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Bravo One power steering leak, somewhere...

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Old 07-24-2022 | 07:08 AM
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Originally Posted by bajaman
Well hell, I actually have a kit like that already! Have had it for years, bought it to find a leak on my RX-7. Thanks for jogging my memory!
What year RX-7??

OP - I just had one go bad and bought from PSC. They were great. You can actually pull the pump out of the housing and just replace the guts. I think mine was only about 200 bucks.
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Old 07-24-2022 | 08:15 AM
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Isn't it so wonderful that Mother Mercury takes a GM part and puts a 10 valve in it and charges their customers 9x the cost? Must be one hell of a labor charge for that. They are right up there with the Motor Company, Harley Davidson.

Last edited by Helmwurst; 07-24-2022 at 08:16 AM. Reason: Forgot to add last comment
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Old 07-24-2022 | 08:21 AM
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Originally Posted by seafordguy
What year RX-7??

OP - I just had one go bad and bought from PSC. They were great. You can actually pull the pump out of the housing and just replace the guts. I think mine was only about 200 bucks.
RX-7 is 1993 year.

I will definitely NOT be buying an OEM Mercruiser or even Sierra pump, lol! Will go the automotive route and do the mod.
I've had a lot of people suggest that the leak is almost certainly from p/s system oil cooler, so I'll be checking that out next time I use the boat.
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Old 10-02-2022 | 07:36 AM
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Ok, thanks for all the good info. I got the pump, and am looking ahead to what it would take to change this out if necessary, reviewing the Service Manual. It appears there is a fairly involved process to remove the pulley from the old pump and install on the new and getting the serpentine belt alignment correct. Of course Mercruiser references a couple of special tools for pulling the pulling and re-installing. For those that have done this, am I over-thinking the process? Obviously the serpentine belt has to be dead-nuts on alignment...
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Old 10-02-2022 | 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by bajaman
RX-7 is 1993 year.

I will definitely NOT be buying an OEM Mercruiser or even Sierra pump, lol! Will go the automotive route and do the mod.
I've had a lot of people suggest that the leak is almost certainly from p/s system oil cooler, so I'll be checking that out next time I use the boat.
Nice. I have an all original 94 R2 with less than twenty some thousand original miles. Never been in the rain.

Definitely check with PSC if your pump burned up. They were great. Could be leaking in the cooler. PS coolers are small and relatively cheap to replace....
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Old 10-15-2022 | 06:52 PM
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I brought my boat home from Table Rock to work on a few things, including fixing the power steering fluid leak. Gave it a thorough inspection, found NOTHING...no oil on hoses, no "smoking gun"...I had convinced myself it was going to be a low pressure line on the oil cooler. I believe my next step is to put some ultraviolet dye in and run it for a while and then check again.
Frustrating.
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Old 10-16-2022 | 01:10 PM
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You need a PS Pulley puller/install kit. Autozone has them to rent(free), but like was said, you will need an impact to get it off.
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Old 10-17-2022 | 06:16 PM
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I did the ultraviolet dye test and was rewarded with an abundance of fluorescing oil on the starboard side bottom of the power steering cooler. Yay, thinks I, so I take the power steering cooler off (footnote: major PIA!) and pressure test it and...crap, it's perfectly fine. So, the p/s fluid has to be spraying up underneath the cooler, evidently? The starboard rear engine mount is awash in p/s fluid...so the leak is somewhere in that area. Is there a possibility of a seal out in the steering unit itself? Next step is I am making a bypass for the power steering cooler so I can see what is going on there better, and I'll fire it up and have my wife turn the steering wheel and see what I can see.
I had the engine running for about 30 minutes during the test, as I wanted to warm it up so I could change the oil...and probably lost 2 oz. of fluid in that time from the reservoir. 7.4 Bravo One.
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Old 10-18-2022 | 03:44 PM
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Clean everything off with some degreaser. Lay some cardboard all over under the engine. Run engine and look for drips and then trace back to the source of the leak.
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Old 10-21-2022 | 07:40 AM
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Originally Posted by bajaman
I did the ultraviolet dye test and was rewarded with an abundance of fluorescing oil on the starboard side bottom of the power steering cooler. Yay, thinks I, so I take the power steering cooler off (footnote: major PIA!) and pressure test it and...crap, it's perfectly fine. So, the p/s fluid has to be spraying up underneath the cooler, evidently? The starboard rear engine mount is awash in p/s fluid...so the leak is somewhere in that area. Is there a possibility of a seal out in the steering unit itself? Next step is I am making a bypass for the power steering cooler so I can see what is going on there better, and I'll fire it up and have my wife turn the steering wheel and see what I can see.
I had the engine running for about 30 minutes during the test, as I wanted to warm it up so I could change the oil...and probably lost 2 oz. of fluid in that time from the reservoir. 7.4 Bravo One.
I'd be willing to bet the hose clamp on the PS cooler nipple has cut through the hose and is spraying out. Take ends of hoses off, trim an inch, and re-attach. I bet that solves it. Had this happen to me last spring when I was installing new exhaust manifolds.
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