Just brought my boat in for a leak in the steering cycinder by the engine. Steering is stuttery and has a lot of slack when changing directions. Marina says I can't just replace a seal and need to buy a whole new cylinder for about $400. Does this sound right? Is there a cheaper source for the cylinder? Is this a job to try and do myself?

Motor is a 95 Johnson Ocean runner 175 HP.

Thanks for any advice!

Did that on my boat last year, I have a 200 HP V6 Evinrude.

I tried to do it myself and I'll tell you it's just not worth the aggrevation you have to go through with bleeding the lines and everything.

For that price I'd let them do it in a heartbeat, just make sure it includes the parts, all the labor and you don't have to wait until November to get your vessel back.

Just as a comparison, I did my own and screwed something up so I had to have it done professionally anyways, so it cost me twice.

And the cost of the pro doing it was still 3 times what they want to charge you.

Tight Lines - Steve

Thanks steve, that makes me feel a bit bettter.

I called another marina and they told me there is a seal kit available for $75, but to replace the seals the job is a bit messier. He warned me though that if the rod is scored that the new seals will be chewed up anyway. I'm a bit disappointed that my marina didn't tell me about the seal kit to begin with. When I mentioned it to them, they told me the labor would be higher and that the rod was pitted by salt water.

I can't help but think that I did something to cause this though. This spring I found a grease niple on the cylinder and gave it a few shots of marine grease. I'm wonering if that was not a grease nipple after all and should not have had grease injected into it. It seemed to start leaking right after I did that. I at least need to straighten my knowledge of what that nipple is for in this process.

Just did the power pack last week...$500. Steering cylinder this week $500. Water pump at the same time....$250.

Realing in a 48 lb striper and taking the first spot on the leaderboard at the MV Derby....priceless.

Some money goes to bait....for the rest of it there's your boat.

BOAT=Break Out Another Thousand.

Funny you mentioned that nipple ... I did the same thing and guess what, it did the same thing that happened to you.

It started leaking right after I greased that sucker! Til this day I don't know if its a grease fitting or not but I do know that I won't ever be greasing it again there!

My rod was pitted, thats why my 1st attempt failed. My mechanic did tell me though it was possible to happen, I should've listened to him. Now I don't touch a thing, out a few dollars by not doing it myself but I consider that a good trade off for not having to deal with finding the parts and installing them ( correctly I always hope) plus the time lost if I screw something else up.

My mechanic works for Gifford Marine in Dartmouth full time, I get him to come to my house to work on my boat when I need him and I don't have to pay the marina the big bucks they want, usually 1/3 the price now.

You should check into that, see if you can hijack one of the mechanics for a little on the side work, most of them appreciate the extra money as you know the marina's are not paying them those big dollars we give them thieves.

I started doing this when the cost of maintainance was getting way out of hand at the marina,yeah they'd fix the problem but then it would seem that shortly after that there'd be another for them to fix.

Plus I'd have to wait to get the boat back, usually 2-3 weeks being they're so busy, or so they say. Now it gets done within a day or 2 at my convienence, just can't beat that.

Thought I'd mention that for any future endeavors you might have and save you a few bucks and the time. Might be something to think about.

Tight lines my friend!

Wow, what a coincidence.

I'd love to find a mechanic like that. If anyone knows someone like that in Southern NH please send him my way with a PM.

I wonder if anyone knows whether or not that is a grease nipple. I'll be asking the marina tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

Well there are two nipples and they are for bleeding the air and not for grease. Oh well. Live and learn.

Thanks Fish On, I knew something was screwy about those nipples! That's why I said even if they are for greasing it wouldn't get any from me.

What a coincidence that it happened the same way to both of us, it was nice for the manufacturers to let us know what they were for though huh?

I think that's why they hide these things on us, to make us spend more money on them, them rat bastages.

Well I definately like the way you put the meaning of BOAT................. Break Out Another Thousand!

Never were truer words spoken!

How long do you think it'll take before you forget what they are and grease them again? lol

Thanks for the information on what they are, won't ever see me greasing those suckers again.

Good luck with the vessel and hope you find a mechanic nearby to help you out like me, tight lines and rising tides! :cheers:

What a nightmare. Marina left me a message today. Say they can't get the cykinder off without removing the engine because it's "frozen" somehow. I need to call them back tomorrow. I'm considering pulling it out of there. It would seem to me that if greasing it caused the issue then a new seal kit should fix it. Not only are they telling me they need to replace the whole cylinder for $550 in parts alone but now they have to take off the engine to do it.

I'm thining about trying to install the seal kit on my own and see where that takes me. If anyone else has any experience with this and caan offer advice it would be appreicated.

Good Luck! Just be careful with and around the fittings as the saltwater weakens them more than you think.

I learned the hard way, why not try another marina if you can't hijack a mechanic somewhere?

If its anything like the hyraulic cylinder I have on my boat replacing the seal is no easy job. 1st you need a special "spanner" wrench to take the thing apart, then when you get it apart there are a couple of hundred (at least it seemed like that many) parts inside that all have to go back in in the same order. Plus if the shaft is pitted or nicked you'll be doing it all for nothing anyway.

When I called in this morning they had already taken the motor off the boat. Guess I'm going through with it.

We'll see how it comes out.

Forget the $750 for the steering cylinder and the water pump......total cost now complete.....$1186. I'm pretty steamed.

OOOUUUCCCHHH !!!!!!

That is giving it to you without any grease! I know its too late now but for the future you would probably be better off just buying a new unit and installing it yourself, for you're size motor it shouldn't be too too expensive.

I think I would've lived with the leak, alot cheaper for the fluid than it was for the fix.

Did you give them the go ahead to take the motor off? If not you might be able to tell them put it back and do it yourself.

Good luck and let us know the outcome.

I'm beside myself. Went to pick up the boat today. The steering is definately not right. There is 330 degrees of play when changing direction from right to left when the wheel has been turned all the way to the right. There seems to be a leak at the steering wheel (puddle of fluid on the deck beneath the wheel). They are trying to rebleed any additional air oput of the system but are now telling me I will likely need a new helm.

Anyone install a new helm before. Anything a novice can try to do themselves? I need to take my boat out of there and never bring it back to them again.

Welcome to the game of marina repair!

That what was wrong with mine after I got it back from my dealer, the steering had waaaayy too much play in it and it leaked steering fluid from underneath the mount.

Well I told them I paid to have it fixed so fix it the right way, they said because I put a new cylinder in the back it most likely is stronger than the helm being newer, kind of like replacing one brake line with a master cylinder with a car ... the pressure is much stronger in the new parts causing the older ones to fail.

I told asked them okay why all the play in the steering ... said it was same case senario.

Told them to go *&^% themselves and hijacked a mechanic soon after.

He told me part of their answer is true, the part about the newer parts versus the older ones, makes sense if you think about it like a cars brakes or sensors, if you don't replace all of it you can be sure it won't be long before you are doing it.

But the part they don't mention is that all the play is due to air in the line either being sucked in through a bad cylinder or through the helm which they now made a must replace part. It gets blown out by the higher pressure of the new cylinder.

I would ask them straight out what caused this and see what they tell you, that'll tell you if they are a reputable place to deal with or not. Like I said before they fix one problem only to cause another.

You can either replace the whole system or just keep an eye on it and add fluid when you need to.

Sorry to hear that you're not back up and fishing due to this, hope it all works out for you.

Keep us posted.

Why does everybody think mechanics are ripping them off?
Being an auto tech for 25+ years, that really pisses me off.
It is probably true that the helm was on it's way out and wasn't noticable due to the problem with the cylinder.Now that the cylinder is working properly,another weak link is found.Happens all the time with cars too. I say, if you don't want to pay to get it fixed right....Go bust YOUR knuckles,buy Your own tools and spend YOUR money on the education and fix it yourself!

I tend to agree with fishaholic...Tho when spending hard earned bucks its tough to trust anyone...I think the marine mechanic or any responsible mechainic should have told him what might happen ..I.E. If you only replace this, the other realted items might fail but maybe not...At least the owner knows about it ahead of time..Good customer service!!!

I tend to agree with fishaholic...Tho when spending hard earned bucks its tough to trust anyone...I think the marine mechanic or any responsible mechainic should have told him what might happen ..I.E. If you only replace this, the other realted items might fail but maybe not...At least the owner knows about it ahead of time..Good customer service!!!
Problem there is...You can't possiblty predict what will happen. If I replace a brake line on a guys car and the rest look OK, how do I know what may fail next? Would you just be happier if I said you should replace them all,(Probably the safest,but most expensive way out), I would still be accused of screwing you.. Catch 22 I guess. Then there's the liability issues. Not easy!!! :lasso:
But...try to save a guy money and say: I can fix this one line for you....Have another one fail and see what he thinks of you... :behead:

There are several valid points here to a passionate situation that we all encounter one time or another. I'll admit I wanted to take the cheap way out from the beginning. I typically always look for the most cost effective solution. I was affected by the size of the bill but also that the day I went to pick up the boat I found it with the issues mentioned previously. Long story short they kept the boat another night, rebled the steering several times, and it seems to be working much better. Took the boat out for the weekend. There was a small drip at the help when I started, but after cleanup it did not return. Play is down to about 100 degrees which is better than it was when I started. I'll keep an eye on it and replace the helm if necessary and give it a shot on my own first.

Tight lines!