Carver Owners Forum

Every now had then my steering seems to get hard. I have checked and filled the fluid at the helm and turned the steering wheel all the way port and starboard several times. Seems fine, but every now and then while underway the steering seems to get hard, but still steers, but with some resistance. Going to crawl into the aft night stand cabinet and try to spray lube on all the pivot points, this will be fun! LOL!

Mike, I had that same issue with my Hynautic. I did not do anything about it, wasn't too annoying. But then, a couple weeks ago hydraulic fluid started leaking from the helm. It started small but got worse fast. Too messy to keep adding more fluid. You may be experiencing symptoms of the pump on it's last legs. They can be rebuilt, but I ordered a new Seastar replacement. Still trying to find someone to install. The rebuild kit is pretty cheap, but then someone has to install. Be careful! er

Could be a number of things. Certainly lube everything, and the pump is a possibility but another possibility is that the actuator is failing/binding internally. If your actuator has bleeders on it, get someone to turn the wheel while you crack the bleeders and see if you get a steady stream of fluid. Also check while someone turns the wheel that the actuator is extending and retracting smoothly without a jerking motion.

Do you have an autopilot?

The older Hynautic systems are very different from the SeaStar setup and use a pressurized reservoir. It's usually somewhere in the engine area and has a little pressure gauge on it. Make sure the fluid level is OK, and you may need to add some pressure using a bicycle pump or small air compressor. Don't over-pressurize - just pressurize it to mid-scale on the gauge that is on the reservoir. You can use any good hydraulic oil such as the SeaStar oil or even aviation grade (believe it or not, it's cheaper if you've got a little airport nearby). Don't use ATF, Marvel Mystery Oil or something like that - stick with hydraulic oil. Good luck!

No auto pilot, don't recall any bleeders on the actuator and no pressurized reservoir either to my knowledge, at least I have not seen it anywhere on this 1998 355 AC/MY. It does not seem to be a jerking issue, but rather just a harder steering and it doesn't happen all the time and it seems to only happen while underway!.

If it's not one of the things already mentioned, the other possibility is a hydraulic system's worst enemy; water or some other contamination. It'll circulate through the system all working seemingly fine until the contamination reaches a small port and impedes operation. Once it finally passes, all is fine again until the contamination makes it's way to a spot again that affects operation.