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Dripless shaft seal leaking


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First outing of the year and noticed my shaft seal leaking.   It is leaking with boat off and floating.   Any ideas?   Do I just need to run it a bit?

It's leaking out front edge.

See pic below and let me know which version this is and what the repair should be.

Thanks.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xqn08bal2xkegqq/20200521_173936.jpg?dl=0

Edited by goodmatt78
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formulaben

Is that a grease zerk that is rusted out near the front of the unit?  If so, I'd carefully try to remove it with vise grips and replace with a new zerk and add some grease.  Swap out that hose clamp too before it fails.  You running in salt water?

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All fresh water.... Not sure if it's a zerk.... Think it's too small.... Didn't know a shaft seal would use grease.

Anyone know the type of shaft seal I have?

Edited by goodmatt78
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You can remove the Phillips head screw plugs, pump waterproof grease into the zerk fitting until the grease comes out of the plugs you removed, then reinstall the plugs.  If that doesn't stop your leak, then replace the dripless seal with a more modern one.

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Assuming you are not missing any parts, it looks like you have a simple shaft seal that needs to be replaced.  I assume you will need to pull the flange in order to slide the old seal off and the new seal on.  Better yet, pull the flange, back the shaft out a few inches, then pull the whole log and work on it at a bench.  A decent auto parts store should have the seal.

Your seal doesn't look like one of these, which use a graphite washer that spins against a stainless face on the shaft.

https://waggonerguide.com/dripless-shaft-seals-may-be-dripless-but-not-maintenance-free/

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Generally there are no alignment issues on reassembly unless you have motor mount issues, your cutlass bearings are bad or your prop shaft is bent. Removing the flange or in this case I think we are talking about removing the prop shaft coupler head from the end of the prop shaft can be a bear without the correct tools (common hand tools will get it done) and enough room to work in. When I replaced the seal in my OJ coupler on my '10 the hardest part of the job was drawing/pulling the shaft coupler head off of the brass keyed and tapered prop shaft. There are a couple good videos on the job. Easily doable with nothing really possible to mess up, just time consuming is all.

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Yeah....I read through some threads.  Access is going to be a bear.   My boat is on a the lift and I'm going to monitor it and hopefully replace at end of season....or pull the boat and do it during the week in my garage.

I do think my current seal has worn the shaft....I assume I can move the replacement slightly up or down the shaft to be on a fresh shaft.

I've been searching images to figure out which one I have and no luck.   I'll call OJ today.  I don't know if I should add grease or not.  When I opened the Philips screw ports, it did bleed water..... So I can't imagine grease is meant to go there.

Edited by goodmatt78
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Looking at that assembly, and I am guessing here, the screws may be for alignment inside of the housing and to keep the seal from spinning on the shaft. When I replaced my OJ seal, even though it was a direct replacement seal from OJ the OD of the seal was just a hair smaller than the ID of the head. I knew when I dropped the seal in it was going to spin inside of the housing and leak around the outside of the seal so I slathered some silicone on the parts and pressed them together. It was only retained by a snap ring so it was an easy job. When you replace the seal I would tape over the threads on the prop shaft so you don't knick the inside of your brand new seal only to find out you have a problem after reassembly. :Doh:The zerk may be to put a small amount of grease on the internal seals and or to displace water another guess on both accounts. Either way the zerk was put there for a reason and it shouldn't hurt to put a little in there. JM2C

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  • 3 weeks later...

Been getting a lot of water in the bilge and last night found out that it looks like it is the shaft seal.  Was hoping it was something less involved.  Picture at the dropbox link.   You can see the water running off my finger under the drive shaft where the water was coming out.

How hard is it to do yourself and would you recommend it?

What should this cost to have done at the dealer?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t992y3mptaz0rdb/IMG_1507.jpg?dl=0

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That looks like a traditional shaft packing unit. You may just need to adjust it or replace the packing inside.  You should have a slow drip around one every 10 seconds.  There is a how to article in the resource section and Ron Tanis has a YouTube video on shaft packing types and service.  I recommend the GFO type packing unless you want to convert to dripless...I’m not a dripless fan as the small water line to the unit can clog and destroy your shaft if ran dry to long. 

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Thanks for the help and resources.  Watched Ron's videos and they are really helpful.  The step by step pictures in the resource area are great too.  Was planning on having this done at the dealer but will give it a shot now.

  • Like 2
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9 hours ago, AdamJ said:

Thanks for the help and resources.  Watched Ron's videos and they are really helpful.  The step by step pictures in the resource area are great too.  Was planning on having this done at the dealer but will give it a shot now.

Def something you don’t need the stealership for...

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On 5/23/2020 at 12:37 AM, csleaver said:

I think that shaft seal is made by Marine Hardware, you can find it in their catalog on page 24:

http://www.marinehardware.com/downloads/running_gear.pdf

 

WOW.....I missed this post.  Yes...that's the one I have. Thank you!   I guess it won't hurt to add some grease and see what happens.

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