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Dripless OJ shaft seal ?


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I have an 02 Wakesetter VLX and would like to either change out the packing on the prop shaft or change to Dripless OJ shaft seal. Does anyone have any experience with this product ? I am tired of the constant drip into the bilge and water accumulation. I know it is supposed to drip 2-4 times every 10 seconds. Any insight on this product or any superior product info would be greatly appreciated. 

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I had a dripless on my ‘10 LSV that had the seal go bad so I have “a bit of experience” with them. The OJ will do what you want it to do as will any other version. Simple hand tools and some lengths of threaded round stock with nuts and washers will be required, at least that’s what worked for me. It will be be a time consuming job putting it in your VLX due to access. And more so getting the prop shaft flange separated from the VD output flange and ultimately the shaft flange off of the prop shaft. Putting it all back together is the easy part. I hope you have small hands. I personally wouldn’t mess with it until winter layup if you have some place warm to work on it. JM2C

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I ordered my 2010 with the dripless shaft seal and am glad I did.

Don’t know the manufacturer, but I think it is the OJ version (white body, red grommet and a blue rubber dust cap). I’m now at about 860 hours and had no issues with it whatsoever, I’ve seen not a single drip on the shaft seal in the last 9 seasons, love my dry, clean bilge!

If you retrofit one, keep in mind you have to route a cooler hose to it. Water pick up on my DD is at the bottom of the transmission cooler.

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Thanks all for the insight, the lack of space will make this job tough for sure. How did you guys separate the flanges to access it all. I am very mechanically inclined and know I can do this but just want a bit of your experience to help me out and save a little skin off my knuckles. Lol. Just want the leaking into the bilge to stop. Thanks

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The thin lock nut that is against the packing nut can be difficult to get a wrench on, especially on v-drives.  You can use a long punch, or drift, place it on the edge of the of the lock nut, then tap it with a hammer to turn the lock nut loose, turning it away from the packing nut.  Once the lock nut is loose you can tighten the packing nut by hand.  To reset the lock nut, just tighten it against the packing nut by hand, then use the punch and hammer to turn the lock nut tight against the packing nut so they can no longer be turned by hand.  Try not to get too carried away when using the hammer and punch.

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On 4/21/2019 at 8:23 PM, Stoli said:

Thanks all for the insight, the lack of space will make this job tough for sure. How did you guys separate the flanges to access it all. I am very mechanically inclined and know I can do this but just want a bit of your experience to help me out and save a little skin off my knuckles. Lol. Just want the leaking into the bilge to stop. Thanks

Seems like the fix is a bit extreme if that's all you're after.  If you have the correct packing wrenches then an adjustment is not a big deal, just a small amount of tightening might do the trick.  You mentioned a "constant drip" but it should only be dripping at a good rate when the prop is turning, and almost zero drip when stationary.

Also, keep in mind that at the beginning of the season the packing is dry so they tend to swell and seal better after a few hours on the water...worst case change the packing.  I did it last year and I'm totally pleased with the results.

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It is probably time for you to replace the packing if it hasn't ever been done before.  Do a search for the GFO shaft packing, it's better than the original wax cord that is probably in there and the drip rate is about 1/2 of the wax cord.  It will be an easier job the the shaft seal and at a minimum will get you thru the season so you can do the shaft seal over next winter.

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On 4/21/2019 at 10:23 PM, Stoli said:

Thanks all for the insight, the lack of space will make this job tough for sure. How did you guys separate the flanges to access it all. I am very mechanically inclined and know I can do this but just want a bit of your experience to help me out and save a little skin off my knuckles. Lol. Just want the leaking into the bilge to stop. Thanks

You'll need to unhook it from the transmission and push it back.  Make sure to have a friend near by or put a towel around the prop so that it doesn't get dinged when you eventually get it to slide back.  You will have to push the shaft back enough to slide in a socket to remove the nut holding the flange to the shaft.  After that, there is a small retainer nut in the shaft flange that will be removed.  The next part is tricky so follow the instructions here:

http://skidim.blogspot.com/2008/10/oj-dripless-shaft-seal-installation.html

I second the Glide Seal kit.  I contacted them directly and they were extremely helpful.  

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On 4/21/2019 at 10:23 PM, Stoli said:

Thanks all for the insight, the lack of space will make this job tough for sure. How did you guys separate the flanges to access it all. I am very mechanically inclined and know I can do this but just want a bit of your experience to help me out and save a little skin off my knuckles. Lol. Just want the leaking into the bilge to stop. Thanks

I had to grind down a socket to fit it between the v-drive flange and the shaft seal flange to get the nut off. Once the nut is off, you have to use a smaller socket to jam between the prop shaft and the v-drive flange. Then get some long bolts and nuts from the store and tighten the prop shaft flange to the v-drive flange. It will pull the flange right off the prop shaft.

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