Steering Fluid overflow.
 

I just got the boat (a 35 Lighting with 500HP's).

Ran it pretty hard for the first time. There was lots of Steering fluid in the bilge and on the engine. I have full Hydro Lathem. The relief tank was not completely empty and the steering worked fine. I ran to home port (about 30 minute ride) and there was no more leakage. Could it be that the Reservoir was over filled? Did not see any split hoses or loose connections.
Any feed back appreciated.
Dan

Re: Steering Fluid overflow.
 

Was there any foaming of the fluid IE Air in the system? I had alot of air in mine and when the engine would stop the air would expand agian and fill the resivour. I ended up filling the tank and run it for a few seconds until the level dropped and then shut it off. I did this about 5 times to burp all the air out. The problem was the foaming fluid would get sucked right back in the system and compressed. after you shut the engine off it would greatly expand until the air bubbles worked themselves out.

Re: Steering Fluid overflow.
 

Had similar problem in '96 35' with 500 Carb. Had power steering fluid on top of engine after long runs. Ended up had a crack in the clear reservoir at its base. Hard to see and detect, but replaced it and no more problem. Hope it's as simple as this. Good luck....

Re: Steering Fluid overflow.
 

Mine leaks a little too. Comes from the vented fill cap. Not sure how it manages to do that since the bottle is far from full. Must be my smooooooooth driving. ;) :D

Re: Steering Fluid overflow.
 

The problem is that the foam/air compresses while the pump is running and also the lines expand a bit, lowering the level in the reservoir. When you shut it off the system pressure comes down and the air expands raising the level. You need to properly bleed the system of air/foam to totally eliminate the problem. The large reservoir helps contain the problem until the air works out of the system, but you can get by with a small reservoir (single pump only) if you properly fill and bleed the air from the system at the initial installation.

Good luck!