Fountain Hyd. Steering
 

99 32' Fever has leaking hydraulic steering cylinder, quoted outrageous $2000.00 for replacement from Jefferson Beach Marine in MI. any suggestions? Steering system is made by Fountain.

EGA. If its just leaking at the ram end, it could just be the wiper seal which is about $2. What you could try (like i did with success), was to twist apart the Ram. What you may find inside is just a plunger with 2seals, the wiper seal at the very end, an o-ring on each cap end, and possible another internal seal. Worse case is it costs you $20 in seals. Now, mine were KAAMA rams and a bit larger, but I cant believe the concept for construction is too different. If you can carefully remove each seal, measure them for I/D, O/D, height....etc and style. A local hydraulic shop should be able to replace, or, locally here Martin Fluid Power @ 888-737-0805 can find any of the seals and ship.

Good luck....Bob

I agree with Fever Mike. Call Fountain and see if they will rebuild it for you. Just because we own Fountains doesn’t mean we have money to throw away. That guy is whacked for $2,000.00.
Does your boat sit in the water? I guy with a 47 had the same problem. He left his boat in the water and the growth on the rams killed the seals.
Dan

where is yours leaking from??
I have had a leak on mine since new
I always forget about it.
I go through about a half pint of fluid ever 2nd or 3rd running day
Maybe a pint on a real hard long day of running.
I ahve never been able to find the leak
I am sure it is on hte outside of the boat because whenever I float and swim I can see a light film of oil in the water on the port side. I have ran it on the muffs on land and have never been able to find the leak.
I never have water in the resivior at all.

I can fully rebuild your cylinder's. Unless there is damage such as a bent ram or housing, it is likely just seals. Email me directly with any additional questions, I can walk you through the removal process if you can't work something out with Fountain.