PDQ OWNERS FORUM

FYI... If you are having problems with your hydraulic steering rams leaking or not working, don't buy new ones for $500. You can buy a kit for about $45 and rebuild them. We have done that on our PDQ and they work great.

Has anyone replaced their head/toilet? if so, what did you buy and how well does it work?

i must say that the 2 most recent posts by bj really encompass a wide range of discussion....rams and heads

seriously bj, where did you get the kit?

i will also point out that not all failures are related to the seals. we had one failure that was a result of a crack in the piston inside the ram.

BJ,

Did the kit include the piston seal? I recently bought a kit but there was no seal for the piston and i could not find one in the Seastar line. My kit will fix an external leak but will not solve rudder alignment troubles.

Rafe

I got my kit from the manufacturer of the ram. The address and the name of the manufacturer should be on the label on the ram.

I have leak in my Starboard hydraulic steering ram. My port ram is dry. The starboard ram just started leaking recently... got a fair amount of oil dripping under it. I have had any steering problems. I'm thinking the source of the oil leak might be 2 things:

1) I filled up my upper helm steering reservoir about 2 months ago when it was still pretty cold here (45-50º) and I worked out a little air in the system. We just returned this week from a 4 week trip on the boat. It's getting warmer here (75-80º) and I know hydraulic fluid can expand. So could that be THE issue? OR, 2) Is it possible the oil expansion from warmer temps is revealing that my starboard ram seals are wearing out?

There was discussion on this thread back in 2021 about finding a ram repair kit? Does anyone have details on where to get this kit?

PS: Is anyone getting notifications that there has been messages sent on this forum? I haven't been getting them for a long time. Sam told me there is tech glitch that they have yet to find.

hi mac,

i'll give you the good news first....starboard side and easy to get at. if you're seeing dripping from the pushrod exiting the ram, the seal is leaking. our boat in connecticut has the exact same ram and the temps here have been in low 40's and no leaking. it's possible a piece of grit has gotten onto the pushrod and under the seal. it's a long shot. you might want to wait and monitor the situation and see if it gets better or worse.

i believe that you can get the rebuild kit from seastar. there are some tools required that you may not have. otoh, a friend had one of his rebuilt for about half price of new. the company was in jax, fl but i believe any hydraulics shop could do it. in any event, you'll be doing a system bleeding.

Hi Mac,

Check that the upper helm pump has a vented fill cap. This compensates for fluid expansion. The lower helm should have a solid cap without the vent hole.

James