Hynautic cylinder leak

[JohnB]

All,
I have a Hynautic K-11 or K-12 hydraulic steering cylinder on my boat that has
developed a small leak (2-3 teaspoons a day). It leaks by the rod end nearest the
motor, where the cylinder o rings are, seeping out by the shaft. If the boat sits
still for a while it seems to be worse, if it is used more it is not as bad. My guess
is the o-rings are bad and need to be replaced. I did some
research and came up with http://www.charment.com/k11-12.htm that has a pretty
good diagram of the seals and disassembly. The question is, if I get the seal kit,
is this something easy to fix, or am I better off having it perfessionally fix? Has
anyone else tackled this beast?

[Howard Hill]

JohnR,

Great looking boat. I know you are enjoying it. I searched for several years before I found my restoration project.

I am not familiar with the hynautic steering system but just replaced the seals in my SeaStar cylinder on my 20' Seacraft. They sell a replacement seal kit ($90)which I installed in approx 1 hr including filling and purging the system. The kit came with cylinder seal glands that have the seals already installed so its pretty simple.

Try hynautics customer service - they may have a similar kit.

[JohnB]

I removed the cylinder from the boat this morning and took it into the Hydraulic Supply Company local chapter. The rod was bent, the bushing was wallowed out, the seal was bad, but for 120 bucks, they garrantee it will be as good as new, tomorrow. Once I get it back in the boat, I will let you know how it works. Thanks for the info Even Broker,