Shaft seal is leaking-and more than a little

[jleonard]

IF it's a split coupler it will come out fairly easy.
If not, then you can use a socket in between the 2 shafts and use the 4 bolts to "pull" the shaft out.

 

[Comodave]

This is what I made to press the coupler off the shafts on our last boat. Worked well. I use a socket in the middle to push against the shaft.

 

[SteveK]

This is what I made to press the coupler off the shafts on our last boat. Worked well. I use a socket in the middle to push against the shaft.

Nice. Did you use blaster or something to soak into it first. Or is that puller enough?

 

[psneeld]

penetrating lube and lotsa heat with more than just a propane torch if possible....if not budging with just wrenching/impact driving.

Be careful of too much wrenching/impact driving if using tranny flange...don't want to bend it.

 

[Comodave]

Nice. Did you use blaster or something to soak into it first. Or is that puller enough?

No, just drove the bolts with a 1/2” 18 volt impact driver. They walked right off.

 

[rgano]

I have the Tides dripless system in my Mainship too. I have a spare seal on the shaft ready to slide into position when the original wears out, but after that if the replacement seal wears out, I will replace the system with the face seal system of PYI which I had on twin shafts in my trawler and liked very much. They are more tolerant of alignment issues.

 

[DonW28]

This sounds more and more like a job for the yard. Nice to have that leak under control so I have time now to do this the right way.



Don

 

[Solly]

The other problem with doing it in the water is getting the shaft to slide back into the coupler. No good way to get ahold of the shaft to drive it back into the coupler. It will probably need a little "force". Maybe some wood clamped to the shaft then tap the wood to move it forward.
If the coupler comes off easy and the shaft goes back in up the mark easy go out and buy a lottery ticket....
All in all "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" I'd wait until you can get into a yard as long as it stays dry.

 

[SteveK]

The other problem with doing it in the water is getting the shaft to slide back into the coupler. No good way to get ahold of the shaft to drive it back into the coupler. It will probably need a little "force". Maybe some wood clamped to the shaft then tap the wood to move it forward.
If the coupler comes off easy and the shaft goes back in up the mark easy go out and buy a lottery ticket....
All in all "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" I'd wait until you can get into a yard as long as it stays dry.

excuse me! did I not say I did exactly that. Yes it can be done. If you have tried and failed, well another story.

 

[Comodave]

The coupler should, I say should, slide back onto the shaft with a small amount of force. On a previous boat I was putting on dripless shaft logs. One coupler came off fairly easily. The other one was a major pain to get off. Finally got it off by pressing it off with the socket deal. Replaced the shaft log and went to reassemble the coupler. It would go on and stop about 3/8” short from being fully on. No matter what I did it stopped same place every time. I tried packing the shaft in dry ice and heating the coupler in the oven. Same thing. Finally gave it to a friend that has a metal lathe. He said it was .005” smaller in the last half inch or so. He turned it to be the same inner diameter. I put it on by tapping it with a 12 ounce hammer and it went right on. No telling how they ever got it on all the way in the beginning.

 

[Captain DJ]

On a crossing from Key West to Marco Island (via Southwest Passage) we had a tremendous leak on starboard dripless shaft seal. >5 gallons/minute and we were 60 miles from swamp and more like 80 to destination port or return. 6-8 ft swells from NE and increasing. In that emergency situation where 4 - 12v pumps and a 120v crash pump could not eliminate the knee deep engine room, we learned that putting lateral pressure on the bellows coupling almost stopped the leak, thus a bunge cord did as much from keeping us from sinking as all the 5 pumps. Just a temp fix, but I mention it here because it saved our lives, that and duct tape. Merry Christmas All and may we have a Free and Prosperous 2022.

 

[cbouch]

Harbor freight also has it, called super tape...3.99 a role 10 ft by 1 inch...I bought a role just to test it as it is less than 1/2 the price of the cheapest anywhere else...worked great and yes under water also..,now have multiple rolls on the boat...

 

[Don Souza]

Most have TWO Allen set screws per hole. The second Allen set screw is to lock the first set screw. All screws have to be removed from that hole.
Don

 

[psneeld]

Split couplings are worth every penny.

 

[unclegeo]

Shaft leak

I'm going to rig a generic sump since the batteries are close and on shore power. And look for some rescue tape. Using hose clamps would 100% fix the problem if I could figure out what to put between them. Everything has to be cut to fit over the shaft obviously and that sort of causes a problem since the water will leak from there. I'll figure how to post a picture eventually and will search the manuals for the specific model. Not the PSS model I had on the last boat.

Maybe a temporary fix.
There is a heat shrink for underground power cables that you could wrap around the leak area, zip it together and shrink it with heat gun or torch. Should be available at electrical supply outlets, maybe check online.

 

[Tango46]

It is the Tides brand. Unfortunately sans the spare shaft seal you see on the picture. But the good news is it has 100percent stopped leaking. I'm thinking there was some debris in the seal that somehow flushed out. Still plan to watch it carefully until I can get it hauled and the seal replaced just in case it wasn't debris.


Don

Don -- your experience sounds 'alot' like ours! New-to-us 2004 Carver with twin engines & original Tides Marine seals a couple months ago... We went from "one seal drips some when underway" - to -- "it is dripping once or twice per minute sitting in the slip" -- to -- "every time I touch it, it gets worse and it is now a steady trickle!!"

Spare seals were installed on the shafts from the original installation, but I felt better at least short hauling the boat to attempt a seal swap out... once in the lift & upon consulting with TidesMarine & others who had worked similar scenarios previously -- we learned that these vintage seals had a bit of a design weakness.


See attached photo -- the seal carrying cases hose clamped into the blue hose would crack around the face screws - resulting in the carrier possibly contorting a bit when running, and causing leaks. Got some photos of the front & rear plates of said carriers - and bingo - on -both shafts-, BOTH carriers had cracks around MOST of the screws. One was leaking, the other - was a leak getting ready to happen.

So we backed the shafts out of the couplers (required heating the couplers to get the shafts broken loose BTW -- and we were fortunate the shafts were tapered - which made the removal and reinstall much easier. A split coupling would obviously be even better).

This may or may not be your situation of course. Tides redesigned the carriers a bit in the current generation, beefed them up by adding thickness in the area of the screws. I recommend a check around those screw threads on the front & rear parts of the seal carrier you currently have in place - before you go to the trouble of trying to slide back the shaft to get a seal or 2 put on....

Best of luck with it!, and please keep us posted. Hopefully you will still get to have a sweet Felice Navidad, with no more drama.

 

[DonW28]

Santa was good to us and we are being hauled on Tuesday. Plan is replace the current system with a PSS. Had to cancel our New Year trip to Vegas but getting the boat fixed was the priority. I figured leaving and having my patch fail and then some bad luck with a bilge pump would not get 2022 off to a good start.



Thanks to all for the comments and advice. Just decided in the end that letting a yard handle it was the smart way to go once we were able to get a space. Tough to do around Key West.


Merry Christmas to all.


Don

 

[Helmsman]

Here is a solution for a future leak. https://www.sealorsink.com/

 

[Jeffwhatu8]

The water supply line gets plugged up and the seal overheats. Usually a piece of an old zinc at the source coming from the engine. Don't ruin a new seal, check for water flow.

 

[DonW28]

The water supply line gets plugged up and the seal overheats. Usually a piece of an old zinc at the source coming from the engine. Don't ruin a new seal, check for water flow.

Certainly an easy check that I will do. Thanks for the idea.


Don

 

[DonW28]

Well-we are all fixed and back in the water. I still have to get a 2 inch zinc or SS collar to go in front of the seal as a safety. Not sure why PSS doesn't add one to the system as most folks like the added security. One of those $$ saving measures I guess.


For what my opinion is worth I'd add a total seal assembly replacement every 5 years if I kept a boat long term. When I look at the cost to have this done I admit I feel like a total dumbass since we had the boat on the hard back in June for bottom paint. I'd have saved a ton of money doing it then. Since a brand new seal is only $500 why not replace it when the boat is on the hard for a bottom job. Even with labor you are only talking maybe $1500 and less with a split coupler. I'd have saved $2K doing it in June. Just add it in with the raw water cleaning of those diesels and crack open the wallet. Anyway-my 2 cents but I'd never again neglect that system.



Don