Water in power steering reservoir Volvo penta D6 370 DPH

[volvopaul]

Hello. The power steering oil in the in the power steering reservoir for a Volvo Penta D6 370 DPH has emulsified due to water ingress, a visual inspection of the steering rams didn’t reveal anything obvious. Does anyone have any ideas as to the most likely cause of the problem. Cheers Gary.

Yes the ram seals have failed , the gators don’t stop limescale build up .
You need to flush the system and fit new rams .

 

[GaryAH]

Check the hydraulic hoses also, these have had 3 upgrades due to persistent failure, in fact Volvo have had endless problems with rams and hoses and trim cylinder hoses, lost count of how many I have replaced on recalls and under warranty. Also make sure the engineer flushes the entire system as the contaminated oil if left in the system can damage the shuttle valve mounted on the transom at the back of the engine and hard to get to, the piston rusts and then your helm steering doesn’t operate the valve which controls the pressurised oil from the servo pump.

Thank you, that’s really good advice.. I’ve read somewhere that if the shuttle valve fails it may mean engine would need moving to gain access, is that the case.. Cheers Gary

 

[spannerman]

Thank you, that’s really good advice.. I’ve read somewhere that if the shuttle valve fails it may mean engine would need moving to gain access, is that the case.. Cheers Gary

It depends on the boat and how much room there is back there

 

[jdrakeford]

The rubber gaitors do increase the length of time between needing to replace the rams, but they dont eliminate the problem completely.

Hi Julians, I have just resealed my steering cylinders and was reading through this interesting post. My question is, how does the steering ram gaiters extend the life of the cylinders as they don't keep water out, there are drain holes in them. When I removed the gaiters from mine, the rams had a salt scale on them which would obviously damage the seals, but the solar was easily removed by my finger nail. My thinking is that, is it better to remove the gaiters and that way the scale on the rams can be easily cleaned yearly when lifted out? With the gaiters on its not possible to clean the rams and they're glued on so not easily removed. Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[julians]

Hi Julians, I have just resealed my steering cylinders and was reading through this interesting post. My question is, how does the steering ram gaiters extend the life of the cylinders as they don't keep water out, there are drain holes in them. When I removed the gaiters from mine, the rams had a salt scale on them which would obviously damage the seals, but the solar was easily removed by my finger nail. My thinking is that, is it better to remove the gaiters and that way the scale on the rams can be easily cleaned yearly when lifted out? With the gaiters on its not possible to clean the rams and they're glued on so not easily removed. Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

The gators slow the growth of barnacles etc, even though they're not watertight because they prevent daylight getting in which is what the barnacles need to grow. Or at least that's the theory.

 

[SC35]

The prices on the rams have gone back up again: I should have bought a box of them.

Now £300 + VAT

And yes, the gaiters do help overall.

 

[jdrakeford]

The gators slow the growth of barnacles etc, even though they're not watertight because they prevent daylight getting in which is what the barnacles need to grow. Or at least that's the theory.

OK, got it, thank you Julians!
I found it quite a job to flush the entire system including autopilot pump etc to get all the water out. Hopefully I got it pretty good now after lots of circulating, draining and refilling.