Hello again, I need to fill the hydraulic steering reservoir as my steering has become very tough but for the life of me i can't find the darned thing. I have a 2000 Silverton 453 and the only place that I haven't looked is unter the stairs to the aft deck where all the power, satellite and phone connections are. Does anyone know where to find this reservior? As usual, any help will be greatly appreciated and i thank you all in advance. regards, Doug. ps. I'm also having to change the bilge pump in the stern and i have now idea how Silverton expected anyone to reach that darned thing if your over 100lbs..
Hi, How do you know it is a lack of fluid that is making your steering stiff? It is more likely to be a lack of grease somewhere in the system because if it were low on fluid the pump would turn easily but your rudders would not move. I am not familiar with your model of boat but have you looked behind the steering wheel to see if the helm pump is it's own reservoir?
I'm not familiar with that exact model or year but on a newer Silverton 45C, there is a fill cap right at the helm by the wheel. Some of the Searays have a center cap on the wheel itself that you have to remove a few screws to get at to fill it. Also, as K1W1 already pointed out, how do you know it's a lack of fluid? Perhaps something is binding from lack of grease. If it turns out you do need fluid you may also want to check for leaks in the system. Let us know what you find out.
Many boats in that size range have hynautic steering with a pressurized steering reservoir. It is usually in the ER or somewhere down below. You will need a bike hand pump to pump it back to 15 PSI or so On some boats with single helm you may refill the system at the helm, small cap on top of the helm pump itself That said stiff steering is usually not a symptom of low fluid. Low fluid usually results in the wheel turning loose before Building pressure Stiff steering could indeed be a lubrication problem or something bent.
As to the bilge pump being hard to reach... Welcome to boat ownership! Most production builders don't give the proverbial nr 2 about ease of service
my steering fluid reservoir at the stern has its own pump and fillcap . at the helm there is a bleeder cap for purging air from the system . I am not sure of the make . I will be going to the boat on sunday and I will find this out .