Hi guys, recently purchased 2008 Marlin 300. I was out today and appears my power assist pump for my steering just quit working, no fun fighting the 2-3 foot slop all the way in from 65 miles out. Any advice?
Steering power assist pump issue
- Thread starter Mr Breeze
- Start date
Fishtales
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2005
- Messages
- 8,033
- Reaction score
- 1,286
- Points
- 113
Hi,
I had an issue about three years after purchasing new. The pump just quit and the dealer replaced under warranty. I guess the pump itself was covered by the manufacturer. In your case, I'd first check that you are getting power to the unit. You'll probably just have to bite the bullet and replace if not that. Check out Seastar power assist pumps on the net. they run in the $1500 range. The pump is behind the starboard side kick plate at the helm. It is fairly easy to access once you get the panel off. Take down the info and reach out to Seastar to see if there is anything they will do (highly unlikely but worth a shot given the price/age of the pump). Maybe they can provide you some trouble shooting tips. Electrical connections are fairly easy and there are a series of threaded hydraulic lines you will have to swap. If it were me, I'd disconnect the lines at the motor cylinders and drain into a quart size container, then reattach. This should relieve any pressure in the system and allow things to drain aft as well as allow the disconnects at the pump to be less messy. While at the cylinders check the (4) steering hose ends (black lines with a protective sleeve over the end). I had one burst last year and it effectively left me unable to steer. The black protective sleeve on the end chaffed the line and over time weakened it. My failure was not on the threaded end of the cable but the other end where the protective sleeve ended. Inspect this end well. If it were not a dual outboard config, I'd have been screwed. I steered back to the dock with the binnacles. The hydraulic parts are all detailed on the Seastar website pretty well. Once you change out the pump, you can follow their instructions and re-charge the hydraulic lines. I did this very easily at the helm. Use the kit to allow you to hang a bottle of hydraulic fluid (got the kit and the fluid on Amazon). Work the steering back and forth through the full range of motion many times. You will see the bubbles come up the clear plastic hose into the hydraulic bottle. Once you see no bubbles you should be in good shape. Start the engines and do the same a bunch of times. Check the fluid in a couple of weeks and top off as needed. Plan on a couple of quart bottles of fluid. You have to insert a small hole in the bottle when re-charging, so if you can find a container to store the left over fluid (hole will be on the bottom of the quart container as it is inverted during the re-charge process) so you need to replace or toss away. I think the fact that the pump is elevated versus the cylinders really helps.
I found Seatech online. They had the 4' cables. The 7' cables are specials. The closest stock size is 8'. I tried to get someone to make the 7'ers no luck so far. I likely will change out the with the 8' cables, Cables are HO8204 and HO8208. You can also look around to get the best price on the pump.
This job isn't that hard and if you do it yourself you'll probably save $500.
I had an issue about three years after purchasing new. The pump just quit and the dealer replaced under warranty. I guess the pump itself was covered by the manufacturer. In your case, I'd first check that you are getting power to the unit. You'll probably just have to bite the bullet and replace if not that. Check out Seastar power assist pumps on the net. they run in the $1500 range. The pump is behind the starboard side kick plate at the helm. It is fairly easy to access once you get the panel off. Take down the info and reach out to Seastar to see if there is anything they will do (highly unlikely but worth a shot given the price/age of the pump). Maybe they can provide you some trouble shooting tips. Electrical connections are fairly easy and there are a series of threaded hydraulic lines you will have to swap. If it were me, I'd disconnect the lines at the motor cylinders and drain into a quart size container, then reattach. This should relieve any pressure in the system and allow things to drain aft as well as allow the disconnects at the pump to be less messy. While at the cylinders check the (4) steering hose ends (black lines with a protective sleeve over the end). I had one burst last year and it effectively left me unable to steer. The black protective sleeve on the end chaffed the line and over time weakened it. My failure was not on the threaded end of the cable but the other end where the protective sleeve ended. Inspect this end well. If it were not a dual outboard config, I'd have been screwed. I steered back to the dock with the binnacles. The hydraulic parts are all detailed on the Seastar website pretty well. Once you change out the pump, you can follow their instructions and re-charge the hydraulic lines. I did this very easily at the helm. Use the kit to allow you to hang a bottle of hydraulic fluid (got the kit and the fluid on Amazon). Work the steering back and forth through the full range of motion many times. You will see the bubbles come up the clear plastic hose into the hydraulic bottle. Once you see no bubbles you should be in good shape. Start the engines and do the same a bunch of times. Check the fluid in a couple of weeks and top off as needed. Plan on a couple of quart bottles of fluid. You have to insert a small hole in the bottle when re-charging, so if you can find a container to store the left over fluid (hole will be on the bottom of the quart container as it is inverted during the re-charge process) so you need to replace or toss away. I think the fact that the pump is elevated versus the cylinders really helps.
I found Seatech online. They had the 4' cables. The 7' cables are specials. The closest stock size is 8'. I tried to get someone to make the 7'ers no luck so far. I likely will change out the with the 8' cables, Cables are HO8204 and HO8208. You can also look around to get the best price on the pump.
This job isn't that hard and if you do it yourself you'll probably save $500.
Last edited:
If your power assist is the Seastar unit, be aware that there is a replaceable fuse, built in, under the cover. They do burn out occasionallyl.
Thanks for the info guys. Very helpful. Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to check out the pump, will let you know what I find. Thanks again!!
