Power Steering Pump Replacement

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

So I have a 2008 Maxum SR 1800 are there any good write ups on a PS Replacement?

Did a quick search but didnt turn up a whole lot. Im pretty handy so I think I can do it just need a point in the right direction thanks guys!

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

I guess I should post up what shes got

Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha One Drive

And I was wrong its a 2007 17' Maxum SR

[seapuppy]

welcome to the zoo...are you talking about the pump itself or the rack and pinion??...chances are it's not that at all but the steering cable needing lubed.....some more info might help out...like what is the symptoms...what is going on when your driving or trying to drive slow speed....etc...


SP

[pascavone]

first question: why do you think you need to replace it?

1. pump replace if you have no steering or a leak dripping out of it.
2. hoses if you had a leak.
3. rack, if hard steering, but there are zerk grease fitting back there to lubricate the pins.
4. hard steering could be your "tiller pin" which is the deep in transom plate which you have to pull the engine to get to. be hard to belive a 4 year old boat has this problem unless you have damage and water leaking in. Look for white salt drip trails running down behind the engine.

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

Thanks for the input so far guys, I was basing my assumption on the previous owner who I bought the boat from. Im not terribly familiar with boating just yet had my first season last summer so bear with me guys!

So the boat barely cranks when its at slow to medium speed, once we get crusin it gets back to normal. Like when we are pushing off it feels like an old buick with no power steering. But yeah once we get going it corners really nicely.

The boat is in overall good condition mechanically the guy I bought it from took good care of it. He was not the first owner but my buddy is mechanically inclined to a degree. But he could be way off. You guys will better know hopefully based on the description. Hopefully this helps.

[mcoffey]

I have seen power steering pumps output low pressure at lower RPM so it is possible the pump is at fault. An easy test would be to fire it up at the dock and get her warmed up. Then see how it feels at idle. Increase RPM to 1500 (in nuetral) and see how it feels then. If no better or only slightly better, increase to 2000-2500 RPM and see how it feels. If it is getting better at higher RPM than most likely it is the pump or the increased pump pressuse is eough to overcome whatever else is causing the issue


So the time I had seen a pump with low pressure was on an old Diesel Grumman truck (Chevy chassis). It as brought in because the brakes were hard and it was difficult to stop. It had power brakes but since a diesel does not produce vacuum like a gas engine, it used power steering pump pressure for the power assist. After testing it out for a while we noticed that the brakes were only hard at idle. If we drove the truck, popped it in nuetral and kept RPM at 1500, she would stop on a dime.
So we replaced the PS pump and all was fixed.

Now imagine the driver of the trucks face when he came to get it. He asked what it turned out to be and when we said "it was the powere steering pump", he looked at us like we were crazy
After a more detailed explanation he started to get it and after he drove it and saw it was truly fixed, he never doubted us again

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

Originally Posted by mcoffey

I have seen power steering pumps output low pressure at lower RPM so it is possible the pump is at fault. An easy test would be to fire it up at the dock and get her warmed up. Then see how it feels at idle. Increase RPM to 1500 (in nuetral) and see how it feels then. If no better or only slightly better, increase to 2000-2500 RPM and see how it feels. If it is getting better at higher RPM than most likely it is the pump or the increased pump pressuse is eough to overcome whatever else is causing the issue


So the time I had seen a pump with low pressure was on an old Diesel Grumman truck (Chevy chassis). It as brought in because the brakes were hard and it was difficult to stop. It had power brakes but since a diesel does not produce vacuum like a gas engine, it used power steering pump pressure for the power assist. After testing it out for a while we noticed that the brakes were only hard at idle. If we drove the truck, popped it in nuetral and kept RPM at 1500, she would stop on a dime.
So we replaced the PS pump and all was fixed.

Now imagine the driver of the trucks face when he came to get it. He asked what it turned out to be and when we said "it was the powere steering pump", he looked at us like we were crazy
After a more detailed explanation he started to get it and after he drove it and saw it was truly fixed, he never doubted us again

Hahahahah!! Thanks for the reply. So my only question is as long as the boat fires up fine and I drop her in. I can still do the repairs in the water correct? It looks like the PS Pump can be accessed while in water and and it shouldn't be too difficult to fix. Is this the correct assumption.

I only ask because to test the PS Pump using your method I would need to drop her in and would want to make sure I can handle the problem in the water. I really feel like it is the PS but would love some more input to really get a good fix on the issue.

[seapuppy]

yes..the ps pump is attached to the front part of the engine and drivin by the fan belt....you should also check the fluid levels to make sure it's got plenty....

SP

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

Originally Posted by seapuppy

yes..the ps pump is attached to the front part of the engine and drivin by the fan belt....you should also check the fluid levels to make sure it's got plenty....

SP

Cool well im gonna fire her up this weekend and drop her and see what I can figure out. Hopefully its just the PS Pump, Ive serviced PS Pumps in cars before and im assuming that the procedure is very similar anything I should look out for guys?

[seapuppy]

nope....just have plenty of absorbers handy for the fluid when it comes out of the pump...

keep us informed..


SP

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

Originally Posted by seapuppy

nope....just have plenty of absorbers handy for the fluid when it comes out of the pump...

keep us informed..


SP

Will do man thanks for the info!