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IMCO Hydraulic Steering overflowing at reservoir

bsand

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Hey guys, this is my first post on RDP! I’ve came here many time sourcing technical help/information, and have always gotten an answer to my woes without having to post.
But here I am..
I recently bought a new to me 2005 ‘27 Ultra Shadow and I am working through some bugs. The boat has a 525 with IMCO dual hydraulic steering to the helm.

I dropped it in the water a few days ago and the hydraulic steering was stiff and difficult to operate.
I topped off the reservoir, bled the system by cycling the steering wheel lock to lock for at least 10 minutes.
This seemed to do the trick. The boat ran great and steering felt normal.

Fast forward a few days, I just noticed that the power steering fluid is now overflowing through the reservoir cap.

There are no signs of leakage at the rams, hoses, fittings, or PS cooler.

Any idea what would cause the system to “backflush” or push excessive fluid back into the reservoir causing it to overflow ?

Side note- I’ve done my due diligence and searched through the forums, but found no helpful info for my specific problem.
 

02HoWaRd26

DCBroke
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I’d suspect an air bubble that was in the system then went away with bleeding but then you had too much fluid from filling it.

I’d try to drain a little from the res then let it idle on hose and see how it feels and if it needs fluid or not.
 

bsand

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Anyone know if there is a check valve in the pump or within the system?
The helm is higher than the reservoir, so if a check valve is stuck open or has debris Keeping it open, gravity may push the fluid back to the resi...??
 

BDMar

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If there is an air leak anywhere in the system, it will do that. Typically as soon as you shut the engine off, it will overflow.
 

bsand

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If there is an air leak anywhere in the system, it will do that. Typically as soon as you shut the engine off, it will overflow.
Thanks for your reply.
Visibly, there are no signs of leaks. I plan to put a wrench on all the fittings to confirm they are all tight and check for any old/cracked hoses.
The previous owner installed a brand new XR drive on the boat prior to selling. I don't know if this could be related, I assume they just unbolted the rams from the drive bracket.
 

BDMar

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Thanks for your reply.
Visibly, there are no signs of leaks. I plan to put a wrench on all the fittings to confirm they are all tight and check for any old/cracked hoses.
The previous owner installed a brand new XR drive on the boat prior to selling. I don't know if this could be related, I assume they just unbolted the rams from the drive bracket.
On my personal boat, it was pulling air where the neck solders to the body on the power steering pump. No ps fluid leaking at all. Just wouldn't bleed properly and would overflow as soon as the engine was shut off. Put a billet ps housing and immediately fixed the problem. People use the neck to push on the pump to get the belt tight and that will eventually cause an air leak where the neck meets the body.
 
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