Ditching the power steering cooler
 

Cleans things up, eliminates a few lines. Anyone ever do this? How hot can the power steering fluid really get?

im certianly no engineer but keep this in mind,every boat with power steering assist that mercury produces has a cooler.if it was not needed merc would not put it on,id keep the cooler.

+ 1.

Drove a Donzi that had a very small cooler and no external reservoir, after a hard run the fluid aerated and steering sucked around the docks.

ICDEDPPL - Great minds think alike...

Did it. Got the t-shirt. 2 years ago.

Bought a heavy duty off road trans cooler either 9 or 12 inch, cant remember, with AN fittings and a backup fan. Mounted it up in under the gunnell. Wired a switch to the dash. In ordinary lake/ICWW running it doesnt even get warm. Offshore hard running maybe a little and if you even question the temp, I turn the fan on. Had it like this 2 years+

Wanted to do an electric power steering pump too. Bought all kinds of electric motors and electric power steering pumps.... Failed miserably! Automotive is high pressure low volume. Marine is semi high pressure high volume. Latham has one for like $4000 and I wanted to do an eBay special - Couldnt even get it to move with offroad electric systems. So now its stock with the trans cooler.

Let me know if you want pics. I will be out on it this weekend and will take a couple.

I ran most of the summer without one, because it took a crap, and replacing it meant I would have to have pulled the engine. I didn't have any ill effects, but while the engines are out, I plan to install a new cooler. I actually want to mount it after my sea pump, so if I smoke an impeller, the steering cooler will catch the big chunks, rather than send it all into my bellhousing style coolers, which would suck to clean out.

What Mild says, it's a safeguard to catch bits and pieces if the impeller fails. I'd even go further and install a coarse filter [ machine a disc slightly bigger diameter than the inlet of the cooler with1/4 holes ] ahead of the cooler inside the rubber hose so only small pieces could enter into the system that would pass through easily.

I don't have a PS cooler and never had problem.

Did you forget this is OSO? Mercury is watching this thread to see what they should do on the next generation of motors.

Well I guess one motor would be protected, the other not so much, I change my impellers frequently but I like Spectras idea about the screen..

Why yes , yes they do!!

Good enough for me!

You could install another cooler on the other engine and use them as fuel coolers. Cool that 95 degree fuel down to 65 degrees or so :)