill a hole in the cap, (it will be obvious what size drill to use) then force your tire valve flanges into hole.
This work great!!
I think I used a bottle cap that came from a bottle of gear oil, had a small spout on it.
I used 20' of 5/16 clear tubing. Two 3ft pieces at motor going to a tee. Then ran one line back to bottle that was feeding helm.. Worked like a champ.
Good video! - have done pretty well exactly the same, it works like a charm and not much loss of fluid since you can just drain the hoses back into the bottle. One hint to be carefull how much the bleed valves are open -- too much and air can come into the system via the threads on the bleeder nipple .. I have them just loose enough so the motor does not move when the fluid is circulating. There is something satisfying about moving all the fluid around and around and seeing all the bubbles disappear!
Yes it is
You sir are a geniuse! Will be doing this with my boat. Thank you.
Seems like a great idea for solo working for sure. Not sure about SeaStar but Uflex recommends letting oil that comes out of the bleed valves sit for 24 hours before reusing in the system due to super tiny air bubbles. Im going to try this method anyways because with 1 person it seems far superior and easier.
Mine is still solid as a rock, no issues at all. Working solo requires some out of the box thinking sometimes.
painters tape? run outta duct tape? lol.. kewl vid. was about to rig up the exact thing on my boat bet no engineer would have thought of doing it that way.
Engineers have resources most of us don't, mainly extra sets of hands. Yeah out of duct tape and probably zip ties too.
Brilliant idea! What diameter hose did you use?
Looks like hose going into helm has air bubbles in it. So looks like you are pumping air bubbles in to the system as your filling it. If you could shorten helm hose and keep a solid feed of fluid with no air this would work well. I like that it recycles the oil back to your bottle that's a good idea. But other than that your basically following the instructions provided for bleeding the system provided by the manufacturer.
The helm draws fluid from the bottom so it doesn't matter that bubbles may be going into it, air is always on top. The instructions require 2 people, I don't have the extra body so this allows me to do it by myself. This boat has been run many times since installing the system with zero flaws so this system works.
@@JohnJohnson-xl8sw I think he was referring to the fill line, not the return line(s). If you look at the 1:38-1:40 mark, you can see a large bubble in the fill hose. When you start cranking the wheel, you are introducing that air right into the helm, and will then need to push it all the way back through the system to rid the system of air. Either way, good idea!
@@shawnqueeney336 but you always have air at the top of the helm, this is what the op is saying..it's pulling the fluid in from the bottom.
Dam great idea,,,any clue how to do the same thing with two helms, ?? Ari in the unit from factory,,air pushed oil everywhere on the floor,,leaked out of the rear helm,,,so I know there's air in the system,, think if you placed the bottle closer to the engine you would need much less tubing??? Was thier a reason for the two long tubbing?
It's just what I had. As long as the 2 hoses reach your elevated jug you should be fine. As far as how to do a double helm, I'm not sure. Start with the helm that is further from the motor then work the other, I'd do them both a couple times and check it.
What diameter hose fits the bleed valves on the hydraulic cylinder?
How about info on the connections needed?
I assume this would work with the SeaStar Power Assist (I want to install one myself, but don't have access to a factory power purge unit).
Steve Z You can use these long hoses with this guys reservoir/hopper system. Just follow the instructions in your owners manual for manual bleed & purge of your PA unit. The bleed fittings on the PA unit are identical to the ones on the cylinder. Once that’s done, then you can move on to doing the rest of the system as shown here in the video.
very nice, how's the Allison like that 250?!
It does really well. I just need to use it more.
@@JohnJohnson-xl8sw I hear that! I used my STV once last year, maybe four times the year before. This year I have plans to make some river runs and put some miles on that thing!
Hi John, what did you use to fit the vinyl hose to the bleeders?
Must the return lines be submerged or above the fluid surface?
No just dumping back into that jug. Sorry for the slow reply.
How did you flush system
what size is the fitting that screws into the helm ?
Not sure to be honest. Just a barbed fitting that matches the plug. Take your plug to the hardware store and match 1 up.
where can I get some of those seat covers?
switzer1750 I made them myself. Allison seats have no drain so I made these to keep them from filling up when fishing in the rain. I keep them on all the time now unless the seat is in use, keeps them from elements, birds, hooks.
my xb-2003 has the same problem
What size is the hose
I think its 5/16. Lowes or home depot will have it.
totally overkill. Just open both feeder valves and connect them to each other with short length of hose. Then, connect the a short hose to the steering and a upside-down bottle of fluid and cut a small breathing-hole in top of the bottle. Next, turn steering wheel continuously in one direction and it will push any air out of that side's supply line, out of that side's portion of the steering cylinder, and lastly out of the other side's return line where the air with gurgle out of steering column, up through the breather hole in the bottle. Takes about 3-5 minutes. Then turn the wheel in the other direction intil air is out.
Not the easiest at all...all you need is one short hose to tie both bleeder valves.. then open both bleeders. Turn the wheel while adding fluid at the helm with a hose and fitting
Way too much work ...you fill the reservoir turn wheel re fill and repeat back and forth no lines needed only turn wheel nurmious times both directionsand you have it no lines no hanging bottles or anything else
Do it your way then.