3207 Hynautic steering gone bad

[km1125]

Oh, btw.. with the ram disconnected from the rudders, do both wheels turn freely now? If they do, then it is likely a rudder/stuffing box issue. If they don't turn freely then you have something going on in the hydraulics. Could be a valve issue.

The rudders may seem to turn stiffly, if you're trying to do it by hand. You are turning both if the tie bar is still in place and you don't have the mechanical advantage that the hydraulic system has. They won't be really easy to turn by hand but then again they shouldn't be really hard either.

[Cooler]

Do you see any steering fluid in the bilge? Those steering arms are notorius for starting a slow leak. Hard to see due to slow flow of leak and location. My hynautic started to leak, and I did not catch it until the seals in the helm blew. Replaced with a Sea Star helm so I could check and fill at the helm pump. Also eliminated the hard to reach external reservoir. Good luck! er

[Six7390GT]

I want to thank everyone again for their suggestions. My stiff rudders seemed to be caused by friction between the bronze bushings the rudder shafts are supported by and pivot in. I hooked the steering ram back up and used a penetrating oil at the joint between the bronze bushings and rudder shafts, ran the steering lock to lock several times, added more penetrating oil, and repeated this several times. My steering feels much improved. It's pretty much back to normal. We bought this boat in 98, and the steering has always had some resistance. It's not ever going to be spinning with one finger, but it's pretty good. It still seems a bit harder to turn to port than starboard, and the helm sounds a bit different in that direction, but I'm happy with how this has worked out for now.

[Six7390GT]

Sorry for the double post above - I wasn't smart enough to click page 2.
Update - While I was back there, I noticed the aft bilge pump wasn't working any longer - it was the original Rule 2000 from '84. I replaced it and the float switch, re-applied the kroil and worked the steering lock to lock several times again.
We took the boat out for a fuel fill and about a 12 mile test run yesterday. It hasn't been untied for about 2 years - although I'm good about keeping up on maintenance - and I replaced the manifolds and risers on the port engine last year. The boat ran extremely well - we ran about 6 miles at 1200RPMs while doing a lot of checking under the floors for engine stuff. On the way home we ran 3000RPMs for about 19 knots and she pulled like a mule getting up on a plane. Those GT40 marine engines are a totally different animal than the Pleasurecraft 351-4's I replaced. The steering was perfect at low and high speeds. We've had this boat since '98 and the steering felt like it always did. Thanks again to everyone for your help - much appreciated.
The only issue that came up was the starboard engine temperature got up to almost 180 after about 20 minutes at 3,000. I'll pull the starboard heat exchanger tomorrow and have it serviced.

[km1125]

If the boat didn't leave port for 2 years... how are the impellers? Have they been serviced in that intervening time?

Great pic, btw. One you'll have to keep and send to her in 20 or 30 years!

[Six7390GT]

Funny thing about impellers. I carry spares - but have never needed one - and we've had this boat since 1998. I've rebuilt the pumps and I've replaced the pumps, but I've never just replaced an impeller. Our engines are equipped with Sherwood G21 raw water pumps. These pumps have always started leaking salt water into the bearing area - which destroys the bearings - before the impellers have needed replacement. We also carry a spare pump, and a spare carb. I seem to have collected a lot of extras for this boat over the years.