2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
zen0414
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2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby zen0414 » Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:47 pm

The steering hydraulic fluid hoses on my 2006 Ventura that [extend from the engine splash well to the steering actuator] are looking pretty bad.

2006 Ventura steering hoses.JPG
Fig. 1 Steering hose extensions
2006 Ventura steering hoses.JPG (237.11 KiB) Viewed 8900 times

2006 Ventura steering fluid coupler.JPG
Fig. 2. Component circled in red on actuator
2006 Ventura steering fluid coupler.JPG (173.03 KiB) Viewed 8900 times


I'd like to replace these two hoses this winter, so I don't have one break while I'm in the middle of the water somewhere.

Has any reader of this post ever replaced these hoses?

I'm guessing you can just buy this specific part.

I may take off one hose and have [a duplicate hose] made at a local shop like Parker Hannifin.

Once I take off one hose, I'm assuming I'll lose a lot of hydraulic fluid.

What type of hydraulic fluid do I replace the lost fluid with?

Also, see the quick connect coupler fitting circled in red in the Figure 2: I'm thinking I use those, as there is no spot on top of the steering wheel to pour in the oil.

How will I know [the hydraulic steering system] is full?

Finally, I thinking I'd just turn the steering wheel back and forth to bleed the system.

Is that correct?

A lot of questions for a simple job. Thanks in advance for the advice.

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:06 pm

What engine is on this boat?

zen0414
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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby zen0414 » Wed Dec 05, 2018 9:40 am

Mercury Verado 225

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Dutchman
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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby Dutchman » Wed Dec 05, 2018 11:45 am

You could buy Mercury or Boston Whaler hoses. Or, you can take your removed hoses to an industrial hose supplier and they will make you new hoses on the spot for less money, as most farmers, construction equipment, and truck operators do.

For bleeding [instructions] go over the posts on this site or search on YouTube where many procedures are shown.
EJO
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50th edition 2008 Montauk 150, w/60HP Mercury Bigfoot

dtmackey
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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby dtmackey » Wed Dec 05, 2018 9:36 pm

After you install the new hoses it might be worth buying some split loom and covering them to protect from the UV light. I find that the loom takes the abuse and the plastic or rubber it protects lasts a lot longer.

D-

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Thu Dec 06, 2018 8:13 am

Typically in a hydraulic steering system, the helm pump is at the highest point in the system and the engine actuator is at a lower level. The procedure to add fluid is usually done at the helm pump. The helm pump typically has a filler inlet that is normally sealed with a cap. The process of adding fluid during any air bleed procedure is usually done by removing the filler cap, threading into the helm pump filler inlet a new fitting with a hose barb, attaching a hose to the new fitting, and extending the hose vertically upward to a higher level. A reservoir of hydraulic fluid is then attached to the filler hose. The reservoir is vented to the air, and the reservoir level kept high enough that no air will be drawn into the helm pump.

Typically at the engine actuator there will be two air bleed fittings, one on each side, with each associated with one direction of motion of the actuator. The typical air bleed process will open one air bleed, then turn the helm pump in the direction that pushes fluid toward the open air bleed. The air bleed is usually fitted with a temporary hose. The hose outlet is put into a container that will collect the hydraulic fluid. The outlet of the air bleed hose is kept under the level of the fluid collecting in the container. As the helm pump is turned, fluid will begin to be pushed out the bleed outlet, and any air in the system will be expelled along with the fluid, appearing as air bubbles in the outflow. When all air has been expelled from that portion of the system, that air bleed is closed, the bleed for the other direction opened, the temporary hose and container are attached to that air bleed, and the procedure repeated with the helm pump rotating in the other direction.

If there is no indication of a filler port on the helm pump, there may be a completely different procedure necessary to accomplish the addition of fluid and the bleeding of air from the system. If fluid is to be added at a lower point in the system, some sort of filler pump or pressure will be needed to force the fluid into the system, and uphill to the helm pump. There would typically then need to be a bleed air vent at the helm pump to allow the air to escape.

Also, with a Mercury VERADO FOURSTROKE engine, there is likely an electrically-operated steering boost pump involved in the hydraulic steering. The procedure for bleeding the hydraulic system will likely be more complex due to the presence of the electrical boost pump. I suggest you obtain the exact procedure to be used with your exact system from the manufacturer of the system.

It is now common practice that specialized gear is attached to a hydraulic system for the purpose of bleeding air, often called power-bleeding pumps. This gear is able to reduce the amount of wasted fluid expelled from the system during the bleed process. The use of power-bleeding gear also significantly reduces the time involved in bleeding air. And the outcome is usually excellent, that is, all air is quickly and effectively removed from the system in a matter of a few minutes.

ASIDE: I have no recollection that there is any information on continuousWave that provides a detailed description of a Mercury VERADO FOURSTROKE power steering system air bleed procedure. Advice that simply suggests that an answer exists and should be discovered in a search, is advice that has little value. If information does exists that provides good advice on a topic, then please find that information and give the URL to that information.

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Thu Dec 06, 2018 8:32 am

Re replacement hoses: I suggest you inquire about an OEM replacement hose and its cost. The notion that the existing hose could be exactly duplicated by a local service shop is speculative. The fittings and hose used may not be on hand at every service shop. The notion that the cost of a custom-made hose fabricated by a local service shop will intrinsically be less than the OEM hose is also speculative.

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Thu Dec 06, 2018 8:35 am

Re the hydraulic fluid: typically the manufacturer of the steering system will require use of a specific type of hydraulic fluid. See the manufacturer's specifications for advice.

zen0414
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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby zen0414 » Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:08 am

Thank you for your responses. I clearly have some more research to do, starting with determining the exact manufacturer of my hydraulic steering system. This appears to be more complex then I first thought in looking at a couple of you tube videos. In the end this may be one of the jobs that I'd be better off having done by a professional.

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby Dutchman » Thu Dec 06, 2018 12:11 pm

jimh wrote:Re replacement hoses: I suggest you inquire about an OEM replacement hose and its cost. The notion that the existing hose could be exactly duplicated by a local service shop is speculative. The fittings and hose used may not be on hand at every service shop. The notion that the cost of a custom-made hose fabricated by a local service shop will intrinsically be less than the OEM hose is also speculative.


It is not speculative, been there done that with even "foreign" metric systems and my local supplier had no problems duplicating, except the replacement was rated for 1,000 psi instead of much lower original.
I'm pretty sure a company like this https://edwardsindustrial.com/products/air-hydraulics-lubrication/hose-assemblies/ is available in most medium to large cities.
yes it wouldn't be OEM, but you know what Neil Armstrong said "And then to think that the lowest bidder got the job and I'm flying it to the moon". i.e. OEM isn't always the best.
EJO
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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:03 pm

Dutch--Can you give us the price for the OEM hose and the price for your local supplier to make a better one?

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby dtmackey » Thu Dec 06, 2018 8:26 pm

Verado power steering hose replacement seems to be a topic with a number of threads on the Verado forum with failures. It is recommended that if you are running the OEM Verado hoses that you install something over it to protect from the UV exposure since they do crack and fail.

Go OEM if you want simplicity, but if you want a better hose and possibility of saving money, then look to have them custom made. On a non-marine application I looked at OEM hoses (rated at 3000-PSI), but was able to have them made locally with 5000-PSI hoses for 30-percent less cost--better hose and a savings was a no brainer.

As for hydraulic fluid there's lot of information floating around about using ATF fluid, automotive power steering fluid to save money. I steer clear of them. Teleflex sells their liquid gold fluid at nearly $20-per-quart, which is grossly over price, as many marine products are. You can look at aviation hydraulic fluid in place of the Teleflex fluid and aviation fluid is made to a much higher standard since the FAA frowns on planes falling out of the sky.

D-

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Fri Dec 07, 2018 8:42 am

Good advice to "steer clear" of certain hydraulic steering fluid substitutions--and a nice pun, too.

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby Dutchman » Fri Dec 07, 2018 2:55 pm

jimh wrote:Dutch--Can you give us the price for the OEM hose and the price for your local supplier to make a better one?


No I can't give dollar amounts as I don't have the OP's cracked/vulcanized hose in my hands to take to this store.
But if the OP wants to send me his hose(s) I'll be happy to get him a price that he can compare to the OEM hose(s) as I have done with other hydraulic hose systems in the past (but not recently).

From what I remember the "custom" made up hoses with connections and sometimes extra receivers were 20% to 35% less compared to OEM thru dealer. Maybe OEM is less expensive now than it used to be.
EJO
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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Fri Dec 07, 2018 3:36 pm

I don't recall if these extension hoses on a VERADO FOURSTROKE follow the engine as it is turned, or if they stay in place. If the hoses are stationary, it should not be too difficult to give them protection against ultraviolet light with a covering. If the hoses have to swing back and forth with the engine as the engine turns, covering them will be more difficult. You'd have to find a cover that was sufficiently soft and pliable that it did not cause abrasion of the hoses, but at the same time provided UV-protection. And here I am assuming UV is the cause of the damage.

I have hydraulic hoses that are stationary on my boat, and they are the original hoses from c.1990. That's a 28-year service life. Of course, my boat spends all its time around Latitude 45-North, so UV is lower, and much of that time under cover or indoors.

Is the boat we are discussing operated near the equator or in some very strong sunlight environment?

To have the hoses decay in 12-years sounds like a rather short service life. I can understand there might be mentions of these hoses showing decay on VERADOCLUB, as many of those participants are in the southern USA, and maybe within 100-miles of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, which seems to me to be the epicenter of VERADO ownership. But a VERADO in the northern Great Lakes ought to go about 30-years on one set of hydraulic steering hoses, particularly if they are not subject to any motion.

Also, I am not a big fan of non-OEM parts, unless there is some notorious lack of quality in the OEM part that needs to be remedied by an aftermarket part. If these VERADO hoses were really lousy hoses, I would expect an alternative supplier would have entered the market to supply high-quality hoses and compete with the Mercury branded hoses.

By the way, I think the real OEM of those hoses may be UFlex--just my guess and not authoritative.

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby jimh » Fri Dec 07, 2018 3:49 pm

Here is an older discussion that talks about VERADO power steering:

Verado Power Steering
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/015989.html

You may find this archived information useful. Note that the thread includes an abbreviated version of the the system bleeding instructions. And it also notes that there is no fluid fill at the helm pump. This system is quite unusual and very specific to the VERADO, so specialized training and knowledge is necessary to work on it properly. Most of the content of the thread is more than 10-years-old, so you must forgive me for not recalling it sooner.

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Re: 2006 Ventura: Replacing Hydraulic Steering Hoses

Postby zen0414 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 9:07 am

Thanks for the updates and the link to the older discussion entry. There is a lot of useful info there.

I don't have ready access to the boat or my service manuals right now, but I'll take a look at both when I do. I'm happy to buy the OEM hoses, hopefully I can find the correct part number in the manuals.

On the UV question and location of the boat I'm the second owner of the Ventura. It spent is first 6-7 years in North Carolina. We've owned it the last 5 years, around the Sandusky, Ohio area on Lake Erie. It is stored indoors in the winter. ( at least for the last 5 years.) The boat is in great shape overall, so I believe the previous owner took good care of the boat as well.

The boat cover doesn't cover the hoses as they are down in the well close to the engine. So depending on the angle of the sun, they would be exposed to the UV rays in the summer. Also the hoses don't turn as the engine turns, so they could be covered.

I'm fortunate in that the power steering currently works great. I'm looking to replace the hoses because of the cracks in the them as a preventive maintenance step.

Again appreciate all the input.