# It is possible to fix your own steering...



## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

I have a Hynautic H60 hydraulic steering helm unit on my boat. It started leaking fluid from the seals that go around the steering wheel shaft. 

Hynautic is no longer a company. They were bought out by Teleflex a few years ago, along with the parts line. Their product line is Sea Star.

New Sea Star helm would have cost 500-600 dollars. There is a place in south florida that will rebuild Hynautic units for about $200. They will also sell you the rebuild kit, but they are VERY hard to get on the phone, and don't answer email requests. web site is: www.boaterstore.com

I had already ordered the kit from Kenny at Emerald coast marine, so I waited for it. 4 weeks passed by, and kenny said it was supposed to be shipped after the first 2 weeks. Of course, I got impatient and went ahead and ordered a second kit from the www.boaterstore.com people. I figured they would be in a race to see which one would come in first. Of course, they both got there the same day. Kit from boaterstore place took 3 days, kit from kenny took 4 weeks. Typical of my luck. Same price for both kits. About 50 bucks.

I spent 45 minutes taking apart my old helm. Ball bearings fell out, had to use a drift to punch out old seals. Spent 10 minutes cleaning with mineral spirits, then re-assembled in under 30 minutes. Spent 30 minutes blowing out lines with mineral spirits and then repriming with dextron ATF. Rebolted the helm, filled it up and let it purge, and it works like a dream. The actual repair was easy, getting the parts was the hard part. At least now I have a spare seal kit, so I should be in good shape for a long time to come.

For the record, the boaterstore site has pictures of all the parts thrown in a heap and something about how you won't be able to re-assemble it yourself. Something about getting it in time as well. It is a bunch of HOGWASH. In the entire rebuild, there was no step on my unit that required any timing, nor was there any way to adjust any timing.

The one tip I will give you is that in the re-assembly, put the parts (in order) onto the base of the helm pump, and then slide the reservoir down onto the pump. Oil all the o-rings first so they will easily slide into the reservoir. Other than that, just pay close attention to disassembly and make sure everything is super clean.


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## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

<P class=style9>*Here is the stuff from their website:*<P class=style9><P class=style9><P class=style9><P class=style9>*Servicing hydraulic steering units is NOT a do-it-yourself project. *<P class=style7>*If you cannot tell which part or parts is bad/broken/missing from these photos and you do not know exactly where and in which orientation all these parts fit, then you can not put it back together once it comes apart.*<TABLE border=0 width=480><TBODY><TR><TH scope=col>





















</TH></TR><TR><TH scope=col></TH></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=style7>*Just because you have a copy of the exploded parts view does not mean it goes together as simply as it looks once you take it apart. It must be re-assembled in the proper timing sequence as well. A particle of dirt, corrosion, old seal, rusty needle bearing, or anything else, smaller than a grain of sand, can cause your system to malfunction. Many of our customers are marinas and marine mechanics that realize they do not have the expertise and experience in servicing and resealing hydraulic steering systems.*


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## Couzin_It (Oct 6, 2007)

Yep, very possible to do you own. I did the same rebuild about a year ago. Got the parts at Emerald Coast Marine, not that difficult.


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