Carver Owners Forum

Me: "I gotta leak on my boat."
Mechanic: "Go ahead, it's your boat."

So coming into the dock at Thunderbird Lodge on beautiful Rainy Lake, I noticed I was standing in pink hydraulic steering fluid. I have a 1993 Carver 300 Sedan. Yes- I read all 92 posts that say" Hynautic" but want to be certain on which model I have as I am contemplating a rebuild with Seatech. I know I could figure it out if I was on my boat, but I'm 300 miles away from it and my paperwork that came with the boat.

Any help would be appreciated.

I had a small leak under my steering console. Turned out it was simply a poorly tightened fitting. Have you cleaned it up and looked for the leak? Hopefully as simple as mine was.

the seals are not that exotic so you may want to take them out, go to a well equipped shop and get new ones. In my town we have a company that produces gearboxes and hydraulics of all kinds, they have a huge range of all kinds of rings. Saves money but also allows for more trail and error when working on this particular pump for the first (and second) time.

Dusty Bilges wrote:Source of the post Me: "I gotta leak on my boat."
Mechanic: "Go ahead, it's your boat."

So did you get an invoice for the advice/consultation ??......

I agree, a hydraulic shop will probably have rings and seals.....have a good look first though..

Ya you should determine first if it's a leak at a fitting or hose, or whether the helm itself is leaking otherwise you could be ordering a seal kit for nothing. Having said that, I don't think they're that expensive and if it wasn't the issue you'd have a seal kit for a future failure.

Any 1993 Carver 300 Sedan members out there that can get DB the helm info he needs to order a kit so he has what he needs before his 300 mile drive?

That Hynautic system is obsolete, so you probably need to rebuild helm pump, or transition to a new system. Seastar has a pump that will fit in the dash, and then you can refill right at the helm location. A lot of the Hynautics blow seals at the helm because the fluid gets low from a leak somewhere else. Make sure you check the steering arm hydraulic for leaks, that is a very common occurence. Make sense? er

I just rebuilt my hynautic h-50. Not a big job. Took about an hour but I could probably do it again in under half the time. Like others have said check the fittings first. Those fittings are obsolete and tough to find. I had to pay a king’s ransom to get one of the adaptors on the back of the pump from Great Lakes skipper on fleabay. Rebuild/seal kits however are readily available if you have an h-50

Thanks everyone for your help. I talked to Seatech. They'll rebuild it and send it back to me same day they get it. So I had one of my mechanically disinclined buddies take off the bottom panel and no leaks from the three tubes going to it, but a leak inside the column. So I am going up there Monday to take it apart, and would appreciate it if someone could give me pointers on how to remove the unit. (Yes, if there is an obvious seal leaking, I'll swap that out and not send it to Seatech)

It’s pretty easy to remove the pump. Relieve the pressure on the reservoir, loosen the 3 flare fittings on the steering lines connected to the pump. Line wrench’s make this job easier. Try not to lose the little rubber o rings. It will leak without them. Have a bucket and rags ready to catch any fluid. Make sure you mark the lines with tape or something before you disconnect so you know which line goes where. Once you have the lines disconnected remove the wheel and the bolts holding the pump in place. Pump should come right out. If the pump was leaking near the wheel, at the shaft you will need a seal kit and rebuild.
That shaft seal is the last one so you have to completely disassemble the pump to change it. Not a big job but if you are going to send it out then not your problem.
Step by step instructions here if you decide to do it yourself.

http://www.local1259iaff.org/hydraulichelmrebuild.html