SeaStar Hydraulic Steering Grease Nipples

John(DE)

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I have a crazy question I just ran into winterizing my 2018 for the first time. Hoping that somebody else that has the SeaStar hydraulic steering can take a quick look at theirs and give me an assist, as I would sure hate to have to tow the boat back to the dealer to get an answer on this one.

My steering cylinder has a grease nipple on the port side of the cylinder. However, on the starboard side, securing the ground strap, there is what sure looks like a grease nipple that my grease gun attaches to as expected. But there is no hole in the nipple. It's not clogged, I picked at it with an awl and it is filled with metal. I'm trying to figure out if I got a bad grease nipple that wasn't machined correctly, or if that fitting on the starboard side really isn't supposed to be a grease nipple.

It's certainly easy enough to replace the nipple. but I don't want to shoot grease into some place that it was not intended.
 
Can't help with your question as I don't have power steering but if it is plugged , the grease "ZERK" as they are called is a simple part to replace. If it's over/around any linkage I lcouldn't see how you'd hurt anything with grease.
 
Dealer should be able to answer by phone
 
Are they for bleeding air out? I would hold off on pumping grease into the system for now.
 
021AD54C-4784-4DB7-923D-157F355671C0.jpeg EA31B4A6-1A30-4B69-BB7C-FBF876CA1F95.jpeg E1B772C1-24F0-4D93-A713-08D3A22EA7BE.jpeg 2992514B-98DB-4D70-983D-015E39BA31EE.jpeg 08A17822-93D4-4578-99C5-1116EBFCB60E.jpeg Here are the 4 fittings on my sea star.
 
Top two look like hydraulic. Bottom look like grease zerks. And the bottom two look like pivot points.
 
I'd agree with Semp
 
Thanks. The bottom 2 on Spoiledrotten's pictures are the ones. Talked to SeaStar - they are both grease zerks. They were great, immediately dropped me a new set in the mail. Upon examination of the new ones, they are unlike any grease zerks I have encountered in the past, the hole in the nipple has a small spring loaded ball bearing in it. I imagine to keep water out, and when you pump grease it pushes the ball in to open it up. Now I am thinking the old one maybe had a rusted ball or spring. Going to grease up the end of the zerks to protect that mechanism.
 
All zerks have the ball and spring.
 
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