MV Thirsty Whale, 1984 Chris Craft Catalina 381, Filling, Pressurizing, & Bleeding Hynautic Steering

[@Playnhooky]

Thank you for making this video. I have a hynautic system in my new to me boat and I was at a loss on how to fill with fluid. So thank you

[@andywarren3278]

FANTASTIC!! You still don’t cuss enough for a Chris-Craft owner! 😂

[@WiscoBoater]

🤣🤣🤣I edit all that out…believe me, it’s plentiful!!

[@jeffdyck131]

I had to replace the seals in the upper unit to stop some leaking. After some bleeding with the help of a friend, it has worked fine.

[@arthurcitron9774]

Spot on!👊🏻🇺🇸

[@captainkrunch6372]

I have a notchey feeling when I turn upper helm, was low on fluid due to minor leakage at upper helm, lower helm turns smooth. Filled tank did the whole bleeding operation, no air came out fluid is now full. Still notchey at upper helm, I'm thinking maybe just worn from 40 years of use, 1300 hours.

[@WiscoBoater]

Yeah, could be the bearings have a worn spot over the years. Could also still be some air in the system. Looking at the troubleshooting section of the manual, if there is air saturation in the oil, or if there was any foaming during the fill, it may just need to be purged at a lower pressure. 20-30psi, according to the manual. Just a couple of thoughts...I'm a total novice with this system.

[@darrellmaclean9054]

I found out that to bleed the air out. Fill fluid to the high mark and pressurize to 40 psi then turn the steering wheel back and forth a number of times from stop to stop until you feel resistance in the wheel

[@WiscoBoater]

Thanks my friend!!

[@captainkrunch6372]

Mine leaks at upper helm where lines attach to back of steering unit, its plenty tight

[@WiscoBoater]

Really hard to get them 100% sealed. My fittings are all brand new and tight, and I still have a tiny amount that seeps out that I wipe down when I have the helm service panel open. No drips, just a little at the very top fitting around the threads.

[@captainkrunch6372]

@@WiscoBoater I wrap mine with paper towels

[@jefftitus8502]

Thank you! I was looking everywhere on KZbin. I wish you showed more of what your friend was doing in the bleeding process. Did you open the valve on both sides? I assume Only 2 cause mine has 4 and so did that one. Great video tho! Extremely helpful

[@WiscoBoater]

Glad it helped you out! Yeah, I tried to video what he was doing, but the footage was not helpful as there just wasn't room to get a good spot to mount the camera. We did open the valve on both sides (mine also had 4, just opened the top two on each side).

[@mattlydon3531]

Could you tell me the manufacturer of your system? We just bought and old boat with the same system - would like look it up…… Matt

[@WiscoBoater]

Hi Matt, the system was manufactured by Hynautic. You can get parts from www.boatsteer.com I had my hoses made by a local hydraulic hose company, but Boat Steer is a good source.

[@WiscoBoater]

Here is the manual- www.boatsteer.com/assets/Hynautic_1987.pdf

[@davidbarten7429]

The real bummer is you dont show what valve or what the valve looks like that your friend Kevin is loosening. There are a couple different Hynautic systems and the crucial part of bleeding - (bleed valve) was hidden and not shown.... Thanks for the thought and effort though..

[@WiscoBoater]

You can see the bleed plugs clearly on the opposite side (port side) of where Kevin was working (starboard side). There is no valve up there, just the two plugs that get loosened to bleed air out. The plugs are identical side to side, so they are shown clearly. I just couldn't put a camera on the starboard side while he was working...no room. I should have mentioned this in the video, so my apologies for that. The bleed plugs are also clearly shown in the instructions that I linked in the description. As always, my videos are 'how I did it videos', not instructions. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!

[@davidbarten7429]

much appreciated - I have been through my manual over and over, as well as every other source I could find and still having nothing but issues with install after rebuilding the pump.. Again thank you for the clarification, I guess it's just grind away... the piston pump feels like square ball bearings trying to roll on old asphalt..

[@WiscoBoater]

@@davidbarten7429 Ugh...that sound is an awful sound. Hope you get it figured out...nothing worse than more troubleshooting after a rebuild.

[@davidbarten7429]

I'm thinking for my $650 they put the new kid on it and he left his vape in the pistons...@@WiscoBoater