# Shout out to Uflex and hydraulic steering trick



## silverking (Feb 11, 2010)

Developed a leak with my Uflex hydraulic steering pump and wanted to give props to the company's customer service. Scott with Uflex Technical Support was very responsive and helpful in resolving my problem. It's always a pleasure to find marine manufacturers that stand behind their products. Scott suggested a different pump to allow greater turning radius and also passed along an easy way to manually bleed the system. Some of you may already know of this ingenious method, but I thought I'd share to save others some money, labor and cleaning hassles.

I bought the vinyl tubing and T-barb at Lowes for about $12. With Uflex and SeaStar hydraulic fluid selling for $27-28 a quart, this minimizes waste and most importantly the mess. For my bleed valves I used 5/16" ID for the hose and 1/4" T-Barb. The tech recommended temporarily using zip ties to hold the tubing in place to offset the pressure. I also added ties on each connection on the barb. Quick process, worked like a champ and you can monitor the air bubbles moving through the clear tubing. When I finished bleeding the system, I wiped the tubing down, stuck it in a gallon ZipLock bag and stored it in my maintenance box for next time.

"Manual bleeding is best done with clear hose(s) and barbed t-fitting(s).
This way you can see the bubbles and fluid recirculating to the helm without catch pans and/or losing precious fluid.

1) Hook a two foot piece of clear tubing to each bleeder valve on the cylinder and connect them together with the barbed t-fitting.
2) Then attach a clear tube to the t-fitting long enough to reach the helm fill port. This hose will be put into the helm fill port.
3) Move the motor over to one side and crack open the bleeder on the side with the cylinder rod sticking out the farthest. (not the side up against the bullhorn)
*Note: hold the motor over, as it will want to move as you turn the wheel.
4) Turn the wheel in the direction to make the fluid come out that bleeder only. Fluid and air will travel up the clear tubing to the helm.
*Note: before it reaches the helm, stop and top off the helm.
5) Stick the hose into the fill port and continue turning until the fluid is solid with no air bubbles coming out of the bleeder valve.
6) Close that bleeder valve and continue turning the wheel in the same direction, this will move the cylinder to the other side.
7) Repeat the process for the other side.

Once you have done both sides, steer the motor to the center.
At this point you will need to check the system by shaking the motor side to side, if the cylinder on the shaft moves ¼ inch or less, you are done.
If the cylinder moves more than ¼ inch, there is still air in the system. Rebleed the system and recheck."

If you're in the market for a hydraulic steering system or an upgrade, I'd highly recommend Uflex. Great products and fantastic customer service.


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## Snagged Line (Sep 30, 2007)

Thanks for Sharing the Tip...............I just Printed those instructions you wrote and put in my Boat Folder.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

I've quit using Seastar 9yrs ago and switched to Uflex products.


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