Drive shaft dripless seal is leaking

[Gusshr]

Hi fellow boaters,I have been experincing wet starboard bilge. Took the boat out yesterday and found a leaky seal of the drive shaft coming off a dripless unit. After searching all over the place, i found that the one I have is the same as this one: http://www.samsmarine.com/ShaftSeal.htm. There is an extra rubber seal placed on the shaft (spare). A previous mechanic said when you get a leak, you pop out the old one cut it and push the spare aft and you get a new seal. The question I have is that can I do this while the boat is in the water? Anyone with similar experince please share. And the kind of tools you used? Thanks

[Boatsb]

It's pretty straight forward but if the shaft has worn and is rough it's not an easy fix.

If its not easily accessible it becomes a bit harder especially if you can't see well in the area.

If Your not sure about how to do it get someone to do it with you who has done them before.

Also plan on pulling the shaft to put on a new spare in the near future

[Gusshr]

It's pretty straight forward but if the shaft has worn and is rough it's not an easy fix. If its not easily accessible it becomes a bit harder especially if you can't see well in the area.If Your not sure about how to do it get someone to do it with you who has done them before.Also plan on pulling the shaft to put on a new spare in the near future Pulling the shaft, does that need boat out of water? All i need is a 1/2 inch clearence after disconnecting the transmission and removing the shaft end mount in order to slide the new seal in.

[Gusshr]

It's pretty straight forward but if the shaft has worn and is rough it's not an easy fix. If its not easily accessible it becomes a bit harder especially if you can't see well in the area.If Your not sure about how to do it get someone to do it with you who has done them before.Also plan on pulling the shaft to put on a new spare in the near future Given your conditions it can be performed while boat is in water. Correct?

[doc g]

If you have the seal on the shaft already there is no reason to split the coupling off the shaft at the transmission .....Pat

[Gusshr]

If you have the seal on the shaft already there is no reason to split the coupling off the shaft at the transmission .....Pat Splitting the shaft would be to replace the spare.

[Reefgeorge]

I don't have that dripless bearing so I don't know how much water you'll get when the original seal is picked out. The safest thing is to have some rags stuffed Ito the back of the shaft log under the boat to minimize the water intrusion. After the seal is picked out you have to inspect the shaft and clean it up if necessary before you slide the new seal into place. Also check the shaft area where the seal will seat to see if sand and friction have worn a groove into that area. In that case, the bellows get moved to seat the seal properly.

George

[Boatsb]

Given your conditions it can be performed while boat is in water. Correct?

Yes. The area around the shaft inside the box is the size of the seal. A few gallons of water will slip i but no big deal.

Remember the new seal has to be seated properly. Square and in the right spot.

The new spare is something you can do later on but don't wait too long or you may find you need a other seal again and don't have it.

[Fanfare]

You probably have the Tidesmarine shaft seal. www.tidesmarine.com (http://www.tidesmarine.com) They have a video showing how to replace with the previously-installed spare(s). Call them. They will send you the plastic hat-shaped installation tool which assists in the job. You should have the round seal keeper that has the replacement seal inside. Before attempting the change you will want to clean up the surface of the shaft between the keeper and the old seal. This gets rough with accumulated salt and corrosion. You need to be sure the keeper actually has a new replacement--it may already have been used--and that it is still soft and supple. If you are lucky there will be two new seals inside the keeper which installs confidence.

I installed these seals when I repowered 25 years ago. I would not have installed this particular brand had Hatteras not been using them in every new boat. I have never had to change a seal. I have two keepers on each shaft, so four spare seals. (I was really dubious that these seals would work!) At around the 10-15 year mark I needed to pull the shafts for some other reason, probably renewing the cutless bearings. The original mounted seals were still perfect, after probably more than 2,000 hours on them. It pained my frugal soul, but I changed all the old spares while things were apart.

[Gusshr]

Should I try to run barnacle buster through the cooling water line that is going into the dripless unit before swapping the lip seal? Anyone had luck with cleaning to eliminate drips?

[Boatsb]

Cleaning helps with the reinstall but once a seal is compromised it's not reusable.