Baystar/Seastar steering leak, repair kit and fluid

[colobear]

I discovered a minor leak in the steering system, in the transom well at the cylinder end. The Teleflex repair set is: seal kit #4600. The best price was on Amazon, about $62. Since I will be bleeding the system I ordered a quart of Baystar fluid as well and it is very pricey, more then $20/qt. When downloading the "how to bleed" portion of the manual for the system I discovered a very interesting list. Baystar hydraulic fluid is not automotive hydraulic fluid and one should not use automotive brake fluid in the system But...there are a number of alternatives that are way cheaper, about 1/3 the price of the "official" Baystar fluid. The Baystar/Seastar manual lists the following as recommended oils: Texaco H015, Aero Shell Fluid #41, Esso Univis N15 Chevron Aviation Fluid A, Mobil Aero HFA and "Fluids meeting mil H5606 specifications". All of those are aviation brake fluids. I went on-line and checked the price of a couple and they averaged about $7-8 a qt. (Of course I discovered this just a few minutes after ordering a qt of Baystar at $25 ) But, for those of us needing fluid, these are official recommended fluids. Note that they are red, not clear. Also note that, per the manual, automotive ATF Dexron can be used in an emergency. Just thought this would be good to share.

[rogerbum]

That's useful information Barry. BTW - I don't know if 1 quart will do it. When I bled the Tomcat system (longer runs and twins), it took about 2 qts. Also, the "std. method" of bleeding - e.g. screwing the adapter onto the bottle of fluid and poking a hole in the bottom of the fluid, leaves a lot to be desired - like where do you put the hydraulic fluid that remains in the bottle once you've poked a hole in it. Finally, since all the work is happening inside near the dash AND since it's relatively easy to have an unexpected spill, take time in advance and cover the helm seat and the dash with plastic prior to getting started and have liberal amounts of absorbent pads or paper towel ready. When I did mine, the adapter to connect the bottle to the tubing that runs to the pump was simply a conical adapter without many ridges on it. When I tipped the bottle upside down to fill the pump, the tubing came off and hydraulic fluid was flying all over. Then (of course), when I tipped it upright, fluid comes out the air relief hole I had poked in the bottom (as per the instructions). If I were to do it again, I'd buy pressurized bleeder or a bottle with a valve installed near the bottom and transfer the hydraulic fluid to that.

[Will-C]

We sell the Shell Areo Fluid #41 for 9.25 a quart. We sell and rebuild the Faac brand of hydraulic gate operators which are made in Italy. Shell Aero Fluid # 41 is their recommended hydraulic fluid.
D.D.